Ground Broken On North Hill Residential Development

HYBLA VALLEY, VA — A groundbreaking for the future Residences at North Hill development in Hybla Valley was held on July 31.

The development will be situated on a vacant 35-acre site at Richmond Highway and Dart Drive. Plans for the North Hill development include 216 affordable rental apartments, 63 affordable senior independent living apartments, 175 market rate townhouses and a 12-acre public park. There will be one, two, and three-bedroom options.

The 279 affordable units will be within five, four-story buildings along Richmond Highway, while the townhouses will be along Dart Drive. There will be 10 percent of units for households earning 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), 20 percent for households at 50 percent AMI, and 70 percent for households at 60 percent AMI.

Residents will have access to community spaces, exercise facilities, surface and basement level parking, a public park with a tot lot, public plaza, trails, and picnic areas.

Planning for this land had been 30 years in the making after the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority acquired it. The land had previously been home to the Woodley-Nightingale Mobile Home Park before the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority purchased it. Part of the land became the Woodley Hills Estates mobile home community, while the remainder will turn into the Residences at North Hill development.

"Residences at North Hill reaffirms our vision of One Fairfax through inclusive development; that all in Fairfax County will move into the future together by ensuring that new development and redevelopment includes housing opportunities for residents from all along the income spectrum and that no one will be left behind," said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck.

The site is within the scope of the county's EMBARK Richmond Highway initiative to improve multimodal transportation and create economic development opportunities. The public plaza at the North Hill site will be an anchor for a future Bus Rapid Transit station, which will connect to the Huntington Metro station.

The North Hill development received Housing Tax Credits from Virginia Housing, tax-exempt and taxable construction and permanent financing by Virginia Housing, Community Development Block Grant funding and project-based vouchers from Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, HOME and state and local housing trust funds from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and construction financing and equity investments from Bank of America and Truist Bank. The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority provided $4.4 million in local financing.

Leasing activities are expected to kick off in summer 2022. The completion date is subject to change based on construction and other factors. More information will be provided on the Residences at North Hill website.