March 16, 2012 | 10:04 AM | By

Luxury Condos and Housing for the Homeless in One Neighborhood

Gentrification has transformed Logan Circle into one of the District’s pricier neighborhoods. But even as some social service groups have moved out of the neighborhood, Logan Circle is still home to resources for the city’s neediest residents.

A foreclosed apartment building in Logan Circle has been converted into permanent housing for 31 homeless women. Nonprofit N Street Village has just started moving women into the building at 1107 11th St. NW, which features “wrap-around” services, such as counseling and health care. It’ll cost the city about $300,000 a year to run the place, while N Street Village will cover $100,000 in yearly costs, the Washington Business Journal reports. The nonprofit’s headquarters, which houses homeless women as well, is located just a few blocks away. And what’s being built across the street from there? Luxury condos.

The District spends upward of $110 million a year on homeless services, Swan said. Homeless advocates say the most cost-effective solution is permanent supportive housing, like Erna’s House. Public safety, hospital, jail and ambulance costs are all slashed when homeless people are moved from an emergency shelter to apartments of their own — perhaps by as much as $16,000 a person.

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