$20M Federal Grant to Help Redevelop 230-Unit Public Housing Site

WASHINGTON, DC-Eastgate Gardens, a former 230-unit public housing community in the southeast area neighborhood of Marshall Heights, has been given a new lease on life now that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a $20 million Hope VI Grant for the redevelopment of the property. The $20 million cash infusion is expected to generate about $73 million in private sector leverage to fund a more expansive Eastgate Gardens mixed-use development that will ultimately cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million, the District of Columbia Housing Authority’s Zachary D. Smith tells GlobeSt.com. Eastgate Gardens is the sixth property in the District to receive a Hope VI grant.

Situated on a 20-acre parcel at the intersection of Southern Ave. and Benning Rd., most of the former Eastgate Gardens housing facility was razed about six years ago. Now, plans for the multifamily property’s reincarnation consist of the development of 269 mixed-income housing units that will include 61 rental apartments, 108 home ownership units, and a 100-unit residential segment dedicated to seniors. The larger plan for an extended Eastgate Gardens community involves an expansion to encompass 250 acres that could include a school, among other mixed-use offerings.