MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
On our 43rd year, we are here, standing with you, for the work ahead.”
AS 2023 DREW TO A CLOSE, our LISC DC team gathered on a noisy thoroughfare, on a frigid December day, with the wind slicing through our jackets. We gathered with neighborhood residents, DC leaders and agency heads, bankers and investors, and engineers and contractors to celebrate the turning of soil, the breaking of ground. The future was poised to arise on North Capitol Street and after years of waiting, we smiled into the cold, and embraced the next wave of community development – inclusive, affordable and green development.
Cycle House, a net zero energy efficient, solar powered affordable housing development by Heleos is at the cutting edge of how we need to reshape our society to address disinvestment, poverty, and ecology. While this project is walking distance to some of Washington’s most famous landmarks, another green net zero project is arising in a starkly different location that is far less famous, in Fairmount Heights, MD led by our partner Housing Initiative Partnership (HIP).
2023 was full of highlights of inclusive housing, in particular the realization of long-planned projects come to fruition. In 2023, housing included homes for seniors able to thrive in community (Housing Up), and communities for vulnerable residents in Assisted Living (Kenilwoth). We broke ground on housing for returning citizens needing a foothold in society after incarceration in Ward 1 (Jubilee Housing), and completed projects for first time home owners in Ward 7 (NDC). Residents in cooperatives forged ahead with ownership instead of displacement, and completed renovations to buildings that were overdue for makeovers (Aspen Street Cooperative).
The fundamental feature of our strategy is partnership with community-led visions, and in 2023, we saw so many levels of engagement, reflecting shared faith in the potential of communities long overlooked. The potential for inclusive growth in the Blue Line corridor is increasingly matched with funding and enthusiasm, and it was inspiring to share that insight with so many supporters in 2023. We also see that across the District, where years after a neighborhood plan was crafted, the support of the community is driving tangible change. In Anacostia and beyond, these changes honor the vision that prior leaders helped define in an era when dollars and hope were scarce.
I wish 2023 would have resolved some of the most confounding challenges left by the pandemic – budget shortfalls, businesses impacted by employment shifts, and chronic rent delinquencies, but we remain resolute to craft solutions with partners that deliver results in communities. As the year ended, reflecting on what gave us pause, and what gave us hope, we realized that there was one challenge we could take on – reconnecting with our partners. That’s why, in 2024, you’ve seen us out and about, in person. Our own internal mission we call Project 100 is to see the sights, the project sites, and gain the insights directly. On our 43rd year, we are here, standing with you, for the work ahead.
Sincerely,
Ramon Jacobson LISC DC Executive Director
OUR IMPACT STORIES
This year, LISC DC spanned the breadth of community development, supporting initiatives in housing, small business, climate resilience, capacity-building, social services, and much more. We deepened existing relationships while cultivating new ones and continued our regional expansion efforts in Prince George’s County, supported by our partners.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMEOWNERSHIP
First-of-Its-Kind Fairmount Heights Homes Promote Energy Efficiency
For 60 years, 717 60th Place was home to the first town hall of Fairmount Heights, MD, one of the first African American municipalities incorporated in Prince George’s County during the early 20th century. But when a new town hall was built, the land became vacant, awaiting a use aligned with its legacy. In 2023, Housing Initiative Partnership (HIP), a Prince George’s County-based sustainable nonprofit developer, broke ground on six new, net-zero, affordable single-family homes on the same lot in a fitting tribute. Fairmount Heights Zero Energy Homes will feature a microgrid and modular construction while incorporating a pocket park commemorating the significance of the landmark – which will be a featured stop in a local, historical African-American walking tour.
The six homes will be affordable to first-time homebuyers and will integrate cutting-edge green design while elevating the rich history of the surrounding neighborhood. The increasing threats of climate change will disproportionately impact vulnerable communities; the energy features of these homes promote climate equity and ensure that residents are resilient to weather any storm.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMEOWNERSHIP
Cycle House Apartments – Net Zero on North Capitol
In the Truxton Circle neighborhood, just a 10-minute drive from the U.S. Capitol Building, many lots and retail spaces sit vacant and underutilized. While the neighborhood faces a looming threat of high housing costs and displacement from nearby luxury real estate developments, one local affordable housing development firm, Heleos, is creating green, deeply-affordable mixed-use housing and breathing new life into a long-vacant site.
Cycle House will be a four-story, transit-oriented, net-zero building with 18 apartments for people at 30% to 80% of area median income (AMI). The building will also have ground floor retail space hosting a local D.C. business, plus room for bike storage. While the District is one of the leading cities in green housing, Cycle House is one of D.C.’s first net-zero energy affordable housing projects.
Although Cycle House broke ground in Winter 2023, many partners had been conceptualizing it for years prior. LISC came alongside Mark James and Chris VanArsdale of Heleos at the early concept and stayed committed to their vision until closing, joined by other financing partners along the way such as D.C. Green Bank. LISC often sees the vision and mission of projects like Cycle House from the onset and our early-stage capital allows the project to progress and receive later-stage commitments, such as tax credit financing.
6
mid-career professionals joined the LISC DC team, forming the fourth cohort of the Oramenta Newsome Community Development Fellowship
13+
Ward 8 residents were hired to teach skills to their community.
130+ Ward 8 residents were hired to teach skills to their community.
SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN INTIATIVES
2023 Newsome Fellows Support Sustainability Across the Region
In 2023, six aspiring and mid-career professionals joined the LISC DC team, forming the fourth cohort of the Oramenta Newsome Community Development Fellowship. Bringing a wide range of skills, community engagement experiences, and a passion for sustainability, each fellow was matched with one nonprofit partner to work on various initiatives. As we continue to face climate-related challenges, the theme of this year's fellowship was "Sustainability and Community Development." The nonprofit partners, located in both D.C. and Prince George’s County, included: Emerald Cities Collaborative, Mi Casa, Inc., The Capital Market, Jubilee Housing, Friends of Anacostia Park, and Manna, Inc.
Nagea Kirkley worked at Friends of Anacostia Park (FoAP), a local nonprofit dedicated to preserving Anacostia Park, as a fellow and she managed the FoAP Residency program where 13+ Ward 8 residents were hired to teach skills to their community. This ranged from cooking classes and biking for seniors to skating lessons and reiki healing sessions resulting in 130+ hours of community capacity building. Another fellow, Adia Reed, worked with Jubilee Housing on a business plan for its aquaponics farm as part of a new affordable housing development for returning citizens. In aquaponics, fish and plants benefit from an intentional ecosystem, just as this housing can nourish Jubilee’s inclusive vision.
The fellowship was developed in honor of Oramenta Newsome, who served as Executive Director of LISC DC for nearly 25 years. She dedicated decades to making Washington, DC an inclusive, community-driven, and equitable city that benefited neighborhood residents. With this fellowship, we are creating a lasting legacy and honoring Oramenta’s commitment to community development.
CREATIVE PLACEMAKING
The Turnip Tour – Increasing Access to Healthy Food in the Blue Line Corridor
In 2016, following the closing of the only full-service supermarket in the Central Avenue/Blue Line Corridor, a group of residents and relatives came together to start a community-based Farmer’s Market called The Capital Market. The closing of the supermarket created a food desert, a harmful yet common occurrence in historically underinvested communities across the DMV region and the country as a whole. This was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the fall of 2023, LISC supported The Capital Market’s newest initiative – The Turnip Tour – a mobile food experience featuring a series of rotating farmers' markets throughout Prince George’s County, connecting cultural heritage, food system advocacy, and local businesses to address healthy food access. The innovative, place-based approach increased accessibility to healthy foods by hosting markets at locations such as the Addison Road/Seat Pleasant metro stop – meeting people where they are.
LISC’s approach to health equity is holistic: we promote walkable communities with safe places to gather, access to healthy and affordable housing, quality education and healthcare, living wage jobs, and healthy foods. Our work is not possible without the leadership of our partners. The Capital Market is a foundational partner of LISC’s work in the Blue Line Corridor and our efforts to move towards health and wealth equity.
SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CNHED’s DC Community Ancor Partnership (DCAP)
Since supporting CNHED’s DC Community Anchor Partnership (DCAP) launch in 2017, LISC DC has provided $157,500 in grants to the initiative, supporting underrepresented small business owners in gaining the tools to navigate DC’s complex landscape. DCAP is a collaborative of local anchor institutions, such as hospitals and universities, that work to re-engineer institutional procurement systems and create equitable access to contract opportunities for minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs). Small businesses are a critical part of maintaining what makes DC unique and creating wealth-building and employment opportunities.
LISC’s 2023 grant funding allowed CNHED to invest extra time and energy in recruiting Ward 7 and Ward 8 businesses into DCAP and CNHED’s other small business programming. This support helped three Ward 8 and one Ward 7 businesses win subcontracts with Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center at St. Elizabeth’s.
During the fall, we attended the DCAP mixer - an event that celebrated DCAP’s accomplishments and the success of small businesses like FogHill Inc. which we’ve invested in through lending and grantmaking.
SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A Mobile Kiosk – Launching Dreams and Small Businesses
When the old 11th Street Bridge was demolished, only the foundation was left behind. The remaining pillars inspired a new effort to unify and connect Anacostia and Ward 8 with neighborhoods west of the Anacostia River that have historically received more investment. A new mobile, small business kiosk is advancing that mission as the bridge park takes shape.
With LISC’s early support, longtime partner Building Bridges Across the River developed plans not just for an elevated 11th Street Bridge Park, but for a way to ensure existing residents and businesses benefit from the new waves of investment coming to the area and are not displaced by them. Building Bridges recently released their newest Equitable Development Plan with specific goals developed by residents, and an investment target to match. To date, LISC has invested $77 million to help implement the plan, leveraging $600 million from other sources.
LISC’s efforts with Kaiser Permanente have supported Building Bridges to advance goals tied to small business preservation. In 2023, LISC provided a grant to help them launch The Bridge Spot, an incubator program providing eight Black-owned businesses in Ward 8 with exposure to customers across DC while receiving pro bono professional services tailored to their unique needs. Over the past year, each business had the opportunity to utilize a mobile kiosk to showcase products and services at venues with high customer traffic such as the National Pride Festival, historic Eastern Market, and the Downtown Holiday Market.
SERVICES
Supporting SAFE spaces for Survivors
On July 20, 2023, LISC DC stood with government, nonprofit, and private partners to celebrate the ribbon-cutting for DC SAFE’s brand-new SAFE SPACE Crisis Shelter. LISC DC was the first funder of this dynamic project, and over its course has provided a $100,000 recoverable grant and $75,000 in HUD Section 4 grants, totaling $175,000 in investments since 2017. Funds were used for construction as well as for keeping service provision going strong during pandemic-related delays.
Since the pandemic, there have been dramatic rises in domestic violence. As a result, DC SAFE serves twice as many survivors every year—providing 24/7 immediate placements for survivors and families, often within an hour of a domestic violence incident. Their new 30-unit shelter will triple their capacity, allowing DC SAFE to house an estimated 750 survivors and families each year. The shelter is close to transit, grocery stores, and the D.C. courthouse—providing access to many of the resources survivors need most.
2023 BY THE NUMBERS
$32M
invested
square feet of commercial space
$210M
leveraged
affordable homes & apartments
OUR 2023 FUNDERS
Thank you to our generous funders for making our work and impact possible.”
2023 Private Sector Support
AMCREF Community Capital, LLC
Bank of America
Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation
DC Share Fund
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
Forbright Bank
HSBC Bank
Matt Josephs
Kaiser Permanente National Community Development Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation
Morgan Stanley
Wallace Newsome
Peck-Palmer Family Fund
PNC Foundation
Prince Charitable Trusts
Richard Snowdon
Peter Tatian
TD Bank
Truist Financial Corp.
Jon Ward
Wells Fargo
2023 Public Sector Support
District of Columbia: Department of Housing and Community Development
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
OUR TEAM
LISC DC Staff
Ramon Jacobson Executive Director
Bryan Franklin Deputy Director
Melanie Stern Senior Lending Program Officer
Victoria Meléndez Program Officer
Rylan Collins Program Officer
Ashley Rosado Assistant Program Officer
Maurcus Robinson Assistant Program Officer
Local Advisory Committee
Victor Burrola Vice President, Senior Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist Wells Fargo
Donna F. Grigsby Vice-President, Community Development Manager TD Bank
Jimmie Jones Vice President, Community Development Manager Truist
Ellen McCarthy Principal McCarthy Urban Associates
Alison McWilliams Executive Director Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
Gregory J. Melanson Senior Advisor ZRG Partners
Eartha Morris Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer Forbright Bank
Samuel Parker Community Development Consultant
Robert Peck Government & Defense Leader Principal, Gensler
Patty Rose Executive Director Perry School Community Services
Mike Schwartz Program Officer The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Richard W. Snowdon, Esq. Chair of Local Advisory Committee Partner, Trainum, Snowdon & Deane
Peter Tatian Senior Fellow Urban Institute