Huntington affordable housing development gets final approval
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the final plan for a 126-unit affordable housing development on Huntington Avenue at their meeting Tuesday.
The Arden will be a seven-story, 126-unit multifamily project located a block from the Huntington Metro station at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Biscayne Drive (see map). The redevelopment was initially approved in 2015, but since then the property has been sold and the new owner, Wesley Housing, needed to get some changes to the original plan approved by the county.
Wesley Housing, a non-profit focused on housing issues, made no major design changes to the original plan for the development. However a plan for ground-floor retail was shelved in favor of making the first two floors into office space, and 13 living units were subtracted from the layout. Wesley Housing said they will be moving their headquarters there.
Families who earn 60 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) will be eligible to live in The Arden. The building will have a total of 179 parking spaces, including 15 for the offices.
A 12-unit brick apartment building constructed in 1950, as well as two duplex units and a parking lot for the apartments, currently occupy the site.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck praised Wesley for their outreach with the local community to discuss the project, which gained the support of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens Associations, the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation and the Huntington Community Association. No members of the public spoke for or against the project at the Board hearing Tuesday.
“I’m pleased that Wesley Housing has been very involved since the beginning,” Storck said.
Storck also noted that while many multifamily housing developments have been constructed around the Huntington Metro in recent years, the Arden is specifically designed for residents with lower incomes.
“What we know really will make the biggest difference for our community is places where people can afford [who earn] in the 60-70 AMI percentile,” Storck said.
The Board was originally supposed to review the Arden application at its March 19 meeting, but Storck asked that it be deferred until yesterday. The deferral was due in part to a discussion between the developer and the county over a contribution for future bike lanes in front of the building on Huntington Avenue. Storck and county officials said the two sides had agreed to a $74,023 contribution, which would include the relocation of utilities in front of the building.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved the Arden in an 11-0 vote at its March 14 meeting.
The Arden will be financed in part through two loans from the Fairfax County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Those loans, worth $7.4 million, were approved by the Board of Supervisors last year.
This is a great decision. Will be good for many citizens.
Good work! Wesley is an excellent affordable housing developer and the South County Task Force welcomes their HQ and this unit to our area.
This undermines all those who work hard to pay their own mortgates and rent. It will worsen blights like the 7-11 in the neighborhood. How do we overturn this?
How can I apply for a unit?
Ha, that’s the pragmatic attitude….
Everyone deserves a place to live……just because you’re getting under paid doesn’t mean your a scab to society. A lot of people whether coming out of a bad marriage or got hurt on the job and suffering with exuberant hospital bills shouldn’t be homeless. Are you sure what your saying is that you don’t want people of color in your neighborhood? What if you happen to fall on hard times Mr. Moser would you be saying the same thing. God bless a place like Arden that can fill a niche in the community. Hopefully the people that move in will respect a second chance at a place to reside. Lord knows I need a pkace myself.
You move from there.
Yes
How can I apply too? I’m homeless coming from New Jersey from and Unsafe marriage/husband. Now I don’t know what or where to go for help
Kindly don’t attribute motives to someone you don’t know. Especially via the Internet, that place of facile, hidden censure. Welfare & dependency are a curse on all people.
My millennial kids with college degrees can’t afford to live here! They certainly would not “worsen the neighborhood.” Get a grip! This is called “affordable” housing for a reason.
Would love affordable rownhomes for the median category. I look good on paper but these developments never consider after taxes, gross pay. Smh
What a shame. Just when Huntington was starting to improve, we loan government money to subsidize bad planning.
When are they expected to open? If still around I may be interested…