A new development brings together 168 affordable apartments and 27 Habitat for Humanity homes in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC), Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland, and local officials recently celebrated the grand opening of Allium Place, an ambitious project that’s built on former county land.
“Allium Place is more than housing—it’s a foundation for opportunity,” said AHC president and CEO Paul Bernard. “By transforming public land into deeply affordable homes, we’re building economic infrastructure that supports families and strengthens Montgomery County’s future.”
With 85 large, family-sized homes, a future child care center, free high-speed internet, and a half-acre public park, the $96 million development tackles key housing challenges in the region, according to officials.
More than half the rental homes are affordable at 30% to 50% of the area median income (roughly $44,000 to $82,000 for a family of four). Habitat’s homeownership model includes zero-interest mortgages, with buyers paying no more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
“Allium Place lays the groundwork for generational transformation through colocating rental and homeownership opportunities,” said Jeffrey Dee, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland. “By creating this economically diverse community of homeowners and renters, we are showing families and, in particular children, that homeownership is possible.”
The community is named for Maryland’s allium flower, symbolizing the growth and flourishment expected in this transformative development.
Allium Place sits on a site once home to the offices of the county Department of Recreation, and before that a theater and an elementary school. In 2019, Montgomery County sought proposals to reimagine the property for affordable housing. As part of its commitment to housing access, the county transferred the land to the development team for just $2, prioritizing long-term community benefit.
The land value coupled with reduced properties taxes through a county payment-in-lieu-of-taxes and a loan through the county’s Housing Initiative Fund enabled the transaction to proceed despite increases in construction and interest rates, noted officials.
Capital One invested in low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and provided construction debt and permanent financing to help fund the project. Hudson Housing Capital was the LIHTC syndicator. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) issued tax-exempt bonds and gap funding.
“Today’s milestone celebrates the transformation of a former school to 168 affordable apartments with wraparound services for residents and a child care facility,” said Ed Delany, senior director for community finance at Capital One. “Allium Place is the product of a longstanding relationship between Capital One and AHC, and we are proud to have originated multiple sources of capital for this property.”
The design and development team also included Bonstra | Haresign Architects, Parker Rodriguez Landscape Architects, civil engineer Johnson Bernat Associates, traffic engineer Kimley-Horn, Harkins Builders, zoning attorney Lerch Early Brewer, and tax credit attorney Klein Hornig.
Habitat’s partners included DHCD, the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust, Sandy Spring Bank, WesBanco, The Harbor Bank of Maryland, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.