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Entryway detail after rehabilitation |
Multi-Family Housing Rehabilitation - Affordable
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LOCATION |
Washington, D.C. |
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DATE BUILT |
1942-1946 |
|
DEVELOPER |
Community Preservation & Development Corporation |
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TOTAL # OF UNITS |
411 Affordable Units |
|
COMPLETION DATE |
March 2009 |
|
TOTAL REHABILITATION COST |
$48 million |
|
FEDERAL HISTORIC TAX CREDITS |
Approximately $9.6 million |
|
OTHER FUNDING SOURCES |
Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits |
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Garden apartments work well for residential redevelopment because they are located in urban areas with short commutes to downtowns and are usually situated on pleasant landscaped sites with ample parking. Because the buildings were constructed with floor plans consistent with residential use, the units are easily adapted and modernized. While not always architectural gems, many garden apartment complexes like the Mayfair Mansions Apartments are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
MacRostie Historic Advisors LLC advised the Community Preservation & Development Corporation (CPDC) in the rehabilitation of the Mayfair Mansion Apartments, a complex of 17 multi-unit apartment buildings that comprised the first privately developed multi-family housing project to be insured by the Federal Housing Administration for occupancy by black tenants. Completed in 1946, the complex is significant as part of a boom in garden apartment construction that occurred in metropolitan areas across the country between the 1930s and 1950s.
The project included the replacement of non-historic windows, rehabilitation of kitchens and baths, and modifications to meet ADA standards to accommodate tenants with physical disabilities. MacRostie Historic Advisors worked closely with the project team to develop a scope of work compatible with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, prepared and submitted the required documentation for the federal historic tax credit program, and secured the necessary approvals from the State Historic Preservation agency (District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office) and the National Park Service.