Community Lodgings Honored For Upgrading Affordable Housing Units

DEL RAY, VA - From Community Lodgings: Community Lodgings received HomeAid Northern Virginia’s (HANV), Nonprofit Service Provider Project of the Year Award on Saturday, November 4, during HANV’s 16th annual gala at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg.

Community Lodgings received the award after they partnered with HANV to completely upgrade their property at 607 Notabene Drive in the Arlandria part of the City of Alexandria. Previously the building held six existing affordable housing units, and a seventh two-bedroom unit was created as part of the project.

“I am beyond honored to receive this award,” said Lynn Thomas, Community Lodgings’ executive director. “These apartments are gorgeous, and what affordable housing should look like. We partnered with HomeAid Northern Virginia in 2013 to upgrade our six transitional housing apartments, and I look forward to working with them again as we continue to offer Alexandria’s hard-working, low-income families the home they deserve.”

Community Lodging’s Fifer Family Learning Center, also housed on the first floor of the building, was also upgraded. The learning center offers afterschool and youth mentoring programs, daily nutritious meals, and computer and English as a Second Language classes for families.

“We are proud to select Community Lodgings as our Nonprofit Service Provider Project of the Year,” said Kristyn Burr, executive director of HANV. “It was the first time we convened a consortium of four local homebuilders - Brookfield Residential, Evergreene Homes, M/I Homes, and Richmond American Homes – who worked together to upgrade and improve the Community Lodgings’ space and create functional, affordable housing for the Northern Virginia region. We hope this is a model for more partnerships and collaborations moving forward.”

HANV builds and renovates homeless shelters and housing facilities via the donated expertise, labor and resources of the local homebuilder business community.

The award recognizes Community Lodgings’ impact on its community and on the lives of the clients it serves.

About Community Lodgings

Celebrating 30 years of impact in the local community, Community Lodgings lifts families from homelessness and instability to independence and self-sufficiency through its affordable housing and transitional housing options, as well as community outreach and youth education programs.

About HomeAid Northern Virginia

HomeAid Northern Virginia, a chapter of HomeAid America, convenes and mobilizes the local homebuilding business community and its corporate partners to undertake new construction and major renovations for homeless shelters and supporting housing facilities owned by nonprofit service providers that help homeless individuals and families in our community gain stability and get back on the road to self-sufficiency. Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, the organization was started in 2001 by members of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA) and, since then, has completed more than 118 projects valued at more than $14.7 million, serving more than 98,500 homeless individuals.

Photo courtesy of Community Lodgings