Jubilee Housing and King Emmanuel Baptist Church
In March, Cornerstone Fund President and CEO Maria Coyne attended the ground-breaking of the Jubilee Housing’s King Emmanuel Baptist (KEB) Project in Washington, DC. The Cornerstone Fund is thrilled to be one of the lenders, which is a redevelopment of a historic Black church, King Emmanuel Baptist, into 18 units of housing for justice involved individuals (people returning home from incarceration).
“Taking this historic church property and transforming it into something in service to the community really brings our mission to life,” said Coyne at the event. “We are so grateful to be a part of this effort, we are excited about the impact on the community and really appreciate all the parties involved.”
Jubilee Housing leadership feels the same way about working with the Cornerstone Fund.
“From the moment we met with Cornerstone, we recognized a shared sense of mission, values, and a deep commitment to preserving community,” said Jim Knight, President and CEO of Jubilee Housing.
“We were genuinely excited to get to know them and learn more about the important work they’re doing. When one of our original lenders withdrew from the KEB project, Maria and her team stepped in without hesitation—finding a way forward and ultimately serving as the lender for both the construction and permanent phases. That’s what Cornerstone does: they help finance the development of churches, and they do it with compassion, sincerity, and reliability—which I deeply admire. I’m grateful to know Cornerstone and honored to call them a partner in bringing KEB to life.”
The KEB project is adjacent to another Jubilee Housing development, Ontario Place, that is also intended to house justice involved people as well as provide housing for residents with low incomes. Ontario Place will have solar panels and include an aquaponics farm that will produce food for residents and to sale.
According to Jubilee Housing, “Ontario Place will be DC’s first aquaponics farm tied to affordable housing and workforce development. The farm is expected to produce approximately 13,000 crops per month, with a portion of the fresh produce used in the KEB community kitchen, which will serve Jubilee residents.”
Jubilee has been working in the Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods for over 50 years, with a current portfolio comprising 13 housing projects serving 1,000 plus people. The organization is steadily growing and has several projects in stages from predevelopment to construction.
Photos and artist rendering images courtesy of Jubilee Housing.