See this very brief article on new affordable housing opening up just south of the Bates area:
60-unit affordable housing building opens http://www.washingtonpost.com/todays_paper?dt=2011-11-17&bk=TDC&pg=18
The D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development recently opened the SeVerna, a 60-unit affordable housing building at First and K streets NW in Ward 6.
All 60 units will be available to households at or below 60 percent of the area median income, with half going to households with incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median income.
The project was developed by Bible Way Church, MissionFirst Development and Henson Development. For information, go to dhcd.dc.gov.
Bates Area Civic Association 
It is my understanding that this new housing development replaced units that were torn down and first priority will be to residents displaced from that site. At a recent meeting of the NW#1 group, the project manager announced that they only have 1 bedroom units left.