The Faircliff
2641 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
Under Development
The Faircliff is a new 125-unit affordable rental housing building currently under construction at 2641 14th St NW in Washington DC. The project is a joint venture of Somerset Development Company, Jonathan Rose Companies, and Housing Up. The building will replace the original Faircliff Plaza East Apartments, an 80-unit garden style apartment complex originally acquired by Somerset in 2002. The Faircliff will be built alongside Novel 14, a 197-unit market rate apartment building constructed by Crescent Communities. Collectively, the two projects will quadruple the total number of housing units at the site.
The Faircliff consists of 125 new affordable rental units, including replacement of the original 80 units as well as 45 new affordable units available to households with income at or below 50% of Area Median Income, 23 of which are 3-bedroom units. Residents of the former Faircliff Plaza East voted unanimously in 2021 to move forward with the project via an assignment of the tenant association’s TOPA rights. Over 80 percent of those residents have elected to return to live at The Faircliff and have temporarily relocated to off-site apartments until construction is complete.
The joint venture team obtained a Pass-Through for the existing Section 8 contract for the original residents to ensure affordability both during the temporary offsite relocation period and upon construction completion. In addition, the team obtained HUD approval to renew the Section 8 contract for a 20-year period. Residents were provided moving assistance during the relocation process and will receive ongoing supportive services during the off-site period.
Designed by Eric Colbert & Associates and built by John Moriarty & Associates, the eight-story building will feature a range of community amenities including a courtyard with playground, community room, learning library, fitness center, rooftop event space and a community garden. Residents will also have access to free, high-speed Community WiFi in their apartments and all common areas.
The all-electric design will be constructed to Passive House standards through Phius and will achieve LEED Platinum certification. The project will also feature a range of green design features, including a green roof with an integrated 67 kW solar array, electric vehicle charging for 19 parking spaces, and carbon-injected concrete that will capture over 1.1 million kg of carbon within the building’s structure.
Financing for the $110 million development was arranged through an innovative mix of public and private resources, including $49.3 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the DC Housing Finance Agency, a $16.9 million loan from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Production Trust Fund, and a $439,452 initial annual rental subsidy from the DC Housing Authority to support nine 3-bedroom units of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) dedicated for formerly homeless families.
Capital One, National Association provided a $35.1 million FHA 221(d)(4) permanent loan and Boston Financial Investment Management provided $42.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity. Richmond Capital purchased the GNMA bonds.
Prior to closing, Eagle Bank provided a $25 million bridge loan to finance resident relocation and predevelopment costs. DC Green Bank, established in 2018 to accelerate the deployment of affordable private and public capital for clean energy projects, provided a $1.85 million predevelopment loan to enable the project to achieve LEED Platinum and Phius design certifications. Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) provided an additional $500,000 predevelopment loan for the project.
Construction began in January 2023 and is anticipated to finish in December 2024.