Prince George’s County leaders helped cut the ribbon on the Gateway at Peerless, a new development aimed at boosting the stock of high-demand affordable housing in the region.
The project brings more than 60 apartments to a plot of land off U.S. Route 301 just north of downtown Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
“The need for affordable housing is overwhelming, not just for Prince George’s County or Maryland but throughout the United States,” said Kyle Speece, regional vice president for Conifer Reality, which is behind the project.
“Let this statistic be your measuring stick. For the 62 units at Peerless, we have had 1,024 applications … as of Tuesday, 16.5 applications for every unit. Conifer sees this in every state in which we work, at every development.”
To this point, most of the units have been filled, and residents are expected to start moving in next month. Some will be set aside for families making as little as $30,000 per year, while most will go to families in the $55,000 to $60,000 range. The rest will be market rate housing.
“Peerless is the most expensive development per unit I have ever developed, at $29 million total,” said Speece.
“When we bring together quality housing and services in the way you all are in this type of project, it really helps us to know that we are investing in communities that are going to be stable, that are going to be sustainable over the long run,” said Angie Rodgers, Prince George’s County’s Chief Administrative Officer.
Money to help finance this project came from the county’s Housing Investment Trust Fund, as well as tax credits set aside for projects like these. Rodgers said investments from the state into that trust fund will help make even more projects like this one happen.
“We continue to meet and exceed that need” for affordable housing, said County Councilman Johnathan Medlock. “Meeting the need of cost-burden renters is a priority and Gateway at Peerless brings yet another step closer to effectively addressing housing and affordable housing here in Prince George’s County.”
“I am proud to say that with the completion of this new development we are on pace to create 794 affordable units by the end of this calendar year,” said Rodgers. “We’re also going to preserve over 1,700 units. Those are really important details to celebrate.”
