City Council will soon consider a proposal to approve $10 million in bond financing to fund development of the massive Mount Vernon-Glebe Arlandria Project that city staff consider to be Alexandria’s “highest housing priority.”
affordable housing
Alexandria Democratic leaders met today on a Zoom call to discuss proposals from Vice President Kamala Harris to address the housing crisis.
A lack of housing, particularly affordable housing, has been a major talking point in Alexandria for years. Last year, the City Council approved a suite of new zoning changes aimed at creating new housing, though those changes are still in a lengthy court battle.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) — now with a new CEO — will be going public with ambitious expansion plans next month.
There’s a lot in ARHA’s FY 2025 Five-Year Plan. A lot of it is vague statements about reaffirming the organization’s commitment to providing public housing and continuing mixed-income partnerships, but the plan also provides details about some specific plans to expand the public housing authority’s footprint in the city.
A veteran of housing development in Connecticut will take the reins of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) next month as the new CEO.
Erik Johnson comes to Alexandria from Hamden, Connecticut, where he served as Director of Economic and Community Development. Before that, Johnson oversaw the housing department for the City of Hartford.
New federal funding could be coming to Alexandria, particularly to programs boosting affordable housing and pre-k programs for low-income families.
The funding is in the Senate’s draft government funding bills, which just passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
A new report from housing nonprofit HAND last week found that roughly 57% of households in Alexandria were renters, which has us wondering: do more ALXnow readers rent or own homes in Alexandria?
That’s higher than the nationwide average, where only 36% — though that’s to be expected for a more urban area.
Alexandria is gaining new residents at almost twice the rate it’s gaining new housing units.
A new report from housing nonprofit HAND — linked to in the latest Mayor Justin Wilson newsletter — outlined housing trends in the City of Alexandria and offered a breakdown of what kind of housing is being built.
Alexandria nonprofit ALIVE! has a new trio of affordable housing units thanks to some help from HomeAid National Capital Region, a nonprofit building homes for those in need.
The project took a three-story, single-family home and created three separate housing units along with office space.
Alexandria and regional partners will be getting $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to “identify and implement” new affordable housing strategies.
The $3.5 million is provided through HUD’s Pathways to the Removal of Obstacles grant. The funding will go to Alexandria and other localities in Maryland and D.C. as part of the Metropolitan Council of Governments.
Sarah Bagley says that Alexandria residents have invested time and energy into making her an effective member of the Alexandria City Council, and she says she’s running for reelection to honor that investment.
A lot has changed in the city since Bagley was first elected and then virtually sworn in in January 2022. Alexandria was on the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since gone through a crime surge, the introduction and the failure of the Potomac Yard arena deal, a number of key changes in departmental leadership (namely the police and fire chiefs) as well as the controversial upending of the city’s residential zoning policies.
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Without the pandemic keeping James “Jimmy” Lewis and his campaign team from unleashing their ground game, he says that years of door-knocking experience will significantly improve his second Democratic primary bid for Alexandria’s City Council.
Lewis faces 10 opponents, including four incumbent Council Members, for the six Council seats in the June 18 Democrat primary. He placed eighth in the 2021 primary with 6,606 votes, and that was 730 votes behind Kevin Harris. Like Lewis, Harris is trying again this cycle to get in the top six spots to secure his nomination for the November election.