As the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC) moves forward with its plans to build a 482-unit affordable housing complex in Chirilagua-Arlandria, the local non-profit unveiled the first renderings for the site and stats that raised some eyebrows online.
The City Council approved a loan for the AHDC project in May as part of an ongoing effort combat gentrification likely incoming with Amazon’s arrival in nearby Crystal City. The new development will come at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Glebe Road.
Of the units proposed, a quarter of them will be deeply affordable — meaning available for those earning up to 40% of area median income (AMI) and the rest will be a mix of available at 50, 60 and 60%. Units will range from one-to-three bedrooms in size.
The primary concern, raised on the Bring Integrity Back to Alexandria Facebook group, is that the site will only have 382 parking spaces for cars — 100 fewer than there are units in the building. The building will also have 150 spaces of bicycle parking.
AHDC is scheduled to hold two virtual meetings on the project — one in English and one in Spanish — on Wednesday, July 21. The Spanish session will run from 6-7 p.m. and the English session will run from 7-8 p.m. An in-person open house is scheduled for Aug. 10.
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