Washington, DC: Affordable Housing

Report Summary: Washington, D.C., has a housing affordability problem—those that pay more than 30 percent of their monthly gross income on housing are cost burdened—and the District also has a population that is expected to grow, both with new residents moving in and older residents wishing to age in place. Mayor Bowser has long described the shortage of affordable housing as a citywide problem that requires a citywide solution, which includes bringing more affordable housing options to Rock Creek West (RCW).

In 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser set the goal of producing a net increase of 36,000 housing units within Washington, D.C.’s city limits by 2025. Of those 36,000 units, 12,000 would be set aside for low-income households. The District’s Office of Planning, Department of Community Development, and sister agencies are developing a Framework for Housing Equity and Growth that will lay out a road map for how and where new housing can fit into the city’s fabric. The number of units set by the mayor is based on an analysis conducted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) to ensure an equitable distribution of housing. COG’s analysis showed about 115,000 additional housing units beyond projected growth needed by 2045 based on employment projections anticipating the region’s growth by about a million jobs, thus requiring about 690,000 new housing units. However, only 575,000 are anticipated to be constructed. Although 36,000 units represent the housing shortfall specifically within the District, an additional 79,000 units would need to be built in surrounding jurisdictions, showing the regional nature of the housing crisis.

The mayor asked the ULI to conduct an Advisory Services panel to address the current challenging conditions in the Rock Creek West (RCW) planning area, which is one of 10 planning areas across the District. Rock Creek West encompasses 13 square miles in the northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia. It is bounded by Rock Creek on the east, Maryland on the north and west, and the Potomac River and Whitehaven Parkway on the south. RCW primarily consists of Ward 3 but also includes portions of Wards 2 and 4. Existing conditions, density, attitudes, and demographics in RCW will make incorporating a fair and equitable share of housing units more challenging than might be the case in other areas of the city. For the purpose of this panel assignment, ULI analyzed opportunities to create 2,500 new affordable housing units in this area. District agencies are currently conducting community outreach and further analysis to establish housing production targets for each of the planning areas in the District.