Mission First Housing Development Corporation

This afternoon, Bible Way Church and Mission First HDC celebrated the completion of The SeVerna, Phase I, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

These 60 beautiful new affordable units have been built on the site of the former Golden Rule Center in the Northwest One neighborhood, just north of Union Station. The second phase of this project will follow in the next year or so with an additional 130 affordable units in a high rise building on K Street.

Yvonne Williams, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Bible Way Church welcomed the crowd and the returning residents. She went on to describe how her parents, Apostle Smallwood E. Williams and Mother Verna L. Williams, the original founders of the Bible Way Church, had inspired the vision for this project. In fact, the project is named in honor of her father and mother, using two initials of her father’s name, plus her mother’s name: SeVerna.

A cornerstone in the Northwest One community, the Bible Way Church and its affiliate nonprofit corporation, Golden Rule Apartments, Inc., have been an integral part of the neighborhood’s revitalization. The SeVerna is a long-anticipated addition to the other beautiful projects Bible Way has sponsored, which CPM currently manages: Golden Rule Apartments, and Golden Rule Plaza.

This 60 unit new construction low income housing tax credit project (located at 1st and K Streets NW) is moving along nicely, with units expected to be available for leasing by the Fall of 2011. The mid-rise building and adjacent townhomes are designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, and are also a part of the revitalization efforts of Northwest One New Communities.

Friday, October 15 dawned clear and sunny, the perfect day to celebrate the groundbreaking of The SeVerna – a 60 unit new construction project located at 1015 First Street NW in the Northwest One neighborhood of Washington DC. These 60 units are Phase I of the project, to be followed in the next 2-3 years with an additional 130 affordable units in a high rise building on K Street. An added bonus, the entire SeVerna project is being built to meet Enterprise’s Green Communities Criteria.

Yvonne Williams, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Bible Way Church welcomed the crowd and described how her parents, Apostle Smallwood E. Williams and Mother Verna L. Williams, the original founders of the Bible Way Church, had inspired the vision for this project. In fact, the project is named in honor of her father and mother, using two initials of her father’s name, plus her mother’s name: SeVerna.

A cornerstone in the Northwest One community, the Bible Way Church and its affiliate nonprofit corporation, Golden Rule Apartments, Inc., have been an integral part of the neighborhood’s revitalization. The SeVerna is a long-anticipated redevelopment of the former Golden Rule Center site, and a striking complement to the other beautiful projects Bible Way has sponsored: Golden Rule Apartments, and Golden Rule Plaza.

Construction of The SeVerna, Phase I, is expected to be completed by the Winter of 2011. Thanks to collaboration between Mission First Housing Development Corporation, The Henson Development Company, and Golden Rule Apartments, Inc., a total of $15.6 million in development funding has been secured for the project, including LIHTC (9%) equity and construction-perm financing from PNC Bank, New Communities funds from the DC office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), gap funding from DC Office of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and capital grant funds from the DC Housing Authority (DCHA).

Construction is set to begin soon at the site of the former Golden Rule Center, located at First and K Streets NW. This development was originally constructed in 1973 to provide affordable housing for families making 80% or less of the area median income. The property encompassed a 15,000 square foot grocery store, 20 one-bedroom units on the roof of the grocery store, and 20 townhouse units. However, due to severe building deterioration, residents were relocated and the site was demolished in 2007.

The SeVerna is the long-awaited redevelopment of this site. Phase I includes 60 units of affordable housing - studio, one, two, and three bedroom units in a five story building along First Street, and a set of three and four bedroom townhouses more suited to families along L Street. Residents who were relocated from the Golden Rule Center will be among the first to move in. Phase II will entail the construction of 130 additional units adjacent to the first 60 units.

This development is one of the many contributions of the nearby Bible Way Church. Established in 1927 by Bishop Smallwood E. Williams, Bible Way Church has been a community anchor in the Northwest One neighborhood of DC. It holds the firm belief that the Church must address both the spiritual and the material needs of the people. Therefore, affordable housing is one of the oldest and most important ministries of the Church.

The “Golden Rule Society” was founded by the church in the 1930s, with a goal of helping those in need. It maintained the Golden Rule Resale Shop until the mid-60s. Following a modest beginning in the 1940s with small neighborhood rooming houses, the Church welcomed the opportunity to provide substantially more and better quality housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s low and moderate income housing initiatives which took shape in the late 1960s.

Bible Way Church's sponsorship of major affordable housing developments began with the 183-unit Golden Rule Apartments at 901 New Jersey Avenue, NW, which was dedicated in 1973. Golden Rule Center, now re-developed as The SeVerna, followed shortly after. The adjacent Golden Rule Plaza, which provides 119 affordable units for seniors, was dedicated in 2003. Future developments include an inter-generational building at 4th and K Streets.