DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act granted the 1400 Aspen Street Tenants Association the right to seize their building after a decade long fight. LISC, supplemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Preservation Loan Fund, provided $3.9 million in acquisition financing to the association. Since rising above the COVID-19 pandemic and buyout offers, residents in the building are now settling into their upgraded permanent homes.

In recognition of Black History Month, we’d like you to meet four organizations that, through support from LISC and the Black Economic Development Fund, are creating housing, employment and other economic opportunities in the neighborhoods that need them the most.

A healthy community isn’t just about access to high-quality, reliable health care. Individuals and families also need access to good jobs, opportunities to build wealth, and thriving, locally-owned businesses. Kaiser Permanente understands how economic factors can shape well-being, especially in communities of color that often don’t benefit from regional or national prosperity. Learn how LISC is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente to support locally-driven strategies that spark economic growth in under-invested places.

With help from an $8.5 million LISC predevelopment and construction loan, Cycle House in northwest Washington D.C. will be a first-of-its-kind green affordable housing development. The mixed-use, net-zero building with bike-friendly amenities is geared for residents at 30% to 80% of area median income and sets a high standard for eco-friendly construction in the area and beyond. Banner photo courtesy of Matt Telzerow

Fairmount Heights Zero Energy homes in Prince George’s County, MD, with help from a $1.8 million LISC construction loan, will develop six net-zero homes to be sold to low-income residents in addition to a community-serving pocket park, serving as a model for other energy efficient communities across the country.

Residents at Washington, D.C.’s La Unión Buena Vista are deeply rooted in their community, but it is a struggle to retain those roots in a neighborhood like Columbia Heights, where decades of gentrification have displaced many Black, Hispanic, and low-income households. LISC provided financing for the tenant purchase of the 34-unit apartment complex, as well as for immediate, critical repairs.