NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Five affordable housing projects in Northern Virginia will receive a total of $5.5 million in funding as part of Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans approved by the state.
Forty-three affordable housing loan applications were received during the current round of funding, requesting more than $42 million. Proposals were ranked and loans were offered to the highest-ranking proposals based on funding availability.
The funded projects, totaling $24 million, will create or preserve 1,635 affordable housing units, targeting low-income and very low-income Virginians, according to the state.
The loans are low-interest, and the provisions of the loans encourage developers to use outside funding sources, such as tax credits or other federal and local funding programs.
The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans, which combine state and federal resources. Funding comes from three main sources: the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the federal National Housing Trust Fund and the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.
In this round of funding, the Department of Housing and Community Development allocated more than $7 million through the HOME Program, more than $4 million through the National Housing Trust Fund, $12.6 million through the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, and an allotment of $500,000 through Permanent Supportive Housing funds.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create housing challenges in our Commonwealth and across the country, we are pleased to deploy this funding to support Virginians who are most in need,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday in a statement. “The Affordable Special Needs Housing program is a valuable resource for increasing the availability of safe, affordable, and sustainable housing for low-income Virginians, particularly those with special needs.”
Two applications from Arlington County, two from Fairfax County and one from Winchester were among the 28 applications from across the state approved for loans.
The five winning Northern Virginia affordable housing applications were:
Arlington County
Arlington View Terrace East/AHC Inc.
- $900,000 from Virginia Housing Trust Fund
- The Arlington View Terrace East project will be a partial redevelopment of an existing 60-year-old, 77-unit affordable multifamily rental community in the Arlington View neighborhood. The new construction building will more than double the number of long-term affordable units on the parcel and add family-sized units in a neighborhood experiencing increased housing costs.
Central United Methodist Church Ballston Station/Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing
- $900,000 from Virginia Housing Trust Fund
- Central United Methodist Church Ballston Station is a new 144-unit residential construction project directly across the street from the Ballston Metro station in Arlington County. All units in this building are accessible under Fair Housing. Eight units will be fully accessible, and four will be accessible for sensory-impaired individuals.
Fairfax County
Oakwood North Four/Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing
- $900,000 from Virginia Housing Trust Fund
- The Oakwood North Four project will provide 79 units of critical affordable housing for independent seniors near the Van Dorn Metro station. This project will enable vulnerable households to age in place and includes a substantial number of smaller units focused on single-person senior households, which will be fully accessible under Fair Housing.
Ovation at Arrowbrook | SCG Development
- $900,000 from Virginia Housing Trust Fund
- $900,000 from National Housing Trust Fund
- $600,000 from the HOME Program
- Ovation at Arrowbrook (Arrowbrook Apartments I) will be new construction of 126 family units, consisting of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for tenants with incomes at or below 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of the area median income. Six units will be reserved for individuals with developmental disabilities with incomes at or below 40 percent of the area median income. Fifteen units will be fully accessible to physically impaired and/or sensory impaired residents. The building will include a structured parking garage, finished clubroom, fitness room, a conference center, and a study and computer center. The project will include an outdoor lounge and grilling area, bicycle storage, dog park access, as well as proximity to a 15-acre park inside the development site.
City of Winchester
Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity Affordable Housing 2020/Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity
- $400,000 from HOME Program
- The Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity Affordable Housing 2020 project will result in five affordable home ownership units for five families that earn less than 60 percent of the area median income. Funding will be used for families and individuals who are residents of Winchester. Families will participate in seminars that prepare them for first-time homeownership and contribute to the construction of their homes, performing 200 hours of “sweat equity.”
Source: patch.com