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A new project pitched last week would create more than 100 affordable housing units one block from the Benning Road Metro station.
An affiliate of The NRP Group filed plans to develop a fully affordable, 109-unit building at 4401-4435 Benning Road NE.
The location would allow residents to take advantage of the planned D.C. Streetcar expansion, which would add five new stops and extend the line from H Street to the Benning Road Metro station.
The building would have nine stories plus a penthouse. The majority of the units would be affordable to those earning up to 50% of the area median income, plus 22 each at the 30% and 80% AMI levels. Unit sizes range from studios to three-bedrooms, UrbanTurf first reported.
The property currently includes a vacant one-story office building, formerly a dentist's office, plus a parking lot. The redevelopment would raze that building and construct a 117K SF all-residential project in its place, with 13 parking spaces and other landscaping improvements on the site.
The development team, which includes the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, is seeking permission from the Zoning Commission to slightly exceed the height limit and forgo a rear yard, noting the property's northern end will remain open due to encumbrances from the nearby Metro station.
Other amenities include a 1K SF fitness center, a green roof, solar panels and a training and education space, according to the filing.
The building is the latest dense development to be announced in Ward 7, but others nearby will also bring new jobs and retail offerings to the area.
Cedar Realty Trust's Northeast Heights development at the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road NE was selected in 2020 as the future home of the 700-person D.C. Department of General Services, part of Mayor Muriel Bowser's strategy to bring more city agencies east of the Anacostia River. In May 2021, the development team secured financing to break ground on the first phase of office and retail, expected to deliver by the end of this year.
