Affordable Housing To Be Studied At 2 Alexandria Metro Stations

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The feasibility of affordable housing on Metro property in Alexandria will be studied with new grant funding.

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments board approved $656,300 in grants for 10 local planning initiatives and development projects focused on affordable housing near transit for lower-income residents. The funds come from the new Housing Affordability Planning Program, which is supported by the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.

The City of Alexandria will receive $60,000 for a Transit Center Adjacent Affordable Housing Analysis. In a social media post, Mayor Justin Wilson indicated grant funding would explore affordable housing at the Van Dorn Street Metro and near the new Metro headquarters at Carlyle (Eisenhower Avenue Metro).

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has set a goal in 2019 of 75,000 additional affordable housing units beyond the 245,000 anticipated for the decade. That goal calls for 75 percent of the units to be in "activity centers" or "high-capacity transit station areas" and 75 percent to be affordable to low-income and middle-income households.

Alexandria is part of the Council of Governments' 2020-2030 Regional Housing Initiative and has its own goal of increasing annual housing additions from 800 units to around 1100 units, according to the city's website. The city is exploring another tool to expand housing production with a proposed text amendment. The proposal would allow bonus heights in zones with 45-foot height limits.

"There’s broad regional consensus that we need more action on housing, which is why I am so pleased to have this new partnership among governments, businesses, and nonprofits to produce a much-needed spark," said Chuck Bean, executive director of the Council of Governments. "These [ Housing Affordability Planning Program] grants will help ensure that everyone — from longtime residents and future workers, to young families and older adults—has an opportunity to live and thrive together in our communities."

The Amazon Housing Equity Fund seeks to provide 20,000 affordable housing units in regions where the company is growing its presence: around Arlington, Virginia; the Puget sound region in Washington state; and Nashville, Tennessee.

"The 10 proposals being announced today address a great many of our top priorities — advancing equity, expanding access to jobs and opportunity, and creating more vibrant, sustainable communities," said Catherine Buell, director of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.

The other project in Northern Virginia is the Ballston Park Apartments Study in Arlington County ($25,000). Other projects receiving grant funding include DC projects like Fort Totten Senior Housing ($75,000), Columbia Heights Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act in DC ($75,000), Congress Heights Metro Residential in DC ($75,000), Lincoln Legacy Affordable Housing in DC ($71,300). In Maryland, projects include Residences at Forest Glen in Montgomery County ($75,000), Purple Line Housing Development Initative in Montgomery and Prince George's counties ($75,000), Headen Springs in Prince George's County ($75,000), and College Park Housing Trust ($75,000).