The proposed expansion of the Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates on 14th Street NW — shown in a conceptual rendering included in a zoning submission to show massing, location and relationship to the existing building, with Harvard Street in the foreground — would provide an additional 159 units for low-income senior citizens. (Rendering by Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners)

In Columbia Heights, a planned affordable senior housing project gains support from local ANC chair

By Michelle Goldchain On Sep 5, 2018 Last updated Sep 7, 2018

Northwest DC’s Columbia Heights is one of the fastest-gentrifying neighborhoods in the country, but a new project is promising to add affordable housing to the area. The National Caucus & Center on Black Aging Inc. (NCBA) plans on expanding one of its properties in order to provide more housing for low-income senior citizens.

Currently, the 10-story building, known as the Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates property, provides 175 residential units for senior citizens. It is located at 14th Street NW between Harvard and Girard streets. The current building dates back to 1981, though it was substantially renovated in 2012. It is managed under the auspices of the Internal Revenue Code Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program.

The new building would stretch to 14th Street, altering the Harvard Street frontage of the existing structure, shown here. (Photo courtesy of Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates)

If completed as planned, the expansion — dubbed the Carl F. West Senior Estates — would provide an additional 159 units for seniors who earn no more than 60 percent of the area median income. To make room for this expansion, a surface parking lot behind the building will be eliminated. A two-level, underground parking garage with 81 spaces may be constructed, though doing so would require reopening the closed alley on Girard Street NW. According to the Park View, D.C. blog, it is possible that the addition will also include approximately 5,000 square feet of retail space as well as the NCBA’s main office.

Kent Boese, chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A, said he is already supportive of the project. “I see it benefiting the neighborhood because it’s adding housing — period,” he said. “So, what we have now is a surface parking lot, and I don’t see surface parking lots benefiting the city at all. What we’re doing here is we’re expanding housing where it makes sense.”

He noted that the proposed retail section in the added space will serve seniors in the building as well as the rest of the Columbia Heights community. He describes the area currently as “kind of a dead zone, commercially.”

Built in 1981 and extensive renovated in 2012, the existing building along 14th Street NW provides 175 residential units for senior citizens. (Photo courtesy of Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates)

The ANC 1A commissioners will consider the proposal at their Sept. 12 meeting.

The NCBA did not respond to a request for an interview.

Although plans call for a matter-of-right project that is consistent with zoning regulations, some have spoken out against the project. On Twitter, a poster for DC for Reality — a group headed by Chris Otten that describes itself as “anti-displacement [and] pro-equity” — wrote: “Just because zoning [allows, doesn’t] mean there [won’t] be adverse [effects] that should at least be evaluated in basic form and mitigated as best possible. This is the reality that a twilight zoning [episode doesn’t] always program consideration, unfortunately. But the ANC can raise.”

In response to this criticism, there have been additional shows of support. Greater Greater Washington founder David Alpert took to Twitter to ask, “Wait, is Chris Otten(‘s group) seriously saying that [an] affordable senior housing building that is 100% allowed under current zoning is still not ok?”

DC for Reality did not respond to a request for comment.

Better known as NCBA, National Caucus & Center on Black Aging Inc. has a mission of providing for the “physical, economic, social and financial wellbeing of low-income African-American seniors.” (Photo courtesy of Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates)

According to Redfin, the median sale price for the Columbia Heights-Mount Pleasant-Park View area has jumped from approximately $393,000 in January 2012 to approximately $625,000 in January 2018. With the increase in prices as well as the changing urban environment, locals as well as news organizations have wondered how long Columbia Heights, one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods, can maintain its dynamic mix of residents.

To some, the involvement of groups such as the NCBA offers the potential for more progress. According to its website, NCBA’s mission is to provide for the “physical, economic, social and financial wellbeing of low-income African-American senior citizens.” To do so, the organization provides property management services and housing construction assistance to other nonprofits. The organization manages, owns or has developed eight residential properties, totaling more than 500 units in Mississippi, North Carolina and the Washington area, according to its website. The group’s local portfolio includes University Gardens and University Gardens II in Silver Spring, Md., in addition to Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates on 14th Street NW.

On NCBA’s impact on Columbia Heights, Boese said: “It’s an overall benefit to the community. It’s always been a well-managed and well-run property, and I think it’s a benefit because it provides low- and middle-income housing for African-American seniors.”