Projects
Development
Eden Place at Beulah Crossing – Deanwood Heights, Washington D.C.
UrbanMatters Development Partners L.L.C. partnered with Denning Development and Beulah Community Improvement Corporation to secure the development rights from the District of Columbia’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development for the planning and development of a distressed, vacant apartment complex encumbered by restrictive covenants by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Eden Place at Beulah Crossing is one of DC’s newest gateway communities. Designed with Energy Star and Green Community features, Eden Place at Beulah Crossing consists of 63 new construction townhomes featuring three-story, craftsman architectural style offering 3 bedrooms with 2.5 baths and open floor plans, private yards and community open space. Eden Place is a 100% affordable community available for first time homebuyers whose incomes do not exceed 120% of Area Median Income. In partnership with the District of Columbia’s New Communities program, this development delivers workforce training, apprenticeship and local hiring opportunities for D.C. residents and Certified Business Enterprises.
Images courtesy of Kreative Ways & Solutions, LLC
Project website: www.edenplacedc.com
House of Lebanon – Truxton Circle, Washington D.C.
The House of Lebanon will restore the historic façade of the former school and redevelop the entire structure to provide for a total of 85 units comprised of studios, one and two bedrooms of independent living for persons 55 years and older and 12,000 square feet of state of the art, community programming space for life and wellness activities benefiting both the residents and the community. The development will be designed to the standards of Enterprises’ Green Communities.
In partnership with Mission First Development and the Mt. Lebanon Community Development Corporation, the development team was selected by the District of Columbia’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development for the development and adaptive re-use of the historic vocational school, Margaret Murray Washington Career High School.
Eastbrooke at Beulah Crossing – Deanwood Heights, Washinton D.C.
The Eastbrooke development is a public/private partnership with the DC Department of Housing and Community Development to provide 39 new construction, affordable multi-family units. The project will feature one, two and three bedroom apartments with open floor plans, off street parking, a resident fitness area, computer lounge, library reading area and bike storage. The project will be financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Tax Exempt Bonds, Private Financing and a District investment.
UrbanMatters formed a strategic partnership with Beulah Community Improvement Corporation, a key neighborhood stakeholder, and the Carlisle Development Group to master plan and develop eight abandoned, vacant parcels located along the northeast border of the District of Columbia.
The Additions at Eden Place – Deanwood Heights, Washington D.C.
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Project Management
DC–SEU
UrbanMatters teamed with Ardent360, LLC, a Virginia based provider of residential and commercial energy improvement services to serve as an Implementing Contractor for DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU). The DCSEU was created out of DC’s Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 with a primary goal of increasing the number of green jobs in the District while reducing energy use by 1% annually for District homes and businesses. The UrbanMatters team was selected to perform for scopes of work offered by the DCSEU: (1) Direct installation for single family dwellings; (2) Low income multi-family complexes: (3) Small commercial, neighborhood businesses; and (4) Intake/marketing and outreach for the Low Income Multi Family project. This project serves as a unique partnership between the District government, private industry, and organized labor to provide unemployed District residents with competitive wage green jobs while also reducing energy costs for DC homeowners, landlords of multi-family projects and neighborhood based businesses. The combined efforts of the UrbanMatter’s team resulted in the creation of full time jobs for DC residents including permanent employment, new career paths and the provision of services to allow DC residents to make their homes more energy efficient, comfortable, safer and less expensive to maintain.
Groundswell
UrbanMatters and joint venture partner, Ardent360, were selected as the exclusive home performance contractor for the pilot program for 15 single family homes located in the Columbia Heights community of the District. Groundswell is a program of The DC Project, a recently launched non-profit that connects and empowers communities to secure a sustainable future shared by all. The program works with community leaders from across the city to ensure that the clean energy economy will direct economic opportunities to D.C. businesses and residents from impoverished communities. The team will be performing Building Performance Institute standard audit reports for each property detailing findings & recommendations in areas ranging from Air-sealing, Insulation, Lighting Retrofits, windows, doors and ventilation.
Advisory Services
Calvary Place, Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C.
UrbanMatters served as the development advisor, completing a feasibility analysis for the redevelopment of the Casa Del Pueblo/Calvary United Methodist Church in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The redevelopment plan resulted in a planned apartment building community concept providing 79 studio units of permanent supportive housing. The 25,000 square foot Church has a number of significant historic elements and suffers from decades of deferred maintenance. The feasibility study analyzed all aspects of the adaptive re-use of the property, including environmental, design/use, structural, financial and programming scenarios. UrbanMatters prepared grant proposals securing approximately $190,000 funds of Neighborhood Investment Funds from the District of Columbia’s Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
Covenant Center, Bellevue, Washington, D.C.
As development advisor to the Covenant Full Potential Development Center (“Center”), UrbanMatters managed the planning and feasibility analysis for the adaptive re-use of the vacant educational building abutting the Covenant Baptist Church. The Center and Church were in need of technical assistance to transform a vision of affordable housing and life skills programming into a viable development plan. The redevelopment plan proposed replacement of the existing building with a new three, story structure featuring 30 units of independent senior housing, up to 6,200 square feet of programming and education space for the Center, sustainable green areas and intergenerational activities. This project will serve as the platform for the Center’s vision of expanding the success of its ministries and outreach programming in the Bellevue neighborhood of the District. UrbanMatters secured a $245,000 Neighborhood Investment Fund Grant for this study.
Southern Avenue/South Capitol Street, SW, Bellevue, Washington, D.C.
UrbanMatters secured a planning grant to analyze the redevelopment potential for the South Capitol/Southern Ave, SE/SW/Ward # 8 intersection where the Federal and DC governments control 25+ acres of underutilized land that could be developed into a gateway retail and housing complex in one of the most impoverished sections of DC that also serves as a major point of entry to the city from Prince George’s County, Maryland. The site is less than 3 miles from the new National Harbor development and has the potential to galvanize the gateway entrance for the District.
Southeast Children’s Fund, Inc., Washington Highlands, Washington, D.C.
UrbanMatters led an analysis for redeveloping the sites into a state-of-the-art childcare/early learning center. The project consists of the feasibility and analysis opportunities for redevelopment of three sites owned by the Southeast Children’s Fund, Inc. (“SCFâ€) in the Washington Highlands are in the Southwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. From these sites, SCF operates one of the District’s largest and most successful childcare and early learning centers as well as provides training opportunities for individuals seeking a career in childcare. SCF’s goals is to become a catalyst for revitalization in the Washington Highlands community and operating out of a modern facility, serve as an anchor focusing on childcare, education, family health and wellness.