Baldwin House is creating an affordable housing cooperative and mutual aid hub for working class Washingtonians in DC
We bought an apartment building in Northwest Washington D.C. to transform into a visionary community space: an affordable housing cooperative and a mutual aid hub.
In June 2021, we launched an experiment: could neighbors band together and purchase a building put up for sale so that the community could control it?And over the course of two years of organizing and efforts from a huge network of supporters, we did just that! We are now the proud owners of this property, we now call Baldwin House, which is being transformed for the community, by the community.
We wanted to show that a community can come together to secure land and create community spaces in service of and governed by the people. But we did much more to make this a reality. We acted…
As decision-makers: This building will forever be in community control. Residents will have stable monthly costs and access to a community gathering space inside our mutual aid hub.
As an alternative to developers: Neighbors came together to back tenants to buy this building. Our all-volunteer team mobilized over two years to compete with a market rate offer to buy the building, building the necessary infrastructure to purchase a building in this system.
As an alternative to investors: Over 500 donors contributed over $600k in donations, and 15 people loaned money through our Community Fund.
Securing a Debt-Free Future for Baldwin House
We believe that housing is a human right and should not be tied to speculative wealth building. Unfortunately, that is not our current system. We launched the Debt-Free Futures campaign to decouple Baldwin House from the speculative, expensive, and prohibitive private housing market and create debt-free, affordable community owned housing. That starts with paying back our acquisition loan and securing a permanent bank loan.We plan to raise $800,000 in 2025 and need your support!
We raised over $1.7 million to make this happen.
Here's a small selection of what we've accomplished over the past two years:
| Form a tenant organization to have the right to purchase the building. | Done! |
| Negotiate contract terms with the seller. Sign the contract. | Done! |
| Fundraise $125,000 for an initial earnest money deposit on the building. | Done! |
| Fundraise $200,000 in financial support for current tenants. This supports their move if they choose not to stay in the co-op. | Done! |
| Mobilize an outreach team to continue sharing this project with neighbors. | Ongoing |
| Continue applying for grants for affordable housing, housing preservation, and Black-led organizations. | Ongoing |
| Secure financing to purchase the building. | Done! |
| Fundraise additional funds to support construction costs | Done! |
| Continue to organize future co-op members | Ongoing |
| Connect with other cooperative housing initiatives in DC | Ongoing |
Want to get involved?
We welcome your support! We are eager for people to:
Join our biweekly work days to enhance our outdoor space, canvass the neighborhood, and contribute to mutual aid offerings
Offer financial support, individually or through a foundation
Host fundraisers to help continue to make this project sustainable
Provide something else we haven’t thought of!
“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”
James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son
About us
We are a team of local organizers from the Ward 1 DC Mutual Aid Network, a grassroots, community-led effort to take care of our neighbors. We are all committed to creating more tenant-owned affordable housing and learning how to make it a reality together. We bring our full experiences and skills to this effort, including in organizing, housing law, housing policy, co-op contracts, grant writing, fundraising, event planning, design, and development.
We are also collaborating closely with experts on affordable housing in DC, real estate, contract law, housing grants, property management, and more. We are grateful for their support in moving this project forward.Our collaborators:
| Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) | Lender |
| North American Students of Cooperation | Fiscal sponsor |
| Beloved Community Incubator | Legal advisors |
| Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community | Mentors and inspirers |
| Howard Fair Housing Clinic | Legal advisors |
| Mi Casa | Development consultants |
| Page Southerland Page | Architect consultants |
| UDC Community Development Law Clinic | Legal advisors |
| Embolden Real Estate | Development consultant |
| Studio Lyew & EMOTIVE Architecture | Project design team |
How to Donate
Help make Baldwin House's vision of radical love and communal solidarity a reality!
Our mission:
Center communities that have been historically excluded from generational property ownership.Model intentional collective living and collective spaces that allows communities to safely grow, create, and thrive and provides an alternative to the cycle of displacement and gentrification.
Our Vision:
Learn and practice how to build concrete alternatives to commodified, displacement-driven housing by transforming a building that if sold would contribute to gentrification, cause significant harms to resident wellbeing, and create a cultural loss for the community.
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