The Montgomery Housing Partnership marked the reopening and official re-welcoming of residents last Friday to a renovated affordable apartment building the group bought in 2016 at 515 Thayer Ave., the organization announced.
The $21 million project entailed a complete renovation of each apartment, with new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, and individual HVAC systems in a building that had been built in 1951, but never updated.
The project also included renovating areas including the lobby, business center, management office, elevators and others, the partnership said.
“This comes at a time when we are seeing an incredible need for affordable housing throughout the region, especially given the rising costs of living due to inflation and escalating interest rates,” MHP President Robert Goldman said in a press release. “At MHP, we work hard to preserve and increase access to quality affordable housing, and we are grateful to the many partners who have made this project possible.”
The 55-unit building includes 31 one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom units and one four-bedroom apartment. Three of these apartments are priced for tenants with incomes at 15% of the area median income, five units priced at 50% of AMI, and 40 units priced at 60% of AMI.
Montgomery County provided a $6 million Housing Initiative Funding loan in 2021 to support the property’s renovation, with seven other organizations also providing funding.
“Our approach is to protect, preserve and produce dedicated affordable housing—protecting tenants from displacement while we produce needed new affordable units,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a separate release. “At 515 Thayer, we are protecting tenants from displacement and preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing before it was lost to rising rents.”
Photos of renovated lobby and example kitchen courtesy MHP
