With Support from Mi Casa Inc, Kara House Cooperative in Columbia Heights Neighborhood Still Strong 5 Years After Renovation

 

The tenants of 1498 Spring Place NW received an offer of sale from the owner in early 2005. The building is located within walking distance of the Columbia Heights metro station and the neighborhood’s amenities. The fast growing development on 14th Street, around the Tivoli Theater and Columbia Heights metro station, was pushing property values to unprecedented highs. As a result, many lower-income residents in the area were being forced from the neighborhood. This drove the tenants of 1498 Spring Place NW to pursue the purchase of their property. Upon receiving the offer of sale, they retained a lawyer, formed an association and hired Mi Casa, Inc. as their development consultant.

During the predevelopment process, the tenants decided to purchase and develop their building as a limited-equity cooperative, and applied for funding to DHCD’s First Right to Purchase Program (FRPP). The FRPP provides acquisition funding to tenants under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA) act. The racial and ethnic composition of the tenants consists of recent immigrants from francophone Africa and Latin America, almost all of them fall within the very low- and low-income category.

The Kara House building was constructed around the 1920s. Kara House is named after an oasis in Togo, Africa from which many co-op members hail. It is a 10-unit walk up building with a mix of efficiencies, 1 Bedroom, 2 Bedroom, and a 3-bedroom units. It consists of two stories and a basement where the laundry room and community room are located.

The Kara House story is one of a quick win followed by a long process of faith and hard work. After tenants learned the landlord planned to sell the building, they quickly organized and formed the Kara House Tenant Association. Within a year, under DC’s TOPA law, they acquired 1498 Spring St NW and formed a limited equity co-op. As members prepared to rehab the building, the 2008 financial crisis hit, knocking financing options off the table, some feared for good. The co-op stayed the course — meeting frequently, building a governance structure, and seeking and offering counsel—with an unshakeable faith that things would ultimately improve. Eight years later all the hard work paid off; renovation financing came through in 2015. As development consultant, Mi Casa supported the co-op in securing construction funding, and assembling a renovation team to modernize and upgrading building systems, envelop and units. The process allowed residents, who describe themselves as like family, to return to beautiful, newly improved homes. After organizing and purchasing their building in 2005, the board has worked tirelessly to create safe, livable affordable housing through the renovation of their building. For decades, the previous owner had neglected building conditions, leaving it in a dismal state. This neglect, combined with the rapid loss of affordable housing in the DC metropolitan area motivated the Cooperative to purchase the building and convert it into affordable, tenant-owned housing in order to control, stabilize, and improve the quality of resident’s lives.

The scope of the work included roof replacement, new kitchens and bathroom, HVAC system in each unit and the complete renovation of the basement which now includes a community room for the members. The building’s existing character was preserved and enhanced through the new interior color scheme and refurbished marble stairs. The renovations also provided for ADA accommodations, including one ADA accessible unit an exterior accessible ramp with metal handrails and chair lift. Monthly carrying charges remained affordable to these low and very-low income households.

 

 

After a year, the residents of Kara House Cooperative finally returned home in November 2016 and celebrated the hard work that made this dream a reality. At Kara House, residents are like a family—neighbors look out for each other and celebrate milestones together.

Mi Casa has been working with the cooperative as their development consultant and assisted them from acquisition of the building through the TOPA process in 2005 to the rehabilitation of the building in 2016. Starting from 2017, Mi Casa began assisting the Cooperative with technical assistance and asset management services. The Board with the help of Mi Casa accomplished several milestones after the rehab was completed. These include renovation of the basement unit to create a community center, on-site manager office, and two bathrooms. The other additional milestone is the installation of 6 surveillance cameras around the building to ensure safety and security of residents. Currently, the board is working with Mi Casa to take advantage of the current historically low interest rate by refinancing the building with the intention of getting some cash out to invest in the much needed waterproofing of the entire perimeter of the building. Despite the impact of COVID-19 on some residents who lost employment, the Kara House community is still paying their mortgage in time and covering all its operational expenses without stopping keeping some funds aside for future capital replacement.

 

 

About the Author of this Blog Post:

Zelealem Tadesse, Project Manager
Zelealem, a native of Ethiopia, joined Mi Casa in December 2016, bringing over 20 years in academic program coordination and financial management. Zelealem has worked at different higher education institutions in Africa and community based organizations in Maryland, USA. He holds a BA and MBA in Business Management and DBA with a focus on Finance.