The Appleton at Spring Flats Honored by the ACHP and HUD
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chair Sara C. Bronin and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday, July 27 presented The Appleton at Spring Flats in Washington, D.C., with the 2022 ACHP/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. The award was presented during a ceremony at HUD Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
This annual award recognizes a single project that has successfully advanced the goals of historic preservation, while at the same time providing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families and individuals. This year, the partners are bestowing two awards, as the award cycle has shifted from fall to summer.
“We applaud the partners behind The Appleton at Spring Flats, who have illuminated the vital role of historic preservation in ensuring more sustainable, equitable communities and in tackling the affordable housing crisis,” Bronin said. “Across all levels of government, we must commit to making it easier to convert and rehabilitate more older buildings for housing.”
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge agreed that historic preservation is key.
“Preservation is critical to community health and our work to expand the supply of housing across the country,” she said. “Everyone deserves to live in a community they feel connected to. Preserving pre-existing homes is one way to ensure families of all incomes, particularly people with low incomes, can access housing of their choice.”
Leila Finucane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Victory Housing, accepted the award on behalf of The Appleton at Spring Flats.
“We are honored to receive the ACHP/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation on behalf of the entire team,” Finucane said. “Spring Flats, a public-private partnership with the District of Columbia to redevelop a 3.3 acre site, included this endeavor to restore the historic but long vacant Hebrew Home for the Aged into The Appleton, an affordable senior community. Revitalizing this once-cherished community asset while fulfilling our mission to provide affordable senior housing has been a labor of love for Victory Housing, Brinshore, Banc of America CDC, Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners and Hamel Builders, and we have appreciated the support and input of the neighborhood community and all of our other partners along the way.”
The building now housing The Appleton at Spring Flats was constructed as the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Washington, D.C., in 1925 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After being abandoned in 2009, the development team of Victory Housing, Brinshore Development LLC, and Banc of America CDC in 2020 acquired the site via a ground lease from the District of Columbia.