What a day! Today we got to celebrate the opening of the Park Morton apartments and that 15 former residents—so far—have moved back into their neighborhood. Many people worked thru a lot of challenges to get us here.

Here are my remarks from the ribbon-cutting:

Honestly, it’s hard to believe this is real. 

I’ve been working on this project, with all of you, for more than 12 years, since before I was elected to the Council, and many of you have been working on it longer than that. So many people in the community have poured their hearts into this project.  

This is exactly what we’ve talked about since the start—delivering beautiful, dignified housing to the people of Park Morton. This is an incredible accomplishment for the neighborhood, the Ward, the District. For affordable housing in D.C.  

But first, I want to acknowledge that the most important thing we can celebrate today is the Park Morton residents who are moving back to this site, including a dozen or more who waited it out at the site of the old Park Morton buildings across the street from where we are now.  

I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to hear from Dominique Satterwhite, one of the 15 current and former Park Morton residents to move into this building so far. Making sure that the voices and rights of Park Morton families were not forgotten in this process was always top of mind for me, and I know for many of you, as well. Maintaining that energy through a timeline that faced many challenges, including court cases brought by litigious neighbors, was not always easy. The result was a lot of residents of Park Morton did not get to stay in their neighborhood. 

The good news – great news, really – is that those folks, too, the ones who moved away, have the right to move back here and [many] of them are planning to and some of them already have! Making sure Park Morton families were not forgotten in this process was always top of mind for me, and I know for many of the folks here today. 

And the other good news – also great news, really – is that the court finally ruled last year that the city can move forward with hundreds of additional housing units at the Bruce Monroe site, many of them affordable, and a beautiful new park. I look forward to joining many of you over there for a groundbreaking in the near future.  

And while we’re talking about great news, let me add that the Park View Recreation Center, just a few blocks away, is getting ready for a $15 million modernization project. 

I’ve promised since my first term in office to build more affordable housing across Ward 1 and the District, and I’m excited to report that the planning area that includes Ward 1 has exceeded the housing targets set by the Mayor in 2019 by more than 50 percent! That is the biggest increase west of the Anacostia River. 

That is a true testament to the advocacy and commitment of the people of Ward 1 to creating more housing. We are the densest and most diverse ward in the city and our shared values and commitment shine through on housing issues every day. 

Both this site and the Bruce Monroe location are important anchors of this community. Getting these projects done is not just about the housing itself, it’s also about the broader prosperity that emanates out from here and helps support the whole Georgia Avenue corridor. 

I’m thrilled to see this great surge in affordable housing and amenities in the Park View neighborhood and seeing our long-term vision for the community coming to fruition.