A project that will create the first affordable assisted-living facility in Ward 8 has begun construction.

Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated the groundbreaking Friday on Livingston Place at Southern, a 152-unit affordable assisted living community being developed by Dantes Partners and Gilbane Development Co.

The project will be constructed on the site of a former Chinese carry-out spot near the intersection of South Capitol Street and Southern Avenue, on the D.C. side of the border with Maryland.

The development team, which also includes Carding Group and H Street Community Development Corp., acquired the property in June for $5.2M. The team received $50M in bond financing from the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, plus $15.3M in Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity for the project.

It is one of at least three senior affordable housing projects that have been proposed in D.C.'s east-of-the-river neighborhoods this year. A joint venture of Gragg Cardona Partners and the Carding Group filed plans in March for a 155-unit affordable assisted living community in Deanwood, and Urban Atlantic filed plans last month for a 68-unit senior affordable housing project in Congress Heights.

"We are excited to deliver the first affordable assisted-living facility to Ward 8, ensuring that hundreds of seniors will be able to continue living in the community they love," Bowser said in a release. "Through investments in communities like [Livingston Place at Southern], we’ll keep providing safe and affordable homes for those who helped build this city and deserve to age in place."