Lessard Group’s design for the Rhode Island Metro Station Mixed-Use Development in Washington, DC has officially started construction with a groundbreaking ceremony held on May 18, 2010.  The ceremony was attended by Washington, DC’s Mayor Adrian Fenty.  The project is a $107 million transit-oriented development that combines 274 Class A apartments with 70,000 SF of ground-floor shops and restaurants, and a new metro commuter garage on an 8.5-acre site adjacent to the existing WMATA red line Rhode Island Avenue metro station.  It is the first private project in the nation to combine FHA financing – typically used for multi-family – with the U.S. Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credits that typically are used for non-residential applications.  A smorgasbord of financing tools were used:  an FHA mortgage on the entire property through the HUD 220 program, New Markets Tax Credits on the entire property, a payment in lieu of taxes, and also private sponsor equity from the developer.