Concerned about the pace and price of construction projects for the poor, the new director of the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development has shuffled staff, set strict building deadlines and made sweeping changes to how the embattled agency does business with developers.
Three managers have been removed in recent months and five new ones will be brought in to help overhaul the department, which oversees federally funded affordable-housing construction in the District. Developers will be required to have a documented track record, adequate financial backing and the ability to finish construction within two years.
“This is something that should be a no-brainer,” said John E. Hall, who was named agency director by Mayor Vincent Gray (D) earlier this year. “But it was all about, ‘OK — we have this money, let’s spend it.’ ”
To read the full article, click here.
