Despite a residential real estate development boom throughout the District, the city is not attracting families with children to its revitalized neighborhoods, according to a survey released today.
The District’s focus on mixed-use, high-density developments — coupled with a lack of investment in its schools and a decline in affordable housing — is steering families into the Washington suburbs, according to the report, commissioned by The Fannie Mae Foundation and the Urban Institute.
While Washington’s high-priced condos have been selling, the housing option isn’t popular among families with children. Developers added more than 2,000 condo units to the city’s housing stock in 2005, a 25 percent increase over 2004, and more than 5,000 units are currently under construction, according to figures from the Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership.
School performance has also driven families out to the suburbs, according to the report, in part because surrounding counties have far outpaced D.C. schools in investment.
Most housing booms are “primarily driven by the fact that those neighborhoods have great schools,” said Stacey Stewart, president and CEO of The Fannie Mae Foundation. “Washington’s boom hasn’t been accompanied by the strengthening of the school system. If we really want to achieve balanced growth, we need to focus on improving the school system.”
Fix the school system and developers will build housing for families in the District, said Margery Turner, director of the Metro Center at The Urban Institute. “Begin to show developers that D.C. can be attractive to families with children,” Turner said.
