The D.C. Housing Authority and a pair of local developers will hold a grand opening Tuesday for The Bixby, a long-promised public housing redevelopment just a few blocks east of the Navy Yard Metro station. The complex will include more than three dozen affordable rental units out of 195 apartments.

It partially replaces the former Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg public housing development, which first opened in 1958 but closed in the 1970s due to crime and neglect. Although the complex reopened in 1981 as housing for low-income seniors, the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development awarded D.C. $35 million in 2001 to develop the site into mixed-income housing. In 2007, the senior housing closed and the complex was demolished as part of the current plans. An interim surface parking lot occupied the site for the next few years.

The Bixby represents the fifth phase of the entire Capper/Carrollsburg redevelopment, which covers 23 acres and features more than 1,500 units, including 707 replacement units for the old public housing. Because it has been a phased project, DCHA has previously opened replacement units at other nearby sites like the Capitol Quarter and Capper Senior projects to minimize the displacement of residents. DCHA says it has delivered 61 percent of the promised replacement units for Capper/Carrollsburg as of today. A spokeswoman for the agency adds that former Capper residents are being prioritized for the 39 affordable units at the site.

“Once that list is exhausted, there are other preference categories before they are opened to the general public,” she explains. “Currently, there are 22 affordable units available and 13 of those have been leased. The remainder will be made available to DCHA families next month.” 

Market rate units at The Bixby range from studios to two-bedrooms and will cost roughly $1,800 to $3,700 a month. Its affordable units are reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of the area median income ($108,600 for a family of four). 

Urban Atlantic and Forest City Washington developed the $54-million project in partnership with the city. As a co-developer, DHCA contributed 50 percent of the predevelopment costs and will own 50 percent of the affordable and market-rate rentals. The agency is redeveloping much of its portfolio into renovated, mixed-income projects.