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City of Alexandria

Alexandria’s FY 2025 Budget was adopted on Wednesday, May 1. The City Council approved a real estate rate increase of 2.5 cents, bringing the rate to $1.135, the first increase in 7 years. Additionally, $33.1 million was budgeted for affordable housing and eviction prevention funding, with $16.8 million allocated for affordable housing, marking a 5.8% increase over last year. The City Manager’s proposed FY 2025-FY 2034 CIP includes $3 million in one-time funding for affordable housing projects in the pipeline. Thank you to the many advocates and partners who spoke up for increased affordable housing investments during this year’s budget process.

Those hoping to learn more about the candidates running for local office in Alexandria can do so at two upcoming candidate forums:

Tenants and Workers United is hosting a Candidate Forum tonight at 6:00-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 at the Tenants and Workers United, 3801 Mount Vernon Avenue. The rain location is the Del Ray United Methodist Church at 100 E Windsor Avenue, Alexandria.
VOICE is hosting a Candidate Forum on Saturday, May 11, from 3:45 - 6:00 pm at Third Baptist Church, 917 Princess St, Alexandria. Come and listen to the candidates' priorities, and where they stand on our priorities of housing and behavioral health justice. Please RSVP on VOICE’s website.

Arlington County

The FY25 Arlington County Budget passed with the base real estate tax increasing by 2 cents to $1.033. A total of $113 million was allocated for various programs aimed at stabilizing housing for households in need. This includes:

$15.1 million for the County’s Housing Grant Program, with a new pilot for youth aging out of foster care,
$5.7 million for Permanent Supportive Housing,
$4.3 million for Eviction Prevention, and
$21.5 million for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF). The AHIF included an additional $1 million for affordable units at 30% of area median income.

The Board retained 2 Planning positions slated to be eliminated, which advocates had pointed out were crucial for efforts such as the Langston Blvd corridor. Thank you to the many advocates and partners who spoke up for increased affordable housing investments during this year’s budget process.

Learn about Future Plans for Barcroft Apartments at an Open House this Saturday, May 4 from 10 am - 1 pm at the Barcroft Apartments Community Meeting Rooms (adjacent to the rental office), 1130 South George Mason Drive, Arlington, VA 22204. Arlington County staff are currently reviewing the land use proposals in the Master Financing and Development Plan (MFDP) for Barcroft Apartments. Come learn more about these plans for the future and share your priorities, concerns, and questions.

Advocates are needed to support the Melwood Project (750 23rd Street S.) at the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, May 6 at 7:00 pm (Hybrid). You can attend in person or Join Via Teams Meeting ID: 260 399 123 192, Passcode: kvep5e. If you are interested in receiving a copy of NVAHA - Arlington’s talking points, please email Alice Hogan.

Join Arlington County's Housing Division for the 2024 Tenant Summit, a half-day of educational workshops for tenants on Saturday, June 8 at Lubber Run Community Center. The summit will provide technical (Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Fair Housing) and non-technical information to empower tenants to manage housing issues and enjoy living in the community. Register by May 31.

The Profile, Arlington’s annual statistical factbook, provides a snapshot of Arlington’s demographics, workforce, development, transportation, and community services. This year's Profile has been redesigned to include the Langston Boulevard corridor as well as new information on disabilities, race and ethnicity, and expanded housing types. Housing statistics begin on page 5.

Fairfax County

The Board of Supervisors approved the FY25 Fairfax County Budget markup package, lowering the tax rate from $1.135 to $1.125. For affordable housing, $4 million was allocated in FY 2024's Third Quarter Review. The Board aims to reach a total investment of two pennies on the Real Estate Tax rate by FY 2027, urging the County Executive to add recurring resources in FY 2026 and pursue additional funding sources like federal and state grants for affordable housing initiatives. Budget adoption is scheduled for May 7, 2024. Thank you to the many advocates and partners who spoke up for increased affordable housing investments during this year’s budget process.

Please plan to join Ventures in Community and attend the next Franconia Community Meeting to receive feedback from the County about the redevelopment of the Franconia Government Center for affordable housing on Monday, May 6, from 6 - 8 pm at the John Lewis High School (cafeteria), 6540 Franconia Rd Springfield, VA 22150. Please register here.

Select Fairfax County Affordable Housing Waitlist Applications are open now through Sunday, May 5, 2024, for Briarcliff Townhomes, Coppermine Place II, Culpepper Garden Senior Apartments, and Lindsay Hill Senior Apartments.

FCRHA and SCG Development announced the preservation of 319 affordable homes at Creekside Village Apartments located at 7979 Janna Lee Avenue in Alexandria. Originally built in 1976, Creekside Village Apartments consists of 29 buildings on a seven-acre parcel. Renovations are expected to include energy efficiency upgrades to building interiors and exteriors. The preservation of the property will result in deeper affordability of many of the homes. Financing includes Virginia Housing mortgage loans, subordinate financing from FCRHA, 4% LIHTC equity from Truist Community Capitals, and a seller loan.

Loudoun County

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved a $6.9 billion budget for FY 2025. The budget features a reduced real property tax rate of $0.865 per $100 assessed value (one cent lower than the current rate), alongside an unchanged personal property tax rate of $4.15 per $100 assessed value for tax year 2024. The budget designates funding equivalent to one-half cent of the real property tax rate (approximately $7.4 million) to affordable housing programs, with plans to consider additional funding later in the fiscal year amounting to another half-cent of the real property tax. Thank you to the many advocates and partners who spoke up for increased affordable housing investments during this year’s budget process.

The Planning Commission endorsed a rezoning application for an 80-unit attainable housing community in Sterling, through first-time expedited review pilot process. The application from Good Works would rezone just over 3 acres along Atlantic Boulevard from Planned-Development Housing 6 to Multi-Family Residential to provide housing for residents earning up to 80% of the area’s median income. The units will be between 650 and 1,225 square feet.

Freedom Virginia is hosting a Northern Virginia Organizers Summit on Saturday, May 4, from 10 am - 1 pm at the Cascades Library, Meeting Room A, 21030 Whitfield Pl. Potomac Falls, VA. There will be networking and resource sharing among community advocates, activists, and volunteers Lunch will be provided for all attendees and will include a panel "The Future of NOVA Advocacy: Taking the Lead from Organizers of Color" Please REGISTER for an accurate headcount.

Prince William County

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved a $1.80 billion general fund budget for FY 2025, which includes a reduction in the real estate tax rate from $0.966 to $0.920 per $100 of assessed value. This results in an average residential real estate tax bill increase of $26, while the C&P tax rate increased to $3.70 per $100 of assessed value. Notably, the budget demonstrates a commitment to affordable housing by establishing an affordable housing office and allocating $5.5 million in FY25 and FY26, with $5 million annually in FY 27-29, to an affordable housing trust aimed at promoting the construction of affordable housing units. Thank you to the many advocates and partners who spoke up for increased affordable housing investments during this year’s budget process.

Comments are closed on the draft Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance. Planning staff is reviewing feedback and the item is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on May 22, with a Board of County Supervisors Work Session on June 11 and a Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on July 16 (dates subject to change).

Northern Virginia

HUD published the 2024 Income Limits for Northern Virginia (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area. Once again, the regional family area median income increased and is now $154,700 per year.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments opened their next round of funding on May 1 for the HAPP (Housing Affordability Planning Program). Applicants can submit a (max) one page project abstract for feedback on a proposal by June 3. Full applications are due July 1^st and awards will be announced by the COG Board of Directors in October. Applications are accepted from COG member governments and local nonprofit affordable housing developers (with a letter of support required from the COG member government specifically for this program). Email [email protected] with questions.

ULI Washington and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) are accepting applications for their Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) Partnership for FY25. These panels provide government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other decision-making entities with specific recommendations about a particular land use issue with expert help from 8-10 ULI Washington members. ULI Washington and COG will continue to prioritize projects in Equity Emphasis Areas, High Capacity Transit Station Areas, and Activity Centers. The window for application submissions will close at 4pm ET on Friday, May 31, 2024.

Virginia

We have some State Budget and General Assembly updates to share. While we await the outcome of the special budget session on May 15, we thank our partners at the Virginia Housing Alliance (VHA) for their General Assembly Wrap-Up document. Thank you also to Isabel McLain of VHA for being our featured speaker at last month’s NVAHA Lunch & Learn.

Effective May 3, the Virginia Mortgage Relief Program will close as all federal funds will have been allocated. Applications initiated before this deadline will be processed based on remaining funds, prioritizing those at risk of foreclosure. Homeowners needing help are urged to apply immediately and explore additional resources at virginiamortgagerelief.com/resources.

The Virginia Department of Energy will receive over $156 million in federal funding as part of the Solar for All program, from which around 50% of the Commonwealth’s households will be eligible to benefit. Funding will focus on low-income residents and residents of communities that are designated as underserved, but developers can submit proposals for larger projects such as solar panels for community housing.

Novogradac reports that the IRS allocated an additional $8.2 Million in Unused LIHTCs to 28 States, with Virginia receiving $327,575. The national demand for the LIHTC is robust and unused authority sometimes results from states having too little remaining LIHTC authority to be allocated to an affordable housing property.

Articles & Tools of Interest

Northern Virginia trails behind regional goals. Washington Post analysis of HAND data reveals that the region would need to build 87 units per day to achieve its goals, Washington Post (paywall).
HAND released their 2024 Housing Indicator Tool (HIT), HAND
No Single Policy Will Increase Housing Affordability. We Need a Comprehensive Strategy, Urban Institute
ADUs could expand the affordable housing toolkit—if local governments can work through some growing pains, Brookings