The historic Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, at the corner of 9th Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW in Shaw, is set to undergo a $17M renovation.

A wall-breaking ceremony was held last week to help kick off the renovations, which will help preserve 84 affordable housing units for low-income women. Current residents will not see their rents increase as a result of the renovations, Curbed reports.

The ceremony was one of six events attended by Mayor Muriel Bowser as part of a day entitled “Scissors and Shovels.” Other stops on the Mayor’s itinerary included a ribbon cutting at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Commons and a groundbreaking for Archer Park, both of which include affordable housing units. The Mayor has made affordable housing a key initiative for her administration, with a pledge to set aside $100M a year to support it, starting in fiscal year 2016.

The Phyllis Wheatley YWCA building was built in 1920 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The renovation project has received funding from both local and federal sources. Dantes Partners, which was recently announced as a finalist for the redevelopment of the Franklin School in Ward 2, is the developer for the project. [Curbed]