Bucking Trend, N Street Building Becomes Affordable Housing Co-op – Borderstan (Washington, D.C.)

Victory, at last. That’s what the folks at Norwood Cooperative are saying. After years of organizing and millions in loans from the government, the Norwood tenants have finally purchased their building at 1417 N Street NW and have turned it into an affordable housing cooperative. The October 22 celebration, Huffington Post reported, included Mayan and Guatemalan fun throughout the day.

During a decade when housing for the non-upper middle class has become increasingly scarce in the neighborhood, the Norwood was an exception. The Capital Manor Cooperative on the 1400 block of W Street NW is another example of tenants being able to buy their building and turn it into an affordable housing co-op.

When one thinks of co-op buildings, it’s usually New York City that comes to mind. But there are more than 15,000 co-op housing units in the DC area, most in the city, according to the DC Cooperative Housing Coalition.

It is important to note that their are two types of housing co-ops: those that are market-rate and those that come under income limitations for the purchasers. For example, the Capital Manor buildings are in the affordable housing category while The Chastleton at 16th and R NW is in the market-rate category. There are several other affordable housing co-op buildings in the Dupont-Logan area, according to the National Cooperative Business Association.