affordable housing | ALXnow

New Report Recommends Making Voluntary Affordable Housing Contributions Mandatory in Alexandria

Published November 30, 2020 at 4:45PM

If you want to build bonus density, office-to-housing conversions, or continuum of care facilities in Alexandria, a new report says you should have to pony up a little extra cash to support affordable housing.

Trading density and other exceptions to zoning code for a contribution to the affordable housing fund has been a longstanding practice in Alexandria and other localities, but the new “Update to the City’s Affordable Housing Contribution Policies and Procedures” being presented at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting includes a recommendation push for that system to be codified.

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New Braddock Affordable Housing Complex Eyes Winter Opening

By Vernon Miles

Published November 20, 2020 at 10:45AM

Affordable housing complex The Bloom is now scheduled to open sometime in December 2020 or January 2021.

The Alexandria Housing Development Corporation said in a press release that the 97-unit building at 930 N. Henry Street will open in the winter to locals at 50% or 60% of the area median income.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published October 15, 2020 at 9:00AM

Virginia Voter Registration Deadline Extended to Thursday Night — “BREAKING: Virginia’s voter registration deadline has been extended until Thursday, October 15 at 11:59pm. If you still need to register or update your information, you can do it online at vote.virginia.gov–you can also register and vote early at your registrar’s office.” [Twitter]

City Asks for Feedback on Adding Affordable Housing to Arlandria — “At a virtual meeting Tuesday night (another meeting is set for Wednesday night), members of the Alexandria Office of Planning and Zoning presented their vision to improve affordable housing in the Arlandira-Chirilagua area.” [Alexandria Living]

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ALXnow’s Top Stories This Week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2020 at 5:00PM | Updated October 2, 2020 at 5:22PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria was dominated by violent crime events this week.

The second murder of 2020 occurred on Sept. 30, and ALXnow identified the victim as 57-year-old John Harding Pope. Mayor Justin Wilson and members of the City Council offered their condolences and said that justice will be served.

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Alexandria Wants to Make Affordable Housing Contributions Mandatory for Developers

By James Cullum

Published September 25, 2020 at 3:55PM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria planning staff are crafting a proposal to make affordable housing contributions mandatory for developers, and they are reportedly not happy about it.

City staff are recommending that council adopt a commercial-to-residential conversion contribution policy (proposed at $1.53 per square foot) and senior housing contribution requirements.

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‘Lipstick On A Pig’: BAR Rejects Heritage Old Town Proposal

By James Cullum

Published September 16, 2020 at 5:15PM | Updated September 16, 2020 at 5:32PM

A rendering of the proposed development of The Heritage apartment complex in Old Town. (Image via City of Alexandria)

Members of the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review didn’t mince words against the proposed development of the Heritage Old Town.

“Why are you asking for our opinion if what we get back isn’t actually changed?” BAR Chair Christine Roberts said at the September 2 meeting. “It’s just more lipstick on a pig.”

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published September 8, 2020 at 9:00AM

Today’s the First Day of School for ACPS — “Let’s focus on getting connected this week! Make sure you have access to technology and have completed your back-to-school forms.” [ACPS]

West End Development Could Add Hundreds of Affordable Housing Units — “Wesley Housing is requesting a pre-development loan of $400,000 to start the development process on ParcView II, a new affordable rental project on Holmes Run Parkway in Alexandria’s West End.” [Alexandria Living]

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What Does Southern Towers’ Acquisition by CIM Group Mean for Alexandria Affordable Housing?

By Vernon Miles

Published August 27, 2020 at 1:45PM | Updated August 27, 2020 at 2:19PM

Southern Towers residents wait for the bus. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Real estate investment company CIM Group recently purchased large apartment community Southern Towers, Costar first reported, but what’s unclear now is what that means for affordable housing in the city’s West End.

Southern Towers is a 2,261-unit apartment complex that is one of the city’s last large bastions of market-rate affordable and committed affordable units — units that are required to remain at a certain affordability. Helen McIlvaine, director of the city’s Office of Housing, said Southern Towers has 105 committed affordable units that were mostly established in the mid-2010s.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published August 26, 2020 at 9:00AM | Updated August 26, 2020 at 9:59AM

Alexandria Woman Finds Missing $100K Lottery Ticket — “Four months ago she purchased a ticket using some of her favorite numbers, 2-14-15-17-21, and matched all five winning numbers on March 1, but she only just discovered that fact when she cleaned out her purse recently.” [Zebra]

Beyer Says Economic Warning Signs Troublesome — “It’s been a month since Senate Republicans cruelly allowed Americans’ enhanced unemployment benefits to expire amid a pandemic and economic crisis. Don’t be fooled by the stock market: millions of families are experiencing deep hardship. Warning signs for the economy abound.” [Twitter]

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City Requests $1.7 Million in HUD Funding For a Suite of Local Affordable Housing Programs

By Vernon Miles

Published August 20, 2020 at 3:45PM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

The city is requesting a $1.73 million in funding from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to finance a wide series of programs aimed at improving the city’s affordable housing.

A release from the City of Alexandria said the funding would go to improvements under the Rental Accessibility Modification Program (RAMP). RAMP provides accessibility modifications to rental units occupied by low and moderate income tenants at no cost to the tenant or landlord.

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Affordable Housing Communities to Get Free Wood-Fired Pizza the Next Two Saturdays in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published August 20, 2020 at 11:30AM

An Arlington nonprofit has partnered with a D.C. food truck to provide free pizza to affordable housing communities in Alexandria this month.

This is the fifth local campaign for Hearts of Empowerment, which has partnered with Timber Pizza Company to provide free wood-fired pizzas from its food truck on August 22 at Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street) in Old Town at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, and at the same time at the Parkview of Alexandria apartments in Arlandria on Saturday, August 29.