The interim CEO of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority is stepping down from her role, according to a letter submitted to the organization’s board of commissioners.
On May 20, Rickie C. Maddox informed the board in a short letter that her last day would be Friday, June 19.
On Tuesday (April 28), City Council adopted a resolution authorizing up to $20 million in revenue bonds by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority for the redevelopment of The Ladrey Senior Hi-Rise in Old Town North.
City Council was presented with ARHA’s new plan to redevelop the 11-story, 1970s-era building at 300 Wythe Street, which was deemed obsolete last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, prompting the authority to relocate all of the building’s residents.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins launched the “Fresh Start Initiative” today (Thursday), rallying the city’s faith and nonprofit leaders to pay approximately $1 million in back rent for nearly 450 residents living in the city’s public housing properties.
The initiative brings together the city, the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the Department of Community and Human Services and nonprofit fundraiser ACT for Alexandria to create a temporary charitable fund to “connect residents to financial empowerment resources, and to ensure improved systems at ARHA,” according to the city. Alfred Street Baptist Church has pledged to raise more than $1 million to cover the back rent. The initiative is solely funded through private donations.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board was served with a $4.5 million lawsuit by its former CEO Erik Johnson on Monday.
ARHA’s former board fired Johnson in September after it was revealed that he and his family were living in an ARHA property in Old Town. Johnson’s filing alleges that, with the blessing of the previous board, ARHA staff selected a moving company for his family, chose a hotel for them to stay in and renovated the property.
A $20 million bond financing agreement by the Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority (ARHA) for the second phase of an Old Town affordable housing project is set to move forward.
City Council unanimously approved the bond agreement on Dec. 13, which will support the conversion of the 4.76-acre, 244-unit mixed-income “Heritage at Old Town” complex into three buildings with approximately 750 apartments across three blocks, according to a Nov. 24 board report from ARHA.
Alexandria’s public housing authority is struggling to put together its budget in the wake of the recent government shutdown.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority has a goal of submitting its budget to its Board of Commissioners next month, ARHA’s Chief Financial Officer Sheila White told the board on Monday night.
In the wake of the restructuring of Alexandria’s public housing authority and its board of commissioners, the organization has temporarily halted eviction proceedings against its tenants.
Mark Jinks, the new chair of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority‘s board of commissioners, made the announcement at the board’s monthly meeting in Old Town last night (Monday). Jinks and five other board members were installed last month by City Council to reverse a “system failure,” as described by Mayor Alyia Gaskins.
Past and present residents at Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) properties are continuing to speak out against years of neglect and unsafe living conditions at their homes.
Chronic mold and cockroach infestations, ignored maintenance tickets and denied rehousing requests are just some of the many grievances ARHA tenants described in conversations to ALXnow this month and during a protest last Wednesday.
The former CEO of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority is now suing the organization for millions of dollars in damages, according to paperwork filed yesterday (Thursday) in the Alexandria Circuit Court.
ARHA fired Erik Johnson in September after it was revealed that he and his family were living in an Old Town ARHA property. In the new filing, Johnson alleges that ARHA facilitated his move into the property and was trying to protect itself by pleading ignorance when it sent ALXnow a statement claiming it was unaware he lived there.
City and public housing leaders joined developers today (Wednesday) to break ground on the Samuel Madden Homes affordable housing apartment complex in Old Town.
The project will replace the former 66-unit public housing apartment complex with 532 new affordable homes across two phases. The first phase, costing $120 million, will redevelop the site into 207 units of affordable and mixed-income housing, with an estimated completion date of fall 2027.
Alexandria City Council appointed six new commissioners to the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority board during a special meeting on Wednesday night, one day after eight of nine board members resigned under pressure from city leaders.
The emergency appointments aim to restore the functioning of ARHA’s governing board, which oversees more than 1,100 public housing units and serves over 2,700 residents through various programs.
