At Each Hurdle, Stronger Resolve

"Now I am," she said.

The mayor announced the award the next day at a news conference at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. In all, he said, the city would help fund 27 projects to create or protect about 1,850 low- and moderately priced apartments. "A safe, affordable home is a cornerstone of our community . . . a cornerstone of everything we're trying to do as a city," Williams said. "We're trying to move the city forward. But we've got to bring everyone along, right?"

Sitting shoulder to shoulder in the wooden pews, Thomas and Fitzgerald fervently nodded their heads.

Winning city money was supposed to help the loan application with the National Cooperative Bank, which specializes in affordable housing projects. The D.C.-based institution was considering financing the tenant purchase through its nonprofit affiliate and for-profit subsidiary. It, like most lenders, looked favorably on projects that had won support elsewhere.

But Alexandra Johns, a vice president at the bank's development corporation, called with some questions just before Christmas. She asked Lynch, the developer, why he hadn't conducted the usual engineering and architectural studies for a project of this nature. He explained that the previous summer, the tenants association had reduced the initial deposits to enable more people to join; the decision meant no money was available to pay for predevelopment work. Johns balked.

You've got to meet these tenants, Lynch told her. You've got to see the neighborhood, to understand what they're trying to do. The two set up a visit for Jan. 6, nine days before the purchase deadline. The president of the development corporation came, as did the bank's chief credit officer. They peppered the tenants and the project team with questions and toured one of the buildings.

But it wasn't enough. When members of the development corporation's loan committee met the next day, they decided that the deal was too risky. Unanticipated construction needs could send costs soaring. What's more, the funding letter from the city seemed tentatively worded. Committee members feared the $2 million in financing could fall through.

Lynch listened calmly to all the objections, Johns recalled. He quickly secured a new letter from the D.C. government, stressing the city's strong commitment. And he said that if costs climbed during the project, he would persuade the tenants to seek outside investors to preserve the complex as an affordable rental building.

On Jan. 14, loan-committee members reassembled.

They considered the U Street corridor, prices rising every month.

They considered the tenants, working toward the purchase for well over a year.

They considered the project team -- attorney Aaron O'Toole, from Georgetown University Law School's Harrison Institute; Manna Inc., the affordable housing specialists who were playing a supporting role; and Lynch, the former Olympic gymnast whose office was just a few blocks away from Capital Manor, whose portfolio was dominated by projects that guaranteed poor people a place to live. Because the budget was so tight, Lynch had cut his fee by 20 percent.