A campus street on St. Elizabeths East, Washington, D.C. — red-brick hospital buildings with tile roofs along new sidewalks, street lamps and young trees, the arena at right.

St. Elizabeths East, Washington DC

Buying a new townhome at St. Elizabeths East

New for-sale townhomes on the 183-acre campus at the Congress Heights Metro, and how to finance a home bought from a builder.

Get pre-qualifiedWhat can I afford?
What it costs here
$586K
Median house price · 28 sales
$493
Median per square foot

Recorded arm’s-length sales from DC’s assessment records, through August 12, 2026. Not an appraisal or a valuation of any particular home. Compare every DC neighborhood

Highlights

What's at St. Elizabeths East

New construction on a 19th-century hospital campus, with an arena and the Sycamore & Oak retail village on-site.

Pro basketball team huddle courtside with full crowd — game-night ambience (atmospheric; ESA itself not on Pexels)

The arena

The Entertainment & Sports Arena, home of the Washington Mystics and the Capital City Go-Go, is on the campus.

Sycamore & Oak

The campus's timber-built retail village has local businesses, food stalls and events.
The red-brick Nichols Building and historic water tower rising over the trees of the St. Elizabeths campus in golden light, Washington, D.C.

The historic buildings

Red-brick, tile-roofed hospital buildings are being restored around the new blocks, including a Whitman-Walker health center.

WMATA station with the signature coffered concrete vault — unmistakably the DC Metro, honest generic for the Green Line card

Congress Heights Metro

Congress Heights station on the Green Line is a block from the campus edge.

The Center Building of St. Elizabeths Hospital in 1938, Washington, D.C.
The campus's Center Building, photographed in 1938.

Transportation

Getting around St. Elizabeths East

DC Metro platform (Woodley Park) long exposure with train light trails and Glenmont sign
Metro
Congress Heights station (Green Line), a block from the campus edge.
Moody rainy-day US downtown street with route-29 city bus approaching
Bus
Bus routes on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Alabama Avenue meet at the campus gate.
Two cyclists on a shaded paved trail through lush green trees
Bike & trails
New campus streets, with the Oxon Run Trail nearby.
Quiet DC residential street in winter, classic Mercedes and trucks parked, DC plate visible
Parking
The new homes come with garages or dedicated spaces, and a few surrounding blocks are permit-zoned.

Neighborhood

Living in St. Elizabeths East

Schools, restaurants, parks, and shopping in the neighborhood.

The KIPP DC College Preparatory campus off Alabama Avenue SE, Washington, D.C.
Schools
Bard High School Early College on Alabama Avenue offers a tuition-free Bard College associate degree. KIPP DC campuses and Ballou High School are nearby.
Red PIZZA neon and yellow neon signage in a moody industrial pizza bar at night
Dining & nights out
Sycamore & Oak's food stalls on campus and events at the arena.
Leafy city park with winding path, flower beds, and people relaxing on the lawn
Parks & recreation
The campus's new greens and plazas, events at the Gateway pavilion, and Oxon Run Park's trails and splash pad to the south.
Bright library reading room with wall of bookshelves, light-wood study tables and lounge seating
The library
The Parklands-Turner Library on Alabama Avenue.
Colorful stocked produce wall: lettuce, radishes, beets, herbs with price tags
Groceries
Giant on Alabama Avenue and Lidl at Skyland Town Center.
Georgetown M Street NW brick storefront row with flower baskets and pedestrians
On foot
The campus has wide sidewalks, and the Metro station, arena and retail village are a few minutes' walk apart.

Next steps

Next steps by buying stage

Pick the step that matches where you are in buying a home.

  1. 01 · Still running numbers

    Work out what you can afford

    Estimate the full monthly payment, including DC property tax, insurance and any condo fee. The condo fee counts in full in your debt-to-income ratio.

    See what you can afford →

  2. 02 · Saving up

    Plan the down payment

    At St. Elizabeths East prices, the down payment depends on the loan program and the property type. FHA needs 3.5% down, and the whole down payment can be a gift from family.

    See what you'd need →

  3. 03 · Writing offers

    Get a pre-qualification letter

    Attach a pre-qualification letter to your offer. Pre-qualification takes about two minutes and does not pull your credit.

    Get pre-qualified →

FAQ

St. Elizabeths East mortgage questions

What is for sale at St. Elizabeths East?
The campus's for-sale housing to date is District Towns: 88 new fee-simple townhomes on Sycamore Drive near Alabama Avenue SE, within walking distance of the Congress Heights Metro. Some are income-restricted for households under set income limits; the rest are market-rate. Much of the rest of the campus is rental housing, retail, the arena, and parcels still to be developed, and for-sale homes are released in phases.
How is financing new construction different from buying a resale house?
The house has new systems and a builder's warranty, and the process follows the builder's schedule. You sign a purchase contract before the home is complete, pay a builder's deposit, and close when the home is delivered. The time between contract and closing affects when to lock your rate and how to handle a delivery date that moves. We plan the loan around the builder's timeline before you sign the contract.
Do I have to use the builder's preferred lender?
No. Builders often market a preferred lender and may tie incentives to using one, but you can finance with any lender you choose. Compare rate, fees, and incentives together before deciding. Federal law prohibits a builder from requiring you to use an affiliated settlement provider as a condition of sale. We can give you a comparison quote.
What does 'income-restricted' mean for the buyer?
A set share of the townhomes is reserved for households with income under set limits, in tiers tied to the area's median family income. These homes are priced below market and carry covenants that govern resale so they stay affordable for the next buyer. Buying one requires income certification, covenant review, and coordination between the developer, DC, and your lender. We handle the lender side of that coordination.
Can I combine DC buyer programs on a new townhome here?
Yes, when you meet each program's rules. An FHA loan needs 3.5% down, and the whole down payment can be a gift from family. DC's reduced first-time buyer recordation tax rate (0.725% on purchases up to $777,000 in tax year 2026) and the Tax Abatement program (homes up to $576,000) apply at settlement when the price and your income fit their caps. Buyers within the income limits can also apply for DC Open Doors (through DCHFA's participating lenders), which is open to repeat buyers, or HPAP (through DHCD-certified housing counseling agencies), which sits behind the first mortgage. Program timelines have to line up with the builder's delivery date, so start those applications early.
What was St. Elizabeths before it was a neighborhood?
For more than 160 years it was St. Elizabeths Hospital, the first federally run psychiatric hospital in the country, opened in 1855 and championed by the reformer Dorothea Dix. The federal government redeveloped the West Campus as the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, and DC is redeveloping the 183-acre East Campus into a mixed-use neighborhood with the arena, retail, health care, and new homes. The full story is on our blog.

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Local expertise

Financing a new townhome at St. Elizabeths East

Fee-simple ownership, the builder's contract timeline, and income-restricted homes shape the loan.

Fee-simple new townhomes

The for-sale homes on the campus are townhomes you own with the land. There is no condo project review, and the HOA dues are the only added cost in your debt-to-income ratio.

Builder contracts and closing dates

You sign the builder's contract months before the home is finished, which affects when to lock your rate, how deposits are held, and what happens if delivery slips. We plan the loan around the builder's delivery date.

Income-restricted homes

Some of the new homes are reserved for households under set income limits, with resale covenants attached. The loan needs income certification and covenant review, and DC buyer programs can be added.

The campus was St. Elizabeths Hospital for more than 160 years. Read how St. Elizabeths became DC's newest neighborhood.

Get pre-qualified for a St. Elizabeths East townhome

Send us the builder's contract or the floor plan and we will plan the financing before you sign.

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