Montgomery County Supports Preservation of Affordable Housing at 515 Thayer Ave. in Silver Spring

Per Montgomery County:
For Immediate Release: Friday, May 27, 2022
The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) participated in financing to support preservation and renovation of 55 naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) apartments at 515 Thayer Ave. in Silver Spring. MHP, a nonprofit developer headquartered in Silver Spring, acquired the apartment property in 2016 to preserve the affordable rental community and recently completed a full renovation. A grand reopening celebration for the project was held today.

“Our approach is to Protect, Preserve and Produce dedicated affordable housing – protecting tenants from displacement while we produce needed new affordable units,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “At 515 Thayer, we are protecting tenants from displacement and preserving NOAH housing before it was lost to rising rents. In FY22, the County committed $69 million in low-cost loans to support long-term control of rents on over 1,200 units, including preserving 627 units in 11 properties and producing 587 new units in six properties—which includes repurposed office buildings and on church-owned land.  To protect more tenants and produce even more affordable housing, I recommended, and Council approved, $140 million for affordable housing, with $100 million of that for capital lending—two-and-a-half-times previous budgets.  We have dedicated at least $40 million of that capital lending to preserve affordability of up to 700 units facing increasing rent pressures, including properties near transit like the Purple Line.”

The County provided a $6 million HIF loan in 2021 to support the recapitalization and full renovation of the property.

The HIF loan provided by Montgomery County supports income-restricted affordability for 48 of the 55 apartment units, i.e., three housing units priced for tenants with incomes at 15 percent of the area median income (AMI); five units priced at 50 percent of the AMI; and 40 units priced at 60 percent of the AMI. The property includes 31 one-bedroom units; 23 two-bedroom units; and one four-bedroom unit.

Other project financing was provided by Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, LLC; the State of Maryland Community Development Administration; Citi; Freddie Mac Multifamily; Enterprise Housing Credit Investments; LLC; Kaiser Permanente; NeighborWorks America and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. The total investment from private and public funds was $21 million.

515 Thayer Ave. is located near the Metropolitan Park Trail walking and bike paths to the existing Metro. It is in close proximity to the future Purple Line light rail.

“DHCA continues working with affordable housing developers to protect tenants, preserve our existing affordable housing and produce new affordable housing,” said Aseem K. Nigam, director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs. “This effort at 515 Thayer preserved affordable housing in the Purple Line corridor, which is important.”

The in-unit renovations included new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and individual HVAC systems. The project also included renovation of common and exterior areas such as the lobby, business center, management office, elevators and more.

Montgomery County is applying every available policy tool and financial resource to help reduce housing cost burdens by increasing the number of affordable, rent-regulated housing units; providing rent supports; and preserving current affordable housing while protecting tenants from displacement.

For other recent news about affordable housing in Montgomery County, see:

• Montgomery County Supports Preservation of Affordable Housing at Snowden’s Ridge
• Montgomery County Supports Innovative Transformation of Office Complex Into ‘Sandy Spring Village’ Affordable Housing for Seniors
• Montgomery County Supports Affordable Housing to be Built Adjacent to St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Damascus
• Montgomery County Supports Affordable Housing for Seniors at Silver Creek Senior Living Apartments
• Sites Available for Affordable Housing Development

For more information on Montgomery County’s housing program, see the DHCA Annual Report.