Mayor Gray Announces $100 Million Investment in Affordable Housing to Build and Preserve 10,000 Affordable Housing Units

Photo by PoPville flickr user Sager!!!

From a press release:

Mayor Gray Announces $100 Million Investment in Affordable Housing to Build and Preserve 10,000 Affordable Housing Units

As part of his 2013 State of the District address at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, Mayor Gray announced that he would expand his commitment to affordable housing in D.C. by spending a portion of the District’s “prosperity dividend.”

“Since coming into office, my administration has completed the construction of nearly 1,500 units of affordable housing and broken ground on an additional 1,700 units. Last September, I announced $35 million in financing to create and preserve additional affordable housing. But we have to do more. And that’s why tonight I’m proposing a major affordable-housing initiative that will invest $100 million in building and preserving 10,000 units of affordable housing. This investment, on top of our existing and other planned affordable housing investments, will go a long way towards ensuring we remain the type of compassionate, inclusive city we want to be.”

In his address, Mayor Gray also announced his intent to provide raises to District employees who have gone years without an increase – some as many as seven years – as well as create the One City Fund, a $15 million investment fund that will allow non-profits to compete openly and transparently for one-year grants of up to $100,000 to help advance key city goals. Additionally, the Mayor announced that he will work with his Education Cabinet to articulate a clear education vision for the District while also tackling procurement reform to streamline the way the District buys goods and services.

Read the full text of the Mayor’s speech here.