Eluvial Enterprise, a Black-owned, woman-led real estate developer and brokerage, has received a $300,000 grant to build a 73-unit, multi-family development out of shipping containers for low-income seniors.

The project is worth $40 million and could be completed by 2025.

“I want to be able to show that we, a minority-led developer, can build a sustainable and affordable product for minorities,” Dabrielle Goodwin, president and principal broker at Eluvial Enterprise. “We also sat with seniors and talked with them to find out their specific needs and incorporate them into our project. This includes having more storage space, as many of the seniors are downsizing and moving out of larger homes, and they will bring a lot of their stuff with them.”

Eluvial Enterprise is one of 12 Black and racially diverse real estate developers from Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Tennessee that were selected to receive over $5 million to build affordable housing.

The grant, created through an undisclosed e-commerce giant's housing equity fund, will help Eluvial Enterprise support pre-construction efforts at its site in Washington, D.C.

Constructed on a concrete base, the building in North Brentwood will be made up of stacked 40-foot shipping containers.

Once completed, the project will serve seniors (55 and older) in the 30 per cent to 80 per cent bracket of the DC metro area's median income.

Eluvial Enterprise also announced its name — Mayola Village, after Goodwin's grandmother. And the company added it will feature the work of local artists, including murals.

“My grandma is my heart, and I want to dedicate something to her before she leaves this world. I want her to be proud of the fact that her granddaughter built a whole apartment building bearing her name. I also want the building to be part of my legacy that I can leave to my future children. But most of all, I want it to become a testament of our contribution towards providing Americans with affordable housing,” Goodwin said in a statement.