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Leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland, celebrated the grand opening of a new affordable housing complex Tuesday, while recognizing more needs to be done to solve the county’s housing crisis.
Local elected officials, housing advocates and residents of the Residences at Forest Glen checked out the amenities, including the play area for children behind the building in the Forest Glen neighborhood.
Among those celebrating was Nina Teasley, who applied and got a space in the new building. Teasley, a working grandmother, said she was evicted after raising four children, going through a divorce, then being matched with a roommate who skipped on the rent.
That one eviction followed her as she tried again and again to find an apartment at a rate she could afford. Teasley, who cradled her young granddaughter Aya as she spoke, was frank about her experience.
“I’ll never forget the fear, the shame, the embarrassment of running out of options,” she said. “I work every day.”
She said during her search for a new living space, all she could find were “unsafe apartments, the unsanitary conditions, people charging rent for places nobody should have to live in.”
Robert Goldman, president of the Montgomery Housing Partnership, said the new building replaced an aging, run-down complex with 72 units.
“Out of that rubble, something remarkable has arisen — 189 new affordable homes within walking distance of the Forest Glen Metro,” Goldman said.
Montgomery County Council member Andrew Friedson said the location of the complex was important, since there’s accessible recreation and transportation close by.
“This is not just about housing, this is about community,” Friedson said.
Standing alongside Friedson was Council member Natali Fani-González, who referenced the recent vote on zoning changes designed to add more housing in the region.
“We all want affordable housing,” she said. “You’ve got to walk the talk. You’ve got to put money in it.”
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who grew up in the area, said in the year 2000, there were approximately 42,000 affordable housing units in the county.
“By 2020, that number had shrunk to about 20,000,” he said.
And by 2030, Elrich said projections are that fewer than 10,000 units at affordable rates would be available.
According to Chris Peifer, with the Montgomery County Planning Board, the fiscal 2025 Median Family Income (100% Area Median Income) is $163,000 for a family of four.
The income units at the Forest Glen apartments are set for people with incomes at 60% of the AMI, or roughly $98,340 for a family of four.
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