D.C. Public Housing Unit Rises Again After Violent History

The quiet hallways with bright, mayonnaise-colored walls and tangerine doors at the Overlook are a stark difference from the once-dark and boisterous corridors of Parkside Terrace, the building's former moniker. Before city officials and developers poured $73 million into the building at 3700 Ninth Street SE, the neighborhood fixture was one of several public housing units plagued by drugs, criminals and violent attacks.

"This is a miracle," said the Rev. Everett Hackney, 76, one of Parkside Terrace's first residents when it opened in 1968. "We had people getting shot, robbings in the halls. A lot of us were hoping and praying for this a long time. Now God has made that hope a reality. For me, this building -- this is God."

Next weekend, Hackney will join 57 tenants and move back in to the building that he saw decaying around him.

There's almost nothing left of the old Parkside Terrace. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development terminated its Section 8 contract and issued vouchers to help residents relocate. Two years later, the last Parkside Terrace resident moved out. Work began on the Overlook in 2008. The building's columns, foundation and a portion of its brick facade are all that remain of the original structure.

Residents now have three acres of green space and access-controlled parking. Every unit comes with new appliances and high-speed Internet capability. Community rooms, a computer room, a laundry room and a playground are on-site, and developers plan to add a credit union with ATM service, hair salon, convenience store and health-care suite for seniors. For most of the day and night, security guards pace the halls and monitor the building's more than 120 cameras.

"This can really be seen as a symbol of revitalization for the neighborhood," said Gerald H. Joseph, vice president and director of real estate development for Community Preservation and Development, a District-based nonprofit group. His organization, along with Crawford Edgewood Management, a company headed by former D.C. Council member H.R. Crawford, completed the work. "It has impacts on individuals, families and the community. We built this kind of building to change live," Joseph said.

Union Bank, Capital One, Chevy Chase Bank, the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development and other government and nonprofit agencies helped finance the project.

"This signals the rebirth of a neighborhood that was neglected before," Crawford said.

The building's first seven floors, which have 181 apartments, are set aside for low-income residents 62 years of age or older. Seniors who qualify to live in the building receive HUD rental subsidies. The 135 one- and two-bedroom apartments on the top five floors are rented at a reduced price to low- and moderate-income families of no more than four people. Separate elevators and building entrances were built for seniors and families. One-bedroom apartments rent for $900; and two bedrooms, for $1,025.

Those prices caught the eye of Tantillya Samayoa, 25. She, her husband Fernando, a restaurant manager, and their 2-year-old daughter, Talise, moved into the Overlook on Aug. 1. The couple, who had lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Northwest Washington, started looking for new housing when Tantillya became pregnant. The stay-at-home mother feared that her family might end up in a high-priced apartment in an unsafe part of the city.

After weeks of searching for affordable housing, she found the Overlook online. Tantillya Samayoa, who is now eight months pregnant, said the building's amenities make life easy. She and Talise often visit the playground. "This is a blessing," she said. "I know not just anyone is going to get into the building."

Leila F. Edmonds, director of the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, said the Overlook offers Southeast Washington residents the chance to participate in the redevelopment of their neighborhood.

"The whole face of public housing in Ward 8 is being upgraded and preserved," she said. "We are trying to bring in people with high incomes as well as create affordable housing."

In order to apply to live in the Overlook, residents must undergo credit and background checks, said Carolynette Waddell, the building's manager. Any small infraction might cause the automated system, which makes the housing checks in seconds, to reject an applicant.

Hundreds of apartments at the Overlook remain vacant because almost half of those who have applied have been denied. Waddell's office has received 300 applications, and 162 have been approved.

Joseph hopes to see more development in the area. "This really lays the groundwork for additional change in the neighborhood," he said.

For Hackney, the building means a chance to come home. The Overlook's quiet setting reminds him of his first few years in Parkside Terrace, but that doesn't bother him.

"I don't care about the past," Hackney said. "In order for people to change their minds, you have to have something to take its place. That's what this building is."