Affordable housing redevelopment plan for Old Town apartments gets commission greenlight

Rendering of the proposed 145-unit affordable apartment complex at 598 S. Alfred Street in Old Town, viewed from Wilkes Street and S. Alfred Street (via City of Alexandria)

Rendering of the proposed 145-unit affordable apartment complex at 598 S. Alfred Street in Old Town, viewed from S. Columbus Street (via City of Alexandria)

Rendering of the proposed 145-unit affordable apartment complex at 598 S. Alfred Street in Old Town, viewed from from Wilkes Street and S. Columbus Street (via City of Alexandria)

Rendering of the proposed 145-unit affordable apartment complex at 598 S. Alfred Street in Old Town, viewed from S. Alfred Street (via City of Alexandria)

A northwest aerial of the proposed 145-unit affordable apartment complex at 598 S. Alfred Street in Old Town, with a view of Wilkes Street and S. Alfred Street (via City of Alexandria)

A northeast aerial of the proposed 145-unit affordable apartment complex at 598 S. Alfred Street in Old Town, with a view of Wilkes Street and S. Columbus Street (via City of Alexandria)

The Planning Commission has given its approval to plans to redevelop an Old Town apartment building with more affordable housing.

The commission gave its blessing last night (Tuesday) to Alfred Street Baptist Church’s proposal to construct a four-story, 145-unit affordable housing complex on the grounds of the 1970s-era Old Towne West building. The current parcels at 901 Wolfe Street and 598 and 601 S. Alfred Street have 77 units, including 34 affordable units and two offices.

The project calls for 111 units affordable to incomes up to 60% of the area median income (AMI). The remaining 34 units would be affordable to incomes up to 30% AMI.

The church’s proposal includes relocation assistance for the building’s 34 existing tenants, improvements to streetscapes and Wilkes Street Park and a $20,000 contribution to Capital Bikeshare. It could bring approximately 87 new students to the city’s public schools, according to a presentation.

The demolition and redevelopment site is bordered by three blocks of the Heritage project, which drew some apprehension during public comment.

“I’m not necessarily against the redevelopment of Old Towne West, but would appreciate a pause as we, in reality, understand the impacts of the neighboring redevelopments,” said resident Courtney Conrad, who expressed concerns over the potential for negative impacts on school attendance and the environment.

“I definitely support affordable housing,” she added. “I just want to make sure that, you know, the ends justify the means.”

Over the past 25 years, Alexandria has experienced a 41.6% decrease in available affordable housing, with roughly 10,500 market or committed affordable units existing to date. Of those units, 900 are slated to expire over the next 15 years.

Construction would probably take a few years to get underway. Alfred Street Baptist Church will not be able to break ground “anytime before 2028, and likely not later than that,” project representative and attorney Mary Catherine Gibbs said, as it needs to first identify its financial capacity and city contributions.

“Right now, the city has a pipeline that has two other projects that are ahead of it, and so it will be several years before this project can commence construction,” Gibbs said. “That gives the Heritage project a significant number of years to be able to finish where they are in their project.”

The proposal will next head to the City Council for review during its Dec. 13 meeting, alongside a large, multi-building residential proposal in Potomac Yard.

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