In today’s rundown: The impact of the economy on the local housing market has an upside for some residents as a luxury condo building is turned into affordable housing. | Is the marginalization of sex workers contributing to the HIV epidemic? | And how local nonprofits and causes may benefit from a new website.
— Originally intended for luxury condos, a downtown Silver Spring building is being converted into affordable housing after sitting empty for over a year. The Argent on Blair Mill Road will open next month. During construction, condos in the building — which was supposed to open in 2009 — were expected to sell for $300,000 or more. Now, monthly rent will range from $842 to $1,272. Click here for more details.
— How can we respond to the HIV epidemic both locally and abroad if sex workers are marginalized? That’s the question Aziza Ahmed is asking on the Open Democracy blog. Ahmed, who works to educate sex workers, says some laws and attitudes impede access to health services for sex workers.
— Earlier this week, TBD.com, a local news website, was launched. TBD is being called a blueprint for other online news sites because of the amount of community participation involved. The Social Citizens blog says this could be beneficial for nonprofits and causes, in particular.
