Atonatl Condominium

This photo shows the front entrance of the building from street level.

Overview

  • Location: Washington, D.C.
  • Building type(s): Multi-unit residential, Retail
  • Renovation of a 1928 building
  • 10,700 ft2 (994 m2)
  • Project scope: 4-story building
  • Urban setting
  • Completed May 2008

The Atonatl Condominium project is a complete renovation of a four-story 1928 apartment building in the historic urban neighborhood of Mount Pleasant in Washington, D.C. The renovation replaces 13 homes that were damaged when the building caught fire in 2003 and remained unoccupied until 2008.

Manna, Inc., the project developer, is a nonprofit organization committed to creating healthy, affordable housing in the Washington, D.C., area. The homes in the Atonatl building are intended to be sold to families earning between 30 and 80 percent of the average median income of the area. Priced between $105,000 and $125,000, the condominiums in the Atonatl building are exceptionally affordable in a neighborhood where market-rate housing regularly sells for over $300,000.

Mount Pleasant has been known for many years as Washington's primary Latino neighborhood, though it is now considered "up-and-coming" and shifting demographics threaten to displace longtime residents. The developer's outreach to low-income buyers, along with the name "Atonatl," which evokes a Salvadoran national hero, are intended to attract buyers among current neighborhood residents and function as a bulwark against such displacement.

Environmental Aspects

As a gut renovation, the Atonatl Condominium project offered the opportunity to incorporate green building strategies more extensively than would have been possible on a more moderate renovation. Manna engaged a green affordable housing consultant to help prioritize the incremental costs of green strategies. Using the Green Communities criteria provided by Enterprise Community Partners, Manna focused on those green strategies that would offer the greatest benefits to residents in terms of energy savings and quality of life.

In addition to the low-carbon lifestyle afforded by the building's location within close walking distance of services and public transportation, some of the renovation's green features include:

  • Soy-based blown-foam insulation
  • Low-emissivity argon windows
  • High-efficiency mechanical equipment
  • Paints with low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • Reclaimed wood cabinetry
  • Low-flow bath fixtures
  • Energy Star lighting and appliances

Owner & Occupancy

  • Owned and occupied by Manna, Inc., Corporation, nonprofit

The building's first floor is occupied by 1,400 ft2 of retail space and a fully accessible one-bedroom condominium unit. The upper three stories are comprised of 11 owner-occupied condominium units. At least half of the units are aimed at buyers learning 60% or less of the area median income. Of those, four are targeted toward buyers earning between 30% and 50% of area median income. The remainder are intended for buyers earning between 60% and 80% of area median income.

Building Programs

Indoor Spaces:

Living quarters (87%), Retail general (13%)

Keywords

Integrated team, Training, Simulation, Green specifications, Operations and maintenance, Transportation benefits, Efficient fixtures and appliances, Insulation levels, Glazing, Efficient lighting, Benign materials, Salvaged materials, C&D waste management, Occupant recycling, Ventilation effectiveness, Thermal comfort, Low-emitting materials

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Case Studies Database provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's
Building Technology Program, High Performance Buildings.