929 Bonifant Street, Silver Spring
As prepared
Good afternoon. I’m delighted to be here today to celebrate the opening of The Bonifant, an affordable apartment building for older residents in downtown Silver Spring.
This project was definitely a team effort among federal, state and local officials. I’m proud to celebrate today with those who made it happen.
First, I would like to thank Kenneth Holt, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, which provided important assistance with project financing;
I also want to thank Nancy Floreen, President of the County Council, which appropriates and authorizes the Housing Initiative fund, a source of loans for this project;
We also very much appreciate Marvin Turner, D.C. Field Office Director with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which also provided financing;
And, I want to recognize NeighborWorks America for providing loans *as well as* Enterprise Community Partners for purchasing low-income housing tax credits for the project;
And most particularly, I want to acknowledge the two developers of The Bonifant:
I want to thank Robert Goldman, President of the Montgomery Housing Partnership, a non-profit organization that co-developed the project and is the long-term owner of The Bonifant;
I also want to thank Peter Gartlan, President of Donohoe Development. As the other co-developer, Donohoe provided critical design and construction expertise and assured The Bonifant was completed on time and under budget.
The Bonifant is part of a broader initiative to create more affordable housing for seniors as we continue to make Montgomery County a community for a lifetime.
In 2008 and 2015, participants at my Montgomery County Executive’s Summits on Aging identified rising housing costs as a top priority for action.
Montgomery County has partnered with private and non-profit developers to build new affordable housing apartments for seniors.
The Bonifant offers 149 units; all but ten at reduced rent for those with income below 60% of average median income.
There are nearly 800 more affordable housing units in the planning stage or under construction. Those are in Aspen Hill, Germantown, Silver Spring, Glenmont, East County and White Flint. We have more work to do, but The Bonifant is part of the solution.
This new building also is part of an exciting downtown revitalization project in Silver Spring. The Bonifant includes retail and connects residents to Metrorail, Ride On, grocery stores, shops and theatres – with access soon to the Purple Line. For many residents who might be displaced by local growth, The Bonifant offers an affordable housing alternative.
Finally, I want to thank the Silver Spring community, which showed its support from the beginning for the County’s proposal of a new library next to affordable housing. It’s exciting today to see The Bonifant as the bountiful fruit of our collaboration Release ID: 16-029