Dear John,

We begin 2022 with our health and safety at continued risk due to the COVID pandemic. All of us are effected, but people of color are disproportionately impacted by the trauma of housing instability, evictions, food insecurity and job loss. As we enter the new year, we are grateful for vaccinations, masks and those who care enough about the broader community to engage in preventative health practices.

In 2021, our supply of naturally occurring affordable housing continued to decrease and rents continued to skyrocket. But affordable housing developers – despite the increased construction costs, material delays and more vocal community opposition - made significant progress building new housing and preserving market-affordable communities. This development activity, aided by increased financial investments from local and state governments, gave Northern Virginia a considerable leg up in achieving our regionally adopted housing goals. When we tally up the numbers, here’s what happened in 2021: *

Alexandria:
New construction: 235
Preserved: 466
Unit total = 701

Arlington
New construction: 658
Preserved: 2,212
Unit total: 2,870

Fairfax County
New construction: 1,234
Preserved: 861
Unit total = 2,095

Loudoun County
New construction: 278

City of Falls Church
Preserved: 4

*New construction indicates projects that have been approved with financing in place, and/or are under construction; preserved indicates unsubsidized units that have become committed affordable units. This count is for rental housing only, and does not include renovation of existing, committed affordable units. We also note that there are thousands of affordable units in the pipeline across these jurisdictions.

What we did well

TOD A majority of these developments are located at or near a metro station, or have access to multi-modal transit; coordinating land use and transportation planning to create more compact communities and reduce auto dependence. Amazon’s $125 million commitment to fund affordable housing construction on Metro-owned properties increases the opportunities for development at these strategic locations.
More deeply affordable units Developments increased opportunities for households at very low income levels. Projects took advantage of rental subsidies or vouchers provided by local government agencies to create more deeply affordable units for households earning between 40-60% AMI.
Increased resident services The pandemic highlighted the need for increased resident services, and many property owners, working in concert with public and private sector partners, helped residents secure rental assistance, food and access to healthcare. Ensuring that everyone had adequate and affordable broadband service became essential.

Where more work is needed

In a region as wealthy as ours, we have the resources to end homelessness now. There are also members of our community who continue to struggle with adequate, affordable housing. They include persons and households with extremely low incomes, those with disabilities or suffering with serious mental illness, and seniors who need affordable assisted living. These housing types are the most difficult to develop in terms of cost and location, but we do have examples of strategies that are successfully addressing these needs.

How do we get there?

Quite simply, build more housing, increasing both supply and affordability. We continue to lose more affordable units than we build or preserve. In a recent interview with the Washington Business Journal, Stephen Moret, the outgoing CEO for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, was asked the following question: In 2019, you said that if you had a do-over with the Amazon HQ2 pitch, you would include more affordable housing funding in the incentive package. Where do you stand on this today, given the company’s investments?

"My personal belief is that the number one thing that is holding back the growth of Northern Virginia and probably the whole D.C. metro is a lack of housing. If I could snap my fingers and fix one thing, it would be to greatly increase the supply of housing, affordable housing as well, but really housing in general."

Taking Mr. Moret's words to heart, our focus will be on the following proven strategies in the new year:

Continue support for land use policies that facilitate affordable housing construction;
Reform zoning and density policies to create new housing types that address unmet housing needs in locations that provide maximum opportunities. Current policies perpetuate the legacy of segregation and racism and must be deconstructed;
Streamline the site plan approval and permitting process, adopting a 'green tape' review process. It shouldn’t take 18 months+ for development to be approved;
Cultivate public/private partnerships. Amazon has been exemplary in their investments and their collaboration with local governments, nonprofit partners, and WMATA. Other corporate leaders like healthcare institutions and major employers should have a stake investing in these housing challenges. Our housing supply is inextricably intertwined with the region's economic vitality;
Support advocacy that builds and sustains political will to address our unmet housing needs. Continue outreach to elected officials and decisionmakers and build coalitions with aligned interests with a focus on health, education, and racial equity.

To address increasing community opposition to development, we must engage in courageous conversations that go beyond the slogans of what we want to address the legitimate concerns of congestion and schools and provide meaningful solutions. While we won’t change all hearts and minds, we can mitigate opposition.

Growth, diversity and inclusion are the values we promote. It’s time for advocates to take that message into our communities to realize the vision of decent, quality housing for all.

In partnership,

Michelle Krocker
Executive Director

Registration opens March 1, 2022