Preserving Green Affordable Homes in the Nation’s Capital
John Johnson ; 2026-01-06 09:10:03
Before she moved to Fort Stevens Place, Maura Alfaro was living in cramped quarters. Very cramped. For 14 years, she shared a one-bedroom apartment with her two children, her sister, and her sister’s children. She was, in other words, a casualty of the Washington, D.C., region’s affordable housing crisis.
“It was very difficult,” Alfaro, 47, said. “My daughter didn’t have anywhere to play. I was always looking for a place to move to on my own, but with my salary as a custodian, I didn’t qualify for anything.”
Today Alfaro lives in a renovated two-bedroom apartment with her son and daughter in the Brightwood neighborhood of Northwest D.C. Her apartment is not only affordable; she is living in one of the most attractive buildings in this up-and-coming community.
Much more than easy on the eyes, Fort Stevens Place — owned and operated by Enterprise Community Development — is a prime example of green, energy-efficient, and climate-resilient housing.
A wonderful example of a home that's affordable and built to last.
Krista Egger, Vice President, Building Resilient Futures
On the roof is a 52-kilowatt solar installation. Because the nation’s capital is prone to heavy storms and flooding, native landscaping, permeable walkways, and bioretention ponds provide stormwater management. Trellis planters and tree cover help mitigate extreme heat.
Together, these features reflect Fort Stevens’ certification to Enterprise Green Communities and compliance with D.C.’s Green Area Ratio(link is external) requirements.
“Fort Steven’s green features — from ample stormwater management to new efficient heat pumps and solar — are investments that will make the property more resilient to fluctuating energy prices, rainstorms, and D.C.’s increasingly hot summers,” said Enterprise vice president of Building Resilient Futures Krista Egger. “This is a wonderful example of a home that’s affordable and built to last.”
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Climate-resilient improvements at Fort Stevens Place help mitigate the impact of heavy storms and extreme heat.
The 59-unit apartment building was built in 1953, and by the early 2000s it was showing its age. “Every time it rained, the building had big leaks,” said Marta Castro, a resident since 2014.
“The building had a boiler system with no central AC. It was not energy efficient,” says Riane McWain, senior real estate development manager at Enterprise Community Development.
Perhaps most troubling, the building’s affordability was at risk. In 2016, the then-owner listed the property for sale and many expected that the new owner would raise rents to reflect the rising prices in the area — even if that meant displacing residents.
Resident-led Preservation
The first step in the building’s rescue came when the Fort Stevens Place Tenant Association took matters into their own hands through D.C.’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act(link is external). The law allows tenants to buy the property themselves or assign their rights to a third party (such as a nonprofit or developer) who agrees to keep the housing affordable.
The residents listened to several potential buyers make their pitch, and in the end, they chose Enterprise to take over ownership of the building and handle its makeover.
“We came in and it was our mission to not only preserve the building, but to preserve affordable housing as well,” said McWain.
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"It was our mission to preserve affordable housing," said longtime resident Genora Keenan.
Genora Keenan, a tiny woman with big opinions about Fort Stevens Place, negotiated for the tenant association. Having lived in the building since 1974, she knew its every nook and cranny.
“We met with the buyers and contractors to express what the tenants wanted to see change. They had proposed a part-time manager, and we said no, we want a full-time manager, plus a maintenance person,” said Keenan.
An $18 Million Transformation
The makeover began in 2017. D.C.’s Housing Production Trust Fund(link is external) contributed $3.42 million to the $18 million total cost of the retrofit, with $5.88 million in financing from Enterprise Community Loan Fund.
Three thousand square feet of solar panels were installed on the roofs. Indoors, the old windows that made the apartments dark and gloomy tripled in size, allowing plenty of light to brighten the apartments.
The floors were replaced with vinyl tile and the plumbing and machines in the laundry room were updated. The transformation turned the former boiler room into a community space where residents can hold parties, yoga sessions, and even tutoring events.
In what McWain describes as the most complex element of the renovation, the team worked with a local utility company to upgrade the building’s electrical service.
The kitchens and bathrooms in each unit were renovated and updated with energy-efficient Energy Star appliances. Outdated window AC units were removed, and a new heat pump system added air conditioning to the HVAC system. Each apartment is now equipped with a digital thermostat to allow residents to control the temperature of their homes directly.
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Fort Stevens Place resident Marta Castro in her kitchen
Going all-electric has many advantages, including better air quality, lower emissions, and reduced equipment costs. And even though residents now pay their electric bills directly, their utilities are 25% less than what area residents pay in buildings without modern and efficient HVAC systems.
Castro says living at Fort Stevens Place is so much better now.
“The only thing I can complain about now is that my tortillas take longer to make in an electric stove,” she says, laughing. “But it’s worth it.”
A “Win-Win” with Solar
Galgallo Golompo is a clean energy development associate at Enterprise Community Development. He monitors the impact that clean energy technology is making on the 117 properties that Enterprise owns and operates in the Mid-Atlantic. Golompo says so far, the company is keeping its pledge to reduce energy costs.
He calls the $180,000 investment in Fort Stevens’s solar system a win-win for residents and Enterprise.
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Clean Energy Development Associate Galgallo Golompo checks the solar installation at Fort Stevens Place.
“Electricity prices have only increased over the years. When the system was installed in 2019, the price of electricity was about 10 to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, and today it ranges from 20 to 25 cents,” he said.
That means Fort Stevens pays about half the current market price of electricity for the units of power generated by its solar system. The result is significant savings on property operations — with savings expected to increase as electricity costs continue to rise, according to Golompo.
Investing Savings in Resident Well-being
The benefits have a ripple effect. Savings generated from the solar system help fund resident services at Fort Stevens Place. Resident Services Manager Cedric Diakabana says the money goes toward key priorities, including food security, health and wellness, and education.
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Resident Services Manager Cedric Diakabana meets with resident Maura Alfaro
With each new school year, Diakabana makes sure that every child at Fort Stevens Place has a new backpack stuffed with all the essentials. Last Thanksgiving, he provided turkeys to the residents and special plates for those who don’t eat turkey.
“I see my work as an extension of public service, connecting people to vital resources in their community. This brings me a lot of joy,” says Diakabana.
Sitting in the leasing office one recent afternoon, Diakabana spoke with residents Genora Keenan and Maura Alfaro. Fort Stevens Property Manager Alba Rivera also joined the conversation.
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Property Manager Alba Rivera in her office, conversing with resident Marta Castro
“I think residents really appreciate that I speak Spanish,” says Rivera. “Sometimes they visit me here just to chat; it’s like a family.”
Keenan remembers how the space they were in was once a utility room with cords dangling from the ceiling. Now, residents go there to pay their rent, request repairs, or greet the staff.
“At one time, people would say it was the most beautiful building on the street,” Keenan said. “And now, it really is.”
Tina Plaza is a writer, producer, and presentation coach, based in Washington, D.C.
Related Topics:ResilienceClimate Risk ReductionGreen CommunitiesEquitable DecarbonizationDevelopment, Property Management and Resident ServicesProperty ManagementResident ServicesMid-Atlantic