(Rendering courtesy of D.C. Government)

D.C. officials unveiled the city’s first affordable housing complex to include units specifically for ‘grandfamilies,’ or families headed by grandparents caring for their grandchildren, this Thursday.

The site, known as Plaza West, is at 1035 4th Street, NW and 307 K Street, NW, in the Mount Vernon neighborhood.

It’s 12 stories and 223 units, with 50 of those units reserved for families headed by grandparents making between 30 and 40 percent of the area median income. The other 173 units are reserved for families (not necessarily headed by grandparents) making between 50 and 60 percent of AMI. Eleven units are reserved for clients of the Department of Behavioral Health.

This development has been on its way for years, since the city transferred the land to a non-profit developer affiliate of Bible Way Church, Golden Rule Plaza, Inc., in 2005. The idea for the ‘grandfamilies’ units comes from a similar concept in New York, Washington City Paper reported.

The complex will include 9,500 square feet of outdoor recreational space, a library, a fitness room, and a community room, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. The 50 grandfamily units will be two or three bedrooms, and will have their own entrance at 1035 4th Street NW, according to Columbus Property Management, which is managing the property.

The opioid epidemic has led to a national spike in the number of children being raised by their grandparents in recent years. In D.C., about 1,000 families headed by grandparents need subsidized housing, the Washington Post reports.

“This is as big a problem as homelessness or anything else we’re facing right now,” Daniel Henson, one of the developers, told the Post in 2016. “I’m hoping we can be a model, and we can begin to address what I think is a major issue moving forward.”