Huntington affordable housing development awarded $1.6M grant

The Arden, a 126-unit apartment approved to be built next to the Huntington Metro station, received a $1.6 million grant from Virginia yesterday.

The grant award is part of nearly $12 million in funding from the state for affordable housing and homeless programs announced by Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday. Only two other projects — one in Charlottesville and one in Henrico County — received a larger sum of money than The Arden.

The funding for the Arden will come from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF) and the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development administers the programs.

Two loans from Fairfax County worth $7.4 million are also helping to finance The Arden, as well as a $700,000 loan from the state.

Once completed, The Arden will be a seven-story building located at 2317 Huntington Avenue (see map). Families who earn 60 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) will be eligible to live there. The first two floors of The Arden will be office space, including units for Wesley Housing Development Corporation, who will own and manage the building.

A now-vacant 12-unit apartment building and two duplexes currently stand on the site. Wesley Housing has already begun applying for permits related to the project, and a representative for the nonprofit said Friday that they hope to close on the property in late March or early April. Construction of The Arden is expected to take 18-24 months.

Other projects in Fairfax County that also received funding as part of Thursday’s announcement:

• Shelter House/Shelter House Rapid Re-Housing 2020 ($100,000)
• Pathway Homes/Permanent Supportive Housing – Stabilization ($100,000)
• Cornerstones/Rapid Re-Housing Plus ($100,000)
• Wesley Housing Development Corporation/The Cadence ($700,000)