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Notes: WBJ explains the ‘complicated’ maneuvering to push Alexandria residential development forward

By ALXnow.com

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: Expect a mostly sunny day with a high of 86 degrees and a mild northeast wind at 7 mph. For Friday night, clear skies will prevail with a low of 68 degrees, as an east wind at 5 mph dies down in the evening.

🚨 You need to know

Rendering of Block 1 of the Heritage Project, via City of Alexandria

The Washington Business Journal recently provided more detail on the bond approval that could help push the stalled The Heritage project forward.

The Heritage project is a 598 unit project across two parcels at 908 Wolfe Street and 905 Gibbon Street, with a second phase redeveloping the apartments at 431 S. Columbus Street.

The project is supposed to be a mix of market-rate and affordable units (195 units would be rent capped). It was approved by the City Council in 2021, but market conditions caused the project to stall.

The City Council approved the issuance of revenue bonds by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, but the Washington Business Journal had a better breakdown of what that actually entails:

The bonds are a bit complicated. But, in a nutshell, Jair Lynch would be the borrower, while the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority would be the conduit issuer, according to someone familiar with the deal. ARHA has submitted an application to issue the bonds, which the state government’s Department of Housing and Community Development must still approve. ARHA isn’t party to The Heritage, other than provide Jair Lynch access, for a fee, to tax exempt bonds authorized by the state for the purpose of financing affordable housing — probably on terms more favorable than what Jair Lynch could find in the private financing market, though we don’t know the details. Neither ARHA, the state government nor the city government are on the hook.

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About the Author

  • This is the staff byline for ALXnow, used by editors and other full-time staff. Launched in October 2019, ALXnow is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Alexandria, Virginia.