For decades, Montgomery County has led the country in affordable housing innovations, including a landmark law that requires developers to set aside about 15 percent of the units in new projects for households making less than two-thirds of the area’s median income, which is now $152,100 for a family of four. The Laureate goes further.
While for-profit developers built it, the controlling owner is a government agency, the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County. Because H.O.C. has a 70 percent stake, the Laureate sets aside 30 percent of its 268 units for affordable housing. Ms. Sylla, who makes $48,000 a year as an administrator at a biotech company, pays $1,700 for a one-bedroom apartment, compared with a market rent around $2,200. Depending on their income, other residents pay as little as half the advertised rate.
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