Among the plans D.C. leaders highlighted Friday include creating tens of thousands of affordable housing units and the redevelopment of portions of the St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Southeast.
“There’s a lot going on in order to meet the mayor’s goal of 36,000 affordable housing units by 2025,” Interim Deputy Mayor of Economic Development John Falcicchio said during a news conference.
The plan led by the Housing and Finance Agency to create more affordable housing across the city wants to keep up with economic and population growth in recent years. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the housing goal in 2019.
“What it means is we’re generating jobs for D.C. residents, opportunities for D.C. businesses and housing so more people can afford to live in our growing and vibrant city,” Bowser said.
City leaders also announced plans to take bids on how to redevelop the St. Elizabeths East campus with housing, retail, community and educational spaces, which the project’s director Latrena Owens said is needed.
“There are a number of mixed-use projects that include affordable rental and homeownership opportunities on different areas of the campus,” Owens said.
The redevelopment of the site started with the Rise Center, which is now the home of the Washington Mystics. A Whitman Walker medical center facility is expected to open soon, Owens said.
Three parcels will be released in a Request for Proposals by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
“The development of the St. Elizabeths campus is about the transformation of this area of the city into a vibrant destination east of the river that welcomes you to come and visit with an open invitation so that you can see the transformation for yourself,” Owens said.
