Anne Montgomery House, a Catholic-run community providing below-market rent to young women in Washington, D.C., closed its doors on Monday. The facility was managed for 10 years by the Society of the Sacred Heart, an international congregation of Roman Catholic religious women. Sister Diane Roche, the 76-year-old director of the home, cited the energy required to manage the residence as the reason for the closure.
The home served as a residence for early-career professionals, doctoral students, and fellows who found traditional housing in the city unaffordable. Located in Northeast Washington, the house was part of a broader trend of young workers seeking housing through religious organizations. The Society of the Sacred Heart owned the building, allowing them to offer rents significantly lower than the market average for the area.
Residents at Anne Montgomery House paid $500 per month for a shared room or $700 for a private room, fees that included meals and household expenses. In exchange for the low rent, Roche required residents to participate in morning reflections, share cooking duties, and commit to community service. According to rental platform Zumper, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C., is currently $2,250.
The day-to-day impact for the departing residents includes the loss of a built-in support system and shared resources. For those like Funmilayo Erinfolami, a space physics doctoral student, the closure means searching for affordable housing near her university while completing her degree. Beyond the individual level, experts like Ingrid Gould Ellen of New York University note that the loss of such "boarding house" models makes it harder for major cities to attract and retain young workers. This can have knock-on effects on the growth of productive industries concentrated in metropolitan areas, as high costs may prevent entry-level talent from entering the local workforce.
The closure marks the end of a specific housing model that has largely disappeared from American cities. A 2025 analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that single-room occupancy (SRO) units, which offer similar independent living with shared facilities, declined by approximately 1 million units between 1960 and 2020. While Roche plans to continue her work with Catholic Charities helping refugees, the residents of Anne Montgomery House must now enter a private rental market that has become increasingly inaccessible to young adults lacking significant savings for security deposits and high monthly payments. June 31, 2026, served as the final gathering for the community before the building ceased operations.