As the desire to live in DC neighborhoods increases, many apartments are rapidly converting to luxury condominiums and are not affordable for low- to mid-income families. Limited equity cooperatives (LECs) are an effective strategy to insulate co-op members from the rents that are skyrocketing all around them; they also allow DC to maintain economic and cultural diversity across its neighborhoods.

One such LEC, the Cooperative at 1477, is a four story, 29-unit building located at 1447 Newton St. Built in 1910 in Columbia Heights, in the northwest quadrant of DC in Ward 1. The tenants came together to form the Cooperative at 1477 and purchased the property in February 2020.

If the residents had been unable to come together to collectively acquire their building, these 29 households would likely have been among those displaced. Mi Casa Inc is proud to have been a critical part of training and educating the residents so they had the tools they needed for acquisition.

This co-op is in an area where affordable housing is incredibly scarce, and unlike some affordable housing in DC that are in food deserts or severely under-resourced neighborhoods, the cooperative is in an area close to transportation, education, and grocery stores. Located off 14th Street, the building is located 0.3 miles away from the Columbia Heights Metro station and is within walking distance of several bus stops. The building is near several schools, including the well-respected Banneker High School, Sacred Heart School as well as Latin American Youth Center YouthBuild Public Charter School.

Their goal is to not only preserve the affordability of their homes but to maintain the building as affordable housing for residents in the long-term and for generations in the future.

Please enjoy reading the article below to learn more about the story of the Cooperative at 1477: