County Board Members OK Redevelopment of Ballston Apartment Complex

Arlington County:

“County Board members on Jan. 26 gave approval to the redevelopment of the Carlyn Springs Apartments, being sought by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). As part of the proposal, the existing 27-unit apartment complex near the Ballston Metro station will be replaced by a five-story, 104-unit property with underground parking, a community center, tot lot and headquarters for APAH.

Under the plan approved by the County Board, 98 of the units will be guaranteed to remain affordable to families earning less than 60 percent of the area median income for the next 60 years. Other units will be rented at market rates. To help fund the project, APAH plans to apply for housing tax credits from the Virginia Housing Development Authority. If the request wins approval, construction is expected to start in late 2014, with completion in 2016. APAH also plans to use $7.8 million from the county government’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund to help finance the project.”

~Writes the Sun Gazette

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Complicated Real Estate Deal Designed to Preserve Affordable Housing in Ballston

Arlington County:

“County Board members on Jan. 28 agreed in principle to move forward with a complicated, three-way real estate deal involving affordable housing in Ballston. If it goes through, the deal will result in the county government taking title to the 513-unit Ballston Park Apartments, then turning around and leasing the site to AHC Inc., a nonprofit housing developer, for 75 years.

The complex is bounded by North Glebe Road, 5th Street North, North Oakland Street and 2nd Street North. The approval, which was unanimous, came at the end of the board’s January meeting without prior public notice. ‘We believe that through this transaction, the county can preserve long-term affordability and acquire a historically valuable asset for less than an estimated $70,000 per unit,’ county officials said in a statement to the Sun Gazette.

The agreement, which could take another six months to complete, would involve AHC exercising its existing authority to purchase the property from Pershing Drive Associates Limited Partnership. An AHC affiliate already is a partner in that venture. The title to the property would pass directly to the county government, rather than AHC.”

~Writes Scott McCaffrey of the Sun Gazette

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County Board Approves ‘Blue Goose’ Redevelopment

Arlington County:

“The distinctive 'Blue Goose' building in Ballston is heading for the proverbial wrecking ball after the Arlington County Board approved replacing it with an office and a residential building. The Board unanimously voted to redevelop the 1963 building, allowing the developer The Shooshan Company, in partnership with Marymount University, to build a nine-story office building and a 15-story, 267-unit residential building with 11 dedicated units of affordable housing.

The entire site will sit on three levels of underground parking, with 317 office spaces and 264 residential spaces. There will also be 3,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. Marymount University will occupy the first six stories of the office building with plans to expand into the final three floors in the future. The office building will front on Fairfax Drive while the residential building will sit on the corner of Fairfax and N. Glebe Road.

In additional to the affordable housing — which includes a $275,000 donation to the Arlington Housing Investment Fund — the Shooshan Company also agreed to contribute more than $4.5 million toward the construction of a west entrance to the Ballston Metro Station and $1.15 million for improvements to the Ballston beaver pond restoration project and Custis Trail. The buildings are expected to be built to a LEED Gold environmental standard.”

~ Writes Ethan Rothstein of Arlington Now

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Affordable Housing Could Replace Columbia Pike Church

Arlington County

“Local preservationists are calling for changes to a plan to tear down a Columbia Pike church and replace it with affordable housing. The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is proposing to demolish the Arlington Presbyterian Church at 3507 Columbia Pike and replace it with an affordable apartment complex.

APAH worked in partnership with church leaders to develop a plan that would build a new, 7,100 square foot church within a five-story, 142-unit apartment building. The proposal also includes a space for nonprofit child care and ground floor retail intended for a coffee shop. The church approached APAH with the idea of building affordable housing on its site, according to a presentation the church made to its congregation in August. APAH laid out a timeline that would start with signing a lease by the end of the year, starting demolition in early 2016 and opening in late 2017.”

~Writes Ethan Rothstein of Arlington Now

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