This post was written by Jill Norcross, Executive Director.
It’s summertime, so this month’s NVAHA Lunch & Learn will be a bit sunnier, as we will hold a Virtual Bus Tour of recently opened affordable housing communities in Northern Virginia. By showcasing these beautifully designed buildings, we hope to demystify what new affordable housing looks like and how well these properties integrate into our existing neighborhoods. Today’s affordable housing looks and feels like a market-rate product, but for the complex financing, you would not know these are affordable homes. These properties, through redevelopment or new construction, feature green building design elements and are often able to both mitigate existing environmental concerns, like stormwater management, while providing additional smart growth principles, proximity to transit, and equitable access to amenities, like free wifi.
We only have an hour for our Virtual Bus Tour on August 24, which is not enough time to showcase all of the creative partnerships that result in these recently-opened affordable housing properties. In addition to highlighting The Waypoint, Groveton Street, and Loudoun View Senior Residences, we are excited to highlight these affordable homes that have added much needed housing in Northern Virginia in the past 12 months, contributing a total of 1,328 units toward our regional housing goals.
Note that this list of affordable communities below excludes recent “affordable dwelling units,” (ADUs), which are both rental and for-sale units often provided through local inclusionary zoning programs by developers in new market-rate residential developments. These units promote the creation of mixed-income housing through the dedication of a portion of the units as affordable (usually between 8-20% of the total units).
Arlington County
The Terraces at Arlington View (East), AHC Inc.
This redeveloped site now includes 77 newly-constructed apartment homes in South Arlington. Notable features include solar panels and a green roof for stormwater management, free wifi for residents, bike storage and proximity to transit along the eastern Columbia Pike corridor.
Photo courtesy of AHC Inc.
Fairfax County
The Arden, Wesley Housing
The Arden is a seven-story, 126-unit multifamily community located a block from the Huntington Metro station in Alexandria. The building also includes 7,500 sq. ft. of office space, which serves as Wesley Housing’s headquarters. Residents of The Arden have access to a community room with computers, free in-unit and common area wifi, a courtyard patio, bike storage, on-site laundry facilities, and garage parking. The Arden also meets Energy Star® and EarthCraft Multifamily Gold green building standards.
Photo courtesy of Wesley Housing.
Lake Anne House, Enterprise Community Development and Fellowship Square
Enterprise Community Development and Fellowship Square, joined together to redevelop the Lake Anne Fellowship House in Reston. The project directly replaced 240 units of aging, obsolete, affordable senior units with 240 new affordable senior units at the new Lake Anne House. Enhancements include numerous amenities for its older adult residents, including a fitness center, arts and crafts room, social hall, sunroom, game room, outdoor terrace, and a wellness clinic for visiting medical professionals. All units incorporate Universal Design standards, which were not in place when the original building was constructed in the 1970s. Fifty-four of the 240 units are fully handicap accessible, and the building is Earthcraft and EnergyStar© certified.
Photo courtesy of Fairfax County RHA
Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences, APAH
Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences opens this month and is a new high-quality, affordable development of 150 apartments for independent seniors. Located just a half mile from the Van Dorn Metro station features 6,000 square feet of amenity space, including game room, garden room, library, business center, dedicated resident services space, laundry room, and a landscaped courtyard and walking paths. The building is 100% Universal Design to enable residents to age in place. This is an excellent example of Fairfax County’s partnership as the property was built on County-owned land to help reduce costs.
Photo courtesy of Apartments.com
The Ovation at Arrowbrook, SCG Development
The Ovation at Arrowbrook is a transit-oriented, mixed-use development comprised of 274 affordable apartments in Herndon. The project has included a significant financial investment from Fairfax County in the form of local Housing Blueprint funding, project-based vouchers and revenue bonds. The development also includes green building, universal and sustainable design features and Earthcraft design features and is located less than a mile away from the Innovation Metro Station.
Photo courtesy of SCG Development
Residences at North Hills, Pennrose and Community Housing Partners
The Residences at North Hill is viewed as an important development, serving as a key contribution to Fairfax County’s long-term vision for the Richmond Highway Corridor. The overall redevelopment and revitalization strategy involved developing an underutilized 34+ acre site into a 12+ acre public park, approximately 175 for-sale townhomes, and 279 affordable multifamily apartments.
Photo courtesy of Community Housing Partners
Interested in learning more about today’s affordable housing? Join us on August 24, from 12-1 pm, as we virtually tour the following newly constructed affordable housing developments and learn more about the partnerships, financing and services to support the residents.
- The Waypoint, Wesley Housing Learn more about this 81-unit apartment property, located on Fairlington Presbyterian Church’s former underutilized parking lot in the City of Alexandria.
- Groveton Street, Habitat for Humanity DC NOVA Learn more about this affordable homeownership opportunity in Alexandria along the Rt. 1 corridor in Fairfax County.
- Loudoun View Senior Residences, APAH and Wellington Development Learn more about this 98-unit project serving low-income seniors onsite services and programs for residents in Loudoun County.
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Did we miss a new affordable housing community that opened in your neighborhood? Please let us know and we will include it next time. We are fortunate to have many more affordable communities in the development pipeline, so stay tuned for more examples of affordable housing that are true investments toward creating healthy, sustainable and equitable communities in Northern Virginia.