Arlington Adds Affordable Housing to Columbia Pike

An 83-unit mixed-use affordable housing complex built on the site of a Shell gas station in Arlington is set to break ground early next year, according to developer AHC, Inc.

"We're scheduled to start construction on February 1" said John Welsh, Vice President of the Multifamily Division at AHC, Inc.  "And we plan to have the building done in eighteen months."

The $13 million, six-story building is designed by Cunningham + Quill Architects and will include ground floor retail space and two levels of below-grade parking.  The building is designed around a central courtyard, and the retail space faces Columbia Pike.  Plans call for the building to be built on two adjacent parcels - one at 870 South Greenbrier, largely a surface parking lot and undeveloped scrubland, and one at 5511 Columbia Pike, the former site of the Shell station.  Though that parcel did require environmental remediation - mostly the excavation and removal of contaminated soil - Welsh says that the previous owner handled it before selling to AHC.

The project will be funded, in part, by a $6 million loan from the Arlington County Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF), and AHC's Multifamily Revolving Loan Fund, which consists of federally-funded Community Development Block Grants.  According to reports, 19 dwellings will be affordable to families making 50% of the AMI ($53,750 for a family of four), with the remaining 64 dwellings affordable to families earning 60% of the AMI ($64,500 for a family of four).

No word yet on who might occupy the retail space.  "Tiffany's turned us down," said Welsh, when asked about potential tenants.  "Just kidding."

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Alexandria Affordable Housing Complex Back on Track

An AHC Inc.-developed affordable housing complex at the corner of East Reed Avenue and Route 1/Jefferson Davis Highway, in Alexandria, is now slated for an early 2014 groundbreaking, after hitting delays earlier this year.

The latest iteration of the project, which has increased to 77 units, from an original 59, should head to the Alexandria City Council in December for final approval, according to John Welsh, Vice President at AHC.

"We're really happy with the design," says Welsh.  "The city planning office gave their opinion on it, and asked for a few minor changes.  Mostly design stuff - switching a metal accent to the other side of the building so it would be a stronger element on Route 1, that kind of thing."

The Bonstra-Haresign-designed building will offer 15 one-bedroom units, 51 two-bedroom units, and eleven three-bedroom units, at 60% of AMI (approximately $56,000/year).  The facade is "primarily brick, with a few other materials, and some metal accents to give it a nice polish," said Welsh.  The building will be five stories tall on the east side, and taper down to three stories on the west, and there will also be 77 below-grade parking spaces, a one-to-one ratio that marks a significant increase from the earlier design's 0.77 ratio, a number that caused some consternation among city planners as potentially insufficient.  Construction is projected to take 18 months, with leasing estimated to take until the end of 2015.

The project will sit on a joined plot consisting of a city-owned parcel at 3600 Jefferson Davis Highway and three privately-owned parcels controlled by AHC.  Funding is being provided by a package of AHC funds, a $1.1 million-plus affordable housing loan from the city, and tax credits, the application deadline for the latter contributing, at least in part, to past delays.

Today in Pictures - Views at Clarendon

The Views at Clarendon is now complete after two years of construction and 5 years of lawsuits. The building was a collaboration between Arlington County, which lent money to the project, the First Baptist Church of Clarendon as the landowner, and the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). The project began construction in October of 2009, tacking on a high-rise of 46 market-rate and 70 subsidized units to the existing church. Now ready for rentals, the residential portion has been christened Vpoint Apartments, with the first tenant scheduled to move in tomorrow. According to a spokesman for the community, 45 of the apartments have already been preleased.










Arlington, VA real estate development news. Photos by Rey Lopez.

Buchanan Gardens Groundbreaking Tonight

Developers will launch the redo of Buchanan Gardens tonight at 5pm. The sprawling affordable housing complex built in 1949 will undergo $32m in renovations at the hands of low-income housing provider Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). The buildings will be gutted and renovated over the course of the next eighteen months.

Financed through loans and grants by the Virginia Housing Development Authority and the Arlington Housing Investment Fund, and with Low Income Housing Tax Credits and grants from private foundations, the housing will be available to those making 60% of AMI or less.

Wiencek+Associates and Hamel Builders will transfigure the 111-unit building into a more modern, greener version of itself, with new energy efficiencies and water saving features. Construction is expected to complete in December of 2012. APAH purchased Buchanan Gardens in December of 2009.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Eastbanc Releasing West End Plans Tonight

Eastbanc will reveal its plans for West End library and fire station sites tonight at the Fairmont Hotel. The plan comes after months of meeting with local community groups one year after the District of Columbia awarded the developer the redevelopment rights.

Eastbanc will build a 52-unit, 9-story, low-income building above a new fire station on M Street, and a 10-story residence of up to 180 units above a new library along the 2300 block of L Street. Eastbanc chose New York and Mexico-based TEN Arquitectos as primary designer and WDG Architecture as the architect of record for the two projects.

Eastbanc will present its plans to the ANC tonight at 7pm.


Washington D.C. real estate development news

Arlington's Affordable Housing: Macedonia Near Completion

Bonstra Haresign Architects and Nauck Development Partners (NDP) have nearly completed construction of Macedonia, the affordable housing building for the Macedonia Baptist Church in Arlington. NDP is a partnership between the Church, the Bonder and Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation (BAJCDC) and AHC Inc.

"We've tried hard to create a building that does not look like affordable housing," said David Baker, senior architect at Bonstra Haresign.

Construction for the four-story building of 36 one-and two-bedroom units began in 2009 and will be available for move-in by the end of this month for residents making less than 60% of the area's median income. 40,000 s.f. of space will be dedicated to offices, one of which will house the BAJCDC. The $14 million project was funded by low-interest loans, a county grant and $6 million in county funds.

The most challenging aspects of the project has been the topography of the parcels at 2219, 2229 and 2237 South Shirlington Road. "There's a large slope which means the rear at Garfield is ten feet higher in the back. This made addressing parking access more of a challenge," said Baker.

The building is EarthCraft certified, Virginia Housing Development Authority's version of LEED certification. Every tenant will have a balcony as well as access to the lower green roof common area.

Along with AHC Inc. and JBG, Bonstra Haresign is also designing The Jordan, a four-story, low-income, 90-unit building three blocks from the Ballston Metro. The Jordan is similar to the Macedonia in that both buildings are predominantly masonry, said Baker.

The development resides on the former Bob Peck Dealership and Showroom site at Wilson Boulevard and North Glebe Road. JBG is now building out its plans for 800,000 s.f. of mixed-use development at the location, requiring a land swap between JBG and AHC.

Baker said The Jordan will be ready by the end of this year.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

A Late-April Ground Breaking for Arlington's Buchanan Gardens Rehab

Buchanan Gardens, the affordable housing complex built in 1949 that's seen better days, will get more than a facelift once ground breaks in late April. The entire building will be gutted and renovated over the course of the next eighteen months.

With a $10M construction budget, Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), Wiencek+Associates and Hamel Builders as the general contractor will orchestrate renovation that includes new plumbing, electric, floors, windows, insulation, roofing, mechanicals and, well, everything else. Though the building currently provides predominantly one-bedroom units, upon completion it will offer 23 three-bedroom units, 33 two-bedroom units and 55 one-bedroom units. There will also be an on-site community center and playground.

"Our mission is to preserve and update," said Nina Janopaul, CEO of APAH. "We want keep the residents here who currently live here, update the facility and keep it affordable."

The rehabilitation of Buchanan Gardens is one of several affordable housing projects by APAH, including Arlington Mill and Views at Clarendon.

Arlington, VA real estate development news

Church Ready to Build Subsidized Housing in Shaw, Tear Down Old Homes

A church in Shaw is closer to knocking down a small swatch of DC history to make way for a public housing project on Rhode Island Avenue. The United House of Prayer for All People, at 601 M St, NW, owns a vacant lot and 4 row houses at 625 Rhode Island Avenue, and plans to demolish the latter in order to build a 4-story, 16-unit subsidized housing project.

According to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, the church has applied for a raze permit, not yet issued, to replace the townhouses and begin construction "within the next couple of months." The homes are not in a historic district, according to DCRA, which means no exemption is needed to raze the property despite their age - which was not available within District government records. The property is adjacent to the vacant lot known as Parcel 42, where protestors staged a demonstration last year criticizing the level of subsidies intended for the lot, complaining that the District, which had planned a subsidized housing project, was not providing enough subsidies and that Washington D.C. had insufficient low-income housing.
The application to demolish the buildings has not yet been approved, though the fact that the land falls outside the historic district means approval is perfunctory and a matter of paperwork. Suzane Reatig Architecture has designed a 32,125 s.f. building comprised of 16 units, eight of which will be affordable to households earning 60%–80% of the AMI, with a mix of two and three-bedroom units, ranging from 1,150 sf. to 2,200 sf. The District government approved a planned unit development (PUD) for the zoning change, with LEED certification. "We're going to have some awnings on the top, that will be an interesting feature. There will be a wedge shaped private garden on the west side that will be a visual amenity" said Megan Mitchell, a project designer at the architecture firm, which has worked with United House of Prayer for All People on previous projects.

The Church was contacted but would not comment on the proposed building or the razing of the townhouses.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Deanwood Heights Subsidized Housing Project Starts Today

An affordable housing development team will kick off construction of its project in northeast Washington DC today. The team of Denning Development, UrbanMatters Development Partners, Beulah Community Improvement, and NCD Management, which the Fenty administration awarded with city funding in September of 2009, will build 63 subsidized units at 400-414 Eastern Avenue, NE (29 townhouses), and, in a later phase, the empty 6100 block of Dix Street, NE (34 townhouses), an area that can be conservatively described as blighted and in need of economic development. Square 134 Architects designed the new townhouses.

Eden Place will be available to families making up to 120% Area Median Income (AMI, which is $103,500 for family of 4). Home prices are based on income, but the 3 and 4 story townhouses will run from $199,000 to the high $200's, ranging in size from 1,484 s.f. to 1,680 s.f., with price based on income. Though the project will be entirely affordable, bucking prevailing wisdom of mixing subsidized and market housing, developer Raymond Nix of UrbanMatters says occupants will still span a range of incomes. "This is really mixed income, it provides opportunities for first-time homebuyers, but it goes up to 120% AMI, the phrase affordable housing is really a broad one."

Today marks the beginning of demolition only, but Nix thinks the first units could deliver by mid-Summer. In awarding the project, Mayor Adrian Fenty predicted that construction would begin in February of 2010, but Nix says that was never a realistic timeline, and that construction of phase 2 is "sales dependent."

UrbanMatters was also awarded the contract to redevelop the M.M. Washington School last March, and will turn the historic school into 90 subsidized apartments for seniors, a project that was criticized by some for excessive government funding ($6m to $8m) while competing developers asked for less city money, several of whom questioned why the District chose a publicly funded option over what the losing bidders viewed as more regenerative types of projects. Financing for Eden Place will come from DC's New Communities Program, with the city kicking in $3m, or $47,619 per unit, according to Nix, with no HUD funding. Eagle Bank is the construction financier. "We're really rooted in grassroots community development and community serving affordable housing" said Nix of UrbanMatters' mission.

Ajia Meux, immediate Past President of the Deanwood Citizens Association said that just about anything in the area is a net positive. "Because of the environment around those buildings I don't like going over there much. Its been boarded up for at least a year, and even though its an affordable housing project, I'm glad that ward 7 is getting some attention...We are the most underserved ward in the District, and I'm exicited to see economic development happening in the city, but especially here. Hopefully this will stabilize the neighborhood a little bit." The only cloud inside the silver lining was the price tag. "I question how affordable it really is," said Meux, noting that houses in the area often sell below $100,000, though remodeled houses start around $150,000, but Nix points out that new townhouses in the area tend to sell in the high $200,000's and low $300,000's.

Winmar will serve as the General Contractor, with Bowman Civil Engineering. A ceremony will be held today at 2pm.

Washington DC real estate development news

Church and Housing Provider Vindicated in Clarendon Case

A church's involvement in affordable housing subsidies by the state doesn't violate the Constitution. So says another court in the ongoing battle at The Views at Clarendon, which has cleared yet another legal hurdle in its battle to build an apartment building heavily subsidized by the government in place of the First Baptist Church of Clarendon. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit this week upheld a ruling, issued last May, that found that Arlington did not violate the state or U.S. constitutions by subsidizing the church-led project.

The struggle may finally wrap up 5 years of lawsuits 7 years after the Church hired the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to advise on an affordable housing project. The Church later sold the land to The Views at Clarendon Corporation, a non-profit, for $5.6m, with plans to build 46 market-rate and 70 affordable apartments. The Church retained 3 of 7 seats on the board, and will retain two floors within the new structure and a small building on the side. That lead to a neighbor arguing in Peter Glassman v. Arlington County, et. al that the subsidy amounted to unconstitutional support to a church, an argument that has been repeatedly rejected by both state and federal courts.

The news is a relief for the housing provider, not least because it began construction on the project last January (tearing down) and has just now begun building the 10-story structure, and the courts have refused to enjoin construction. While the case could be appealed - back to the same appellate court or to the U.S. Supreme Court - "further appeals are unlikely to be successful" says Raighne Delaney, an attorney Shareholder with Bean, Kinney & Korman, a law firm representing the non-profit. With plaintiffs having exhausted all automatic appeals, further appeals would be heard only at the discretion of the court.

"The county got a great bargain here," said Delaney. The nature of the bargain was a $13.1m loan the county gave to the developer, for which it got 70 subsidized apartments, with the feds kicking in a $14.5m loan and $20m grant for the project thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "Constitutionally, the only thing that mattered here was what the church got out of it. Even if it was a bad deal, the government is allowed to make bad deals," said Delaney, who stressed that the transaction is unbeatable for the county. Delaney said the real test is not whether the state is doing business with the church, but whether there is any "excessive entanglement" with the church. "The answer to that really is no. The state is not disallowed from doing business with the church, prohibiting regular business with the church would be a sort of anti-religious bigotry, and that's not allowed either."

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Jubilee Housing to Renovate and Expand Adams Morgan Property

A vacant, boarded, and derelict facade in Adams Morgan is set for a makeover and a fresh tenant in the new year, as local non-profit and affordable housing provider Jubilee Housing recently received approval from the BZA to renovate 2448 18th St, NW. The narrow, four-story brick building is sandwiched between the bright blue Reef and the red and white Draft Pix and will abandon its former life as a mixed use (residential/retail) building for new beginnings as a non-profit administrative headquarters.

The juxtaposition of eyesores and eye-popping color is a common theme in

Adams Morgan, but not necessarily a welcome one, as ANC1C voted unanimously to approve the developer's plans. One ANC member explained their appreciation for any change for the better to the BZA, saying of the property: "It’s been abandoned for six years, it’s gone through several different ownerships, it’s been blighted property during that entire time." Jubilee had apparently been the only entity to make a genuine effort to reach out to the community and communicate their plans for restoration and reuse. Such was news was ultimately appreciated by the local ANC and well received by the BZA.

Project architect Ronald Schneck of Square 134 Architects describes the building as being "in very poor condition," forcing a rather aggressive renovation (a level III renovation for the jargon-heads out there). This is essentially new construction, as almost 50 percent of the building will be gutted and renovated, with building codes forcing the installation of two new staircases and an elevator. These additions essentially made the traditional ground floor retail and residential space above unfeasible, as roughly 800 s.f. of usable ground floor space didn't exactly have local businesses lined up around the block for tenancy.

"You end up carving up the available space in such a way that you have bad housing and you have bad retail, neither works well," explains Schneck. As consequence, the space will become the operation headquarters of one of Jubilee Housing's affiliate organizations or another local non-profit with a "similar social mission": Jubilee Jumpstart Daycare Organization, Columbia Road Health Services, or Primary Healthcare Organization, etc.

Earlier this year Jubilee finished restoring the Ritz to use, and even more recently completed the resuscitation of the 23-unit Sorrento and the 47-unit Euclid with a well-attended ribbon cutting ceremony earlier this month. Without wading into the merits of subsidized housing, seemingly always a sticky subject on comment threads across the blogosphere, the revival of a dilapidated and crumbling facade is good news no matter how you spin it.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Four Points Teams With Comstock On Two DC Redevlopment Projects

After a lengthy hibernation in development limbo, Four Points LLC's W Street Townhomes, which earned HPRB approval in 2007 and a go-ahead from Zoning in 2008, is finally moving forward after developers announced their newly formed joint venture with Comstock Housing, a move that no doubt provided the capital injection necessary to jump-start a couple dormant projects. The project, now being nicknamed Cedar Hill, is planned for the corner of W Street and 13th Street SE; at roughly 40 units, it will be one of the most significant multi-unit residential construction projects to hit the streets of Historic Anacostia in many years.

The PGN-designed development will include a combination of larger, single-family townhomes and duplex-style units that double as condominiums. The seven single-family homes will each offer three bedrooms, a parking spot and a front yard. "What we tried to do is capture along W Street the historic nature of Anacostia," explains project architect Jeff Goins, "and then also create something unique for the neighborhood." Developers are waiting to hear back on their applications submitted for necessary building permits, but expect that they'll be able to break ground by mid-2011.

The joint-venture between Four Points and Comstock will also initiate redevelopment of a Lamond Riggs community, a development that went before the Zoning Commission as far back as 2006. The Northeast project that was most recently dubbed The Hampshires, with the design process headed by Arthur C. Lohsen of Frank & Lohsen Architects, proposes approximately 110 units, a healthy mix of townhomes, single family homes, and condominiums. The project also include a generous amount of green space, arriving in the form of a large, centrally located “great lawn,” as well as a number of smaller parks and gardens. The development will replace what was most recently the Med-Star Health facilities, and utilize a series of vacant lots along the 6000 block of New Hampshire Avenue, Peabody Ave, and Quakenbos St.

Each development will offer 10-20% of the total units at affordable housing rates. In a press release issued by Comstock last week, Four Points Principal Stan Voudrie said "We are big believers in the continuing demand for reasonably priced, for-sale housing in Washington, DC. These joint ventures with Comstock will allow us to deliver exactly that in both the Lamond Riggs and historic Anacostia neighborhoods." Christopher Clemente, Comstock's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer added: "We believe the strength of the Washington, DC area economy, and the demand for new housing in the District of Columbia provides tremendous opportunity to complement our existing platform in the greater Washington DC area."


Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Tax Abatement For NW1 On the Way, Groundbreaking Around the Bend

Phase One of the Northwest One project, located at 2 M Street NE, is progressing steadily towards their predicted 2011 late first quarter groundbreaking. A tax abatement bill for the property passed smoothly through the first round of deliberation at last week's District Council meeting, and has been put on the consent calender for the next Whole Council meeting on the 21st. The 10 year abatement would begin in the fiscal year 2015, and relieve developers from up to $5.7 million in District property dues. Developers at William C. Smith and Co. also report that they're nearly half way through the process to lock up financing through HUD’s Section 220 loan program. It seems a waiting game on multiple fronts, with plenty of time to cover all the bases before construction begins; project manager Steve Green reports, "We're in for every building permit there is."

The 12-story building, designed by Eric Colbert & Associates, is the first new construction project under the District-conceived New Communities Initiative, a program aimed at improving both the physical and social conditions of some of the District's most troubled neighborhoods. Not only will the transformation offer affordable places to live, but will also include social services; comprehensive efforts will be made towards connecting residents with job opportunities, offer guidance towards financial stability, and programs to reduce crime and substance abuse. The new construction, to be carried out by WCS Construction, will offer upon completion 314 units, as well as an on-site fitness center, pool, and basketball court. Fifty-nine of the residential units will be reserved for those earning 30% AMI, 34 at 60% AMI, and the remaining 221 will be rented at market rate. The building will also include 4,000 s.f. of ground floor retail.

Earning a lot of firsts, the building will be the initial installment of the Northwest One Initiative, the first neighborhood makeover of the New Communities program. The expansive project will offer much-needed development-first-aide for the scarred, crime-plagued real estate extending from K Street in the south to New York Avenue in the north, and stretching from North Capitol Street in the east to New Jersey Avenue in the west. The initial building will claim $82 million of the estimated total of $700 million in development and construction costs. The project's next phase will likely be the construction of a building directly to the north of phase one, but developers aren't getting ahead of themselves just yet; the lengthy two-year construction time for the first phase projects a delivery in the early part of 2013.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Forest City's Parcel D: The Yards Gets Moving

Last month Forest City presented their updated plans for a mixed-use development at the Yards to the local ANC, gratefully receiving a vote of approval. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) also voiced their support for the project earlier this year. And now the proposal, which sees rental apartments stacked atop ground floor retail, goes before the Zoning Commission next month in hopes of earning final approval. Dubbed "Parcel D," the project is one of the first phases of new construction at The Yards, a Southeast waterfront redevelopment site that will eventually feature 2,800 residential units, 1.8 million s.f. of new office space, and 400,000 s.f. of retail shops and dining places. Forest City already delivered the promised 5.5 acre, riverfront Yards Park early this summer. An expansive, vacant parking lot currently occupies the development site at the southeast corner of 4th and M St.

Under their current Parcel D plans, two towers totaling 225 apartments (20% of which will be offered as affordable housing at 50% of AMI) will rise 102 feet in the air, extending from a single differentiated base structure that will house the 50,000 s.f. grocery store (rumored to be Harris Teeter) a 30,000 s.f. health club, and a few smaller "neighborhood-serving" retail spaces. Developers are in final negotiations with several tenants, and will make announcements as soon as leases are executed, for now renderings reveal them simply as "grocery" and "health club." Below grade parking will serve the retail uses, while a third floor parking deck sandwiched between the grocery store and apartment towers will provide spaces for residents.

Project Manager Alex Nyhan of Forest City told ANC6D that he and his team were optimistic that the predicted LEED Silver certification could be upgraded to an ambitious Gold rating by the project's end. Shalom Baranes is responsible for the building design, which has evolved significantly over the last three years as architects and developers responded to the suggestions of the HPRB, the NCPC, and the surrounding community. While plans are firming up, there is still plenty of work to be done. Senior Vice President of Development Ramsey Meiser at Forest City explains that even if all goes swimmingly next month at the zoning hearing, architectural plans will still need to be finalized, and building permits must be secured, likely a six to ninth month process. "I'm hoping to have construction under way by the middle part of next year," Meiser says. Once a groundbreaking happens, excavation and subsequent construction is expected to last 20-24 months.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Rosslyn Mixed Income Apartments Redeveloped "Using Density Not Dollars"

In their quest to redevelop Key Boulevard apartments, AHC Inc. has adopted a slightly augmented proposal and a brand new motto: "Using density, not dollars." That is the team's credo for tackling the challenge of nearly doubling the number of affordable housing units on the 1.24 acre site while staying within limited density allowed by the County's Zoning guidelines. But with available space near public transit in Arlington quickly drying up, AHC is relishing the chance to secure affordable, transit-oriented apartments near one of the busiest Metro stations in the D.C. region.

Although traditionally the goal of AHC Inc is to pack as much affordable housing into a development as possible, with this project half of the proposed 160-170 units reserved as affordable housing. But developing a mixed income community makes the project more financially sustainable, and most-importantly, negates the need for County subsidies, a selling-point in the approval process. Indeed, compromise is the name of the game, and in cooperation with the surrounding neighborhoods, developers have reduced the bulky mass and originally proposed height of eight-stories, to a slimmer, more manageable, and community-requested six floors. But support for the building's size and density is far from overwhelming, so developers will continue to appeal for more widespread community input and support, as they feel theirs is a worthy cause.

Built in the 1940s, the aging affordable apartment community is a reminder of inequality and inefficiency amidst the ever-expanding hustle and bustle of the business-centric Rosslyn. Not far from where two of the regions soon-to-be-tallest buildings recently broke ground, aging heating systems, inefficient windows and appliances, no central air conditioning, and handicap accessibility issues make the 41-unit building at 1545 Key Boulevard a candidate ripe for a radical makeover.

To put their new motto to the test, AHC is proposing to transfer development rights from an affordable apartment community they finished renovating in 2007. Because the project adhered closely to the historic character of the Gates of Ballston aesthetic, with its low-rise garden-style design, the project remained under developed, leaving excess development rights available for transfer and reuse. This technique is rather common, reports AHC, but transferring rights from one neighborhood to another (Ballston to Rosslyn) is "an innovative approach to maximizing affordable opportunities in the transit corridor." Although it's uncommon to transfer development rights from projects separated by some two miles, developers believe the opportunity to create transit-oriented, energy-efficient, affordable housing justifies the unique strategy.

Preliminary architectural schematics for the 70 ft. tall building are being offered by WDG Architecture. Developers have purposefully offered limited detail in their renderings; in order to remain adaptable and responsive to the always evolving back and forth of the community involvement process; Joseph P. Weatherly, Senior Project Manager at AHC explained his team had refrained from "engaging WDG to put too many specific ideas on paper until we feel like we have more comprehensive support from the entire community." However, designers have included planning for a rooftop terrace and green roof. The proposal also includes underground parking, a community center, neighboring park, and a landscaped courtyard. The community center would serve as a base for various resident programming, including after-school programs for children. AHC continues to work diligently alongside Bush Construction Corp., their general contractor and development partner. But with community dialog still ongoing, and the County Site Plan approval process still to come, developers don't expect construction to commence until at least January of 2012, and the expected delivery date arriving some twenty four months later.

Arlington, VA Real Estate Development News