WASHINGTON, DC - Mayor Muriel Bowser, the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA), and the project development team comprised of Dantes Partners, Gilbane Development Company, Carding Group, and H Street Community Development Corporation (HSCDC) celebrated the groundbreaking of Livingston Place at Southern, the first assisted living facility in Ward 8 and only the second with its services in the District. The five-story, 152-unit affordable community is reserved for seniors age 60 and above who require assistance with two or more activities of daily living. Residents of Livingston Place at Southern will receive meals, personal care services, and transportation services.
Apartments at Livingston Place at Southern will be reserved for individuals or couples with incomes of 60 percent or less of the annual median income and residents who qualify for Medicaid.
“We are excited to deliver the first affordable assisted-living facility to Ward 8, ensuring that seniors will be able to continue living in the community they love,” said Mayor Bowser. “Through investments in communities like Livingston at Southern, we’ll keep providing safe and affordable places for those who have helped build this city and earned the right to age in place.”
“The Gilbane Development Company/Dantes Partners team is thrilled to usher in the first affordable assisted housing in Ward 8 for our aging seniors,” noted Buwa Binitie of Dantes Partners, joint venture developer for the project. “And we could not have done it without our dedicated partners at DCHFA, the DC Department of Health and the Department of Healthcare Finance.”
DCHFA issued $50 million in bond financing and underwrote $15.3 million in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity for the construction of Livingston Place at Southern, a $67 million development that will consist of 84 efficiency and 68 one-bedroom apartments. “Livingston Place at Southern is a unique development that will provide assisted living services to senior citizens that are capable of living independently yet need help with daily care. The property will provide an option for District seniors to be able to age in place in an affordable community with support services onsite,” stated Todd A. Lee, Executive Director and CEO, DCHFA.
The property management company will be licensed by the DC Department of Health to operate the development as an assisted living facility. Staffing at the property will consist of an executive director and medical staff including a full time Director of Nursing, Licensed Practical Nurses eight hours a day and certified nurse’s aides and trained medication employees on‐duty 24 hours a day.
All tenants will have access to support services including medical, dental, rehabilitative, and counseling services; assistance with activities of daily living, including eating, bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing and mobility, and 24‐hour supervision to ensure resident safety. Eleven percent of the apartments are designed to be fully accessible. All units throughout the building will feature accessibility measures such as lower kitchen countertops, spacious bathrooms with grab bars and an emergency call system. The development will feature common amenities such as a club/community room, dining rooms, library, theater/TV center, fitness/wellness center, beauty/barber salon and transportation for off-site activities.
The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency is in its 40th year of serving Washington, D.C.’s residents. The Agency’s mission is to advance the District of Columbia’s housing priorities; the Agency invests in affordable housing and neighborhood development, which provides pathways for DC residents to transform their lives. We accomplish our mission by delivering the most efficient and effective sources of capital available in the market to finance rental housing and to create homeownership opportunities.