Posts by Nena Perry-Brown — Editorial Board
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Why privatization has become the public housing solution du jour
Here is how the public sector shifted responsibility for offering “a decent home and a suitable living environment” for low-income families back to the private sector. Keep reading…
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How public housing was destined to fail
While the US public housing system may have started off with the intention of providing quality homes to low income and vulnerable populations, those efforts were quickly dashed by how the program was created and managed. Keep reading…
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Greenleaf residents are left on edge as build-first redevelopment plan falls apart
The DC Housing Authority selected a co-development team including Pennrose, EYA and Bozzuto, in November 2020, to redevelop the 15-acre Greenleaf Gardens housing community in Southwest. DCHA’s 180-day negotiation period with the co-development team is now in its last trimester. At this point, both of the build-first options previously identified for the redevelopment of Greenleaf Gardens are in doubt, and the powers that be are pushing for a different approach. What happened? Keep reading…
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Barry Farm redevelopment illustrates how far DCHA still has to go
Although the DC Housing Authority’s (DCHA) redevelopment of Southwest’s Greenleaf Gardens community is starting off with some promising signs of transparency, the agency is still leaving a lot to be desired when it comes to the plans for some of the other public housing developments under its purview. One of the more obvious examples is just two miles, or two Metro stops, away, in Barry Farm, from which over a hundred households have already been scattered and left wanting for more input on what will happen next. Keep reading…
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A chance to do things differently? How the Greenleaf Gardens redevelopment plan could fulfill its goals.
Last November, the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) selected a co-developer for its planned redevelopment of Southwest’s Greenleaf Gardens community and embarked upon a precedent-setting approach to engaging Greenleaf Gardens residents. Now, DCHA has brought that co-development team into its first meetings with residents and stakeholders to explain the proposal that so inspired confidence in DCHA’s selection committee. Here’s what that proposal entails and how it relates to what DCHA required in its request for proposals (RFP). Keep reading…
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The DC Housing Authority finally has a possible co-developer for Greenleaf Gardens. Here’s how it happened.
In October, the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 against the agency commencing negotiations with their preferred co-developer for Greenleaf Gardens. By that following month, however, the Board voted 5-4 in favor, enabling the agency to move forward with the Exclusive Right to Negotiate (ERN) with that co-developer. What made the difference? Here’s how the redevelopment process went from conceptual to doable. Keep reading…
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The DC Housing Authority picked a Greenleaf Gardens co-developer, but its oversight board shot it down. Here’s why.
In April of 2019, the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) released a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a partner to redevelop the 15-acre Greenleaf Gardens public housing community in Southwest DC. Now, the agency has a co-developer in mind — although it will have to wait before beginning negotiations. Keep reading…
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How the DC Housing Authority plans to make public housing livable again
Decades of community mismanagement, inconsistent funding, and different directorships have left DC’s 41-property public housing portfolio in varying states of dilapidation. The latest DC Housing Authority (DCHA) administration has put forth a far-reaching plan that sets priorities for repairs, maintenance, and repositioning of various communities in hopes of salvaging some units and, for other units, offering their residents a better option. Keep reading…
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How has privatization of public housing fared in DC?
Since being the site of the country’s first all-Black public housing development at Langston Terrace Dwellings, DC has been one of many centers for innovative approaches to public housing, both through adoption and implementation of newer federal programs, and through initiatives led by the DC Housing Authority (DCHA). Here is how privatization of public housing has played out in the District. Keep reading…
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Why privatization has become the public housing solution du jour
Here is how the public sector shifted responsibility for offering “a decent home and a suitable living environment” for low-income families back to the private sector. Keep reading…