The Arlington View Terrace apartments, which mostly have views of part of the Army-Navy Country Club golf course, are set for redevelopment.
The Arlington County Board last week allocated just over $8 million — a $7.25 million loan from the county’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund and a nearly $1 million grant — to help fund the redevelopment of the aging apartment complex at 1420 S. Rolfe Street, in the Arlington View neighborhood on the eastern end of Columbia Pike.
The 30-unit garden-style apartment complex is set to be torn down and replaced by a new building with 77 apartments, affordable for those making 30-60% of Area Median Income, according to local affordable housing developer AHC Inc.
“The Arlington View Terrace redevelopment enables AHC to add much-needed affordable living opportunities in a rapidly gentrifying area along Columbia Pike,” AHC President and CEO Walter Webdale said in a statement. “The new building will also help diversify housing options with 15 new three-bedroom apartments, eight fully accessible units and 10% of the new apartments designated for households earning no more than 30% AMI.”
A press release notes that AHC is “also exploring solar panels and a possible partnership with Connect Arlington to provide free Wi-Fi for residents at the site.”
AHC spokeswoman Celia Slater tells ARLnow that “if all goes well, we could start construction in Spring 2021 and open doors to new families in Spring 2023.”
“We are working with a relocation firm to help [current residents] move temporarily to other apartments – hopefully other nearby AHC properties,” she added. “All current residents will have first opportunity to move back into the new apartments. We work one-on-one with individuals and families to meet their needs – like trying to keep kids in the same schools if possible, etc.”
Arlington View Terrace is one of a number of Form Based Code developments along the Columbia Pike corridor currently making their way through the development pipeline.
The full press release from AHC Inc. is below, after the jump.
The Arlington County Board allocated $8.23 million in funding last week to help redevelop AHC Inc.’s Arlington View Terrace apartment community at 1420 South Rolfe Street. The allocation includes a $7.25 million loan from the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) and $984,000 of Transit Oriented Affordable Housing (TOAH) grant funds.
Located on the eastern end of Columbia Pike, Arlington View Terrace is a garden-apartment style community with seven two- and three-story red brick buildings. The redevelopment will demolish the largest building on the site, which includes 30 apartments, and replace it with a new EarthCraft Certified Gold structure with 77 apartments.
Once completed, the expanded apartment community will provide affordable homes to 124 individuals and families earning between 30% and 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which ranges from $36,400 to $72,780 for a family of four, for 75 years.
“The Arlington View Terrace redevelopment enables AHC to add much-needed affordable living opportunities in a rapidly gentrifying area along Columbia Pike, said AHC President and CEO Walter D. Webdale. “The new building will also help diversify housing options with 15 new three-bedroom apartments, eight fully accessible units and 10% of the new apartments designated for households earning no more than 30% AMI.”
AHC is also exploring solar panels and a possible partnership with Connect Arlington to provide free Wi-Fi for residents at the site.
“As Arlington faces an ongoing challenge to provide adequate affordable housing, the Arlington View Terrace project is an innovative approach to not only preserving affordability, but also addressing environmental and equity issues,” said Arlington Board Chair Libby Garvey.
The $38 million redevelopment’s next step is to apply for competitive Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, which will be awarded later this year.
AHC Inc., a nonprofit developer based in Arlington, VA, builds and preserves affordable and mixed-income housing in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. Since 1975, AHC has developed more than 7,500 apartments in the mid-Atlantic region, including nearly 4,000 in Arlington. AHC’s Resident Services program reaches 3,000 children, teens, adults and seniors each year through onsite education and social service programs and activities.