National Urban League Centennial Conference Online: Promotes Economic Development

July 28, 2010

The National Urban League’s Centennial Celebration is taking place in Washington, DC, July 28-31. I’m watching the online stream of the conference and feel empowered. The conference has brought together some of the “leading business, community, and political figures” in the African American community. I am excited to see that the focus has shifted to promoting strong economic development.

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Buyer’s Remorse: A D.C. law helped tenants become owners. But it didn’t fix the sink.

May 21, 2010

Buyer’s Remorse: A D.C. law helped tenants become ownersFrom the outside, the humble brick three story at 1333 Peabody Street NW looks like most other aging apartment buildings in Brightwood. A number of the ancient single-pane windows are cracked. Inside, carpets are musty, paint is bubbling, and fixtures are coming loose.

“The kitchen areas, the bathroom areas, are urgent,” says resident Robert Adejayan, ticking off the needed fixes. “The windows, the pipes—it’s a whole bunch of little things.”

The renovations were supposed to have been done by now, he says. But residents can’t blame the landlord for neglect. That’s because they bought him out.

When the previous owner tried to sell the building to a condo developer in 2007, the residents exercised their rights under D.C.’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and bought it for $847,000. The money came from a 40-year, two-percent-interest loan from the city’s Housing Production Trust Fund, a pot administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

Read the full article at WashingtonCityPaper.com »

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Quick Links – May 10, 2010

May 10, 2010

Community Economic Development #ced2

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