• $32.5 million total development cost; 16-month construction
• 217 family/senior low and moderate income units; 33 UFAS and 5 ADA compliant units for the sight and hearing impaired
• Non Profit Owner contribution $42
• $22,301,800 Loan from Links with HUD insurance via the 221(d)(3) program
• $2,047,333 HUD Green Retrofit grant (Recovery Act funding)
• $1.1 Million DC Department of Environment grant
• District of Columbia Housing Authority: $6,879,083 replacement factor funds and 20 project-based vouchers
• Washington Gas contribution $500,000
• New financing structure extends affordability protections, due to expire in 2013, for an additional 40 years.
• Rehabilitation improvements: roof, exterior façade, HVAC, sanitary sewer, parking lot, elevator, community room, lobby, management office, common area halls, laundry room, life safety, security, laundry room, kitchen, bath, carpet, vinyl tile, painting. Green technology: LEED registration. solar panel, energy efficient windows, appliances and fixtures. The first all-gas multi-family building in the Nation's Capital with high-efficiency heating and ventilation; units individually metered for gas and electricity. FIOS high speed internet infrastructure
• 75 new job opportunities for District of Columbia residents
• Read more news. Download print brochure (pictured left).

Original builder and current owner:
First Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church
Housing Corporation, Inc.

Owner Attorney
Rubin, Winston, Diercks, Harris & Cooke LLP

Appraiser
Robert Wright

General Contractor and Design Architect:
Marous Brothers Construction
Supervisory Architect:
Arel Architects

Financing:
Links Mortgage Corporation
Washington Gas
Crawford Edgewood Management, Inc.
U.S. Department of Housing And Urban Development
Federal Mortgage Insurance And Housing Assistance
HUD Green Retrofit
District of Columbia Housing Authority
District of Columbia Department of the Environment

Gibson Plaza apartments located at 1301 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, was constructed in 1973 and named after the late Rev. Ernest R. Gibson, Sr., the Pastor of First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church and a well-known community activist. Gibson worked closely with the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency in his efforts to redevelop the Shaw community.

Gibson was built as a Section 236 project in 1973 and the affordability restrictions would have lapsed in 2013. The new financing structure extends affordability protections for an additional 40 years. Multiple Financing Sources Help Provide Maximum Leverage of Public Resources.

With the rehabilitation of Gibson Plaza, community leaders express their determination that Shaw will remain a place for individuals and families with a broad spectrum of incomes. “It will allow very low income residents to live in a rapidly gentrifying area,” Housing Authority Director Todman said.

That pleases the First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church Housing Corporation Board and its President Harold Gilliard: “It gives us all great joy and pride in knowing that we are doing something to help people who might otherwise be displaced from the Shaw community, and even Washington DC, if it were not for Gibson Plaza.”

In 1969, the Church accepted a resolution for the organization of the First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church Non-Profit Housing Corporation, Inc. This building was constructed as part of the effort to rebuild and spur redevelopment in this community after the riots. Additionally, there was a tremendous need for decent, safe, and affordable housing; the church began to determine ways to meet this need. The community wide effort was lead by Rev. Ernest R. Gibson Sr., Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy and Mrs. Marjorie Lawson. Since its construction, Gibson Plaza has been a prominent example of the church’s housing initiatives in the Shaw community.

Today, Gibson's church has boldly reaffirmed its commitment to this program and courageously ensured that this type of marvelous affordable housing will be maintained in an evolving and dynamic community, where economic development does not otherwise provide for such public housing.