Columbia Pike

Two local chefs named semifinalists for James Beard award, recognizing culinary excellence

By Matt Blitz
1/2

(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) Two local chefs have been named semifinalists for a prestigious James Beard award.

Rahman “Rock” Harper of Queen Mother’s Fried Chicken on Columbia Pike and Kevin Tien, owner of Hot Lola’s in Rosslyn and Ballston, were both recognized as semifinalists for “Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic” in this year’s James Beard awards. The nominations were announced last week.

Named after the famed American chef, the national award recognizes “exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system.”

The Alexandria native Harper is the owner and head chef at Queen Mother’s Fried Chicken, located inside the local incubator Kitchen of Purpose at 918 S. Lincoln Street, just off of Columbia Pike, in the Alcova Heights neighborhood.

It opened in late 2020 with a menu, as might be expected considering the name, focused on fried chicken sandwiches.

Harper is also an author and winner of the third season of the cooking reality show “Hell’s Kitchen.” He told ARLnow that being named a James Beard semifinalist was a “pleasant surprise” and that the response from critics and diners alike has been “surreal.”

“They remind me that while pursuing my passion for telling Black stories through food, we will be rewarded with positive feedback along the journey,” Harper said via email. “Columbia Pike and Arlington have been incredibly supportive and welcoming to Queen Mother’s and I look forward to being here for many years! I hope this can serve as an example to customers, restaurateurs, elected officials, and developers that the future of Arlington and Northern Virginia dining is pretty bright.”

While Tien was actually nominated for his cooking at D.C.’s Moon Rabbit, he’s also known for Hot Lola’s and its two Arlington locations. The fast-casual restaurant also serves fried chicken sandwiches, but Tien’s blends Sichuan spices with the traditional Nashville recipe, creating his own brand of hot chicken.

The first Hot Lola’s location opened in the Ballston Quarter food hall in 2019, while the Rosslyn restaurant opened this past summer. Another location is coming to Fairfax County’s Lincolnia neighborhood.

Tien told ARLnow that being nominated for a James Beard award is an “amazing accomplishment” and represents “more than just good food and service.“

“It represents the commitment we make to our team, our community, our purveyors that we are cooking with purpose and for a cause,” he said via email. “To have a restaurant in Virginia with two other amazing Virginia chefs, Rock Harper and Joy Crump whom I love so much is incredible. The Arlington and NoVa dining scene is amazing and I am happy to be a small part of it.”

Ruthie’s All-Day chef and owner Matt Hill was named a Mid-Atlantic semifinalist last year as well.

It’s been a big month for local restaurant recognition. Four Arlington eateries were included in Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best Restaurants list for 2023 last week, while Charga Grill on Langston Blvd was named the area’s best casual restaurant by Washington Post food critic Tim Carman earlier in January.

DEVELOPING: Person shot, Bob & Edith’s on Columbia Pike damaged after night of gunfire

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) One person was seriously injured and Bob & Edith’s Diner was damaged after two incidents of gunfire in Arlington last night.

The first shooting happened in the Green Valley neighborhood, near the intersection of 22nd Street S. and S. Kenmore Street, shortly after 11 p.m. Witnesses reported hearing 5-6 gunshots in the area, exchanged between two vehicles, per scanner traffic.

Shortly thereafter, gunfire was reported along the 2300 block of Columbia Pike and apparent bullet holes were found in the windows of Bob & Edith’s Diner. No one at the diner was hurt, according to police.

Then, at 11:20 p.m., an officer reported to dispatch that a person who was shot had arrived at Virginia Hospital Center in a car with numerous bullet holes. The driver of the vehicle was detained for questioning, per scanner traffic.

Police said the gunshot victim was treated for “serious injuries.” The Fairfax County police helicopter was called in to help search for the suspects but nothing was found, according to Arlington County police.

In a press release issued later this morning, police said that the victim is in stable condition, confirmed that the two shootings are linked, and asked for tips.

The preliminary investigation indicates the victim was stopped at the traffic light at 22nd Street S. and S. Kenmore Street when the suspect discharged multiple rounds at the victim’s vehicle from a black sedan. Following the shooting, the victim drove away from the scene but the suspect followed and discharged additional rounds towards the victim’s vehicle at Columbia Pike and S. Wayne Street. The victim was then able to leave the scene and seek medical assistance at a hospital.

Responding officers processed both scenes, collected evidence, spoke with witnesses and conducted an aerial search with the assistance of a police helicopter. Residents are asked to review their home surveillance for any video that may assist the ongoing investigation. Additionally, anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

This was not the week’s first outburst of gunfire. Shots were fired overnight Sunday into Monday in the Green Valley and Arlington Mills neighborhoods, but no injuries have been reported from those incidents.

There were at least three shootings in Green Valley last year:

  • A man shot and seriously injured near the Lucky Seven Food Mart on July 6, 2022
  • A man shot by police after he allegedly walked around the neighborhood firing gunshots at random on Oct. 14, 2022
  • A man shot and seriously injured after an apparent dispute, resulting in the arrest of a 40-year-old Arlington resident, on Nov. 27, 2022

Crime report: ACPD investigating gunfire in two neighborhoods, ACFD arrests arson suspect

By ARLnow.com
Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

Arlington County police are investigating two separate incidents of gunfire overnight.

The first happened in the Green Valley neighborhood, where shots were fired shortly after 10:30 p.m. and police found a possible blood trail, according to scanner traffic.

The second happened just before 2 a.m. in the Arlington Mill neighborhood. Two buildings were struck by bullets and a witness reported seeing three “heavily armed” men flee the scene.

In both incidents, a police helicopter was called in from a nearby law enforcement agency but was unable to locate the suspects.

More from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

SHOTS FIRED, 2023-01290277, 2400 block of S. Lowell Street. At approximately 10:41 p.m. on January 29, police were on a separate call for service in the area when they heard possible shots fired. During the course of the investigation, officers recovered evidence confirming shots had been fired. A search of the area by officers and a police helicopter yielded negative results. No injuries or property damage have been reported at this time. Witnesses reported a dark-colored sedan leaving the area at a high rate of speed. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

SHOTS FIRED, 2023-01300020, 800 block of S. Harrison Street. At approximately 1:52 a.m. on January 30, police were dispatched to the report of shots heard. During the course of the investigation, officers recovered evidence confirming shots had been fired in the area and located property damage to two residences. A search of the area was conducted, with the assistance of a police helicopter, which yielded negative results. A witness reported seeing approximately three unknown male suspects flee the scene in a sedan. No injuries were reported. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

Also today, the Arlington County Fire Department announced that fire marshals have arrested a 33-year-old Arlington man, after a balcony fire at an apartment building along Arlington’s western end of Columbia Pike.

More from an ACFD press release:

At 6:57 a.m. on Jan. 27, the Arlington County Fire Department was dispatched to the 5500 block of Columbia Pike for a reported structure fire. Crews found a small fire on the balcony that was quickly extinguished. During the course of the investigation, the Fire Marshals recovered evidence indicating the fire had been intentionally set. The suspect, a resident of the building, was taken into custody at the scene without incident.

Hat tip to Alan Henney

Columbia Pike florist fled persecution in Ethiopia and made arrangements for Biden’s inauguration

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

(Updated at 8:15 pm on 02/27/23) When florist and collage artist Azeb Woldie fled Ethiopia after being harassed and imprisoned by the government, she settled on Columbia Pike and began working with a flower shop in Alexandria.

She never imagined that within a few years of moving here, her arrangements would make it onto TV and be seen by millions of people.

Around this time two years ago, Woldie had the unforgettable experience of making some of the flower arrangements used in President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Now, she owns her own flower shop on Columbia Pike called Azi Flowers (903 S. Highland Street), which she opened in September.

“I am a fierce entrepreneur and a fighter, and I only see things in a positive way and I use all negatives to develop my business as opportunities,” she tells ARLnow.

From a young age, she remembers painting and playing with colors, eventually moving into collage art, which was exhibited in art galleries in Ethiopia. She worked with flowers for more than 15 years in Ethiopia and during that time, opened a photography and film school with her youngest brother in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital.

“It was an exciting time to see young people learn to express themselves through pictures and making films,” she said.

Her students began making films that expressed their views on human rights, put her at odds with the Ethiopian government, which accused her school of producing photojournalists who opposed the state. (An earlier version of this article tied this persecution to the recently ended civil war in the Tigray region, but she fled before this conflict began.)

“I was harassed, imprisoned there,” she said. “Finally I just could not go on where I had to flee the country and come to the United States.”

Now, she is settled on Columbia Pike, where she says people are encouraging and friendly, helping her along as she works to grow her new flower shop. She says the flower business is like a jigsaw puzzle of promotion, marketing, financial capacity and networking.

“I am working my level best to put the different pieces in my capacity to land in their place, but not all pieces are coming together,” she said.

Inflation has hiked flower prices, leading fewer people to spend money on arrangements or to check the price tags more often when they do. Still, she finds solace in how people turn to flowers to express their joy and their sadness.

During the pandemic, people used flowers “to show their camaraderie and connection to affected family and friends,” she said.

Woldie says she enjoys making arrangements for funerals and for weddings the most because of the milestones they communicate.

“A funeral is the last day of life, and showing your love with beautiful arrangements gives the living solace and shows their affection for the passing,” she said. “A wedding is another life event where the two people have a new beginning in life, and at that juncture it is a way of showing a delightful beginning.”

Woldie says flowers are a natural way to show “love, affection and caring.”

“One can even see the flower beds in the garden or flower pots at your doorstep and [get] a good feeling,” she said. “It is nature’s way of smiling at you [against] all odds.”

This story has been updated. 

Police looking for vandal who ripped mirror off car, chucked it through apartment window

By ARLnow.com
Apartments on the 3800 block of Columbia Pike (via Google Maps)

A man went on a vandalism spree along Columbia Pike last night, police say.

The incident happened around 10:45 p.m. amid the apartment buildings on Columbia Pike between George Mason Drive and Glebe Road.

“The victims heard a loud noise and observed a window to their residence had been broken and subsequently determined a window to their vehicle had also been shattered,” the Arlington County Police Department said in a crime report. “During the course of the investigation, it was determined the mirror of a vehicle parked in the 3700 block of 12th Street S. had been removed and thrown through a residential window in the 3800 block of Columbia Pike.”

“Additionally, vandalism was reported inside the common area to the residential building,” the crime report noted. The suspect, said to be around 20 years old, remains at large.

Also in today’s crime report, a 54-year-old Arlington man allegedly carjacked a woman he knows following a dispute.

The incident happened yesterday (Thursday) morning near Arlington’s western end of Columbia Pike.

From ACPD:

CARJACKING, 2023-01120081, 1000 block of S. Frederick Street. At approximately 10:25 a.m. on January 12, police were dispatched to the report of an assault. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim and suspect, who are known to each other, became involved in a verbal dispute, during which the suspect allegedly assaulted the victim before fleeing the scene in her vehicle. The victim sustained minor injuries and did not require the treatment of medics. Officers obtained a warrant for the suspect, made telephone contact with him and coordinated him turning himself in to police. [The suspect], 54, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Carjacking. He was released on his own recognizance.

Part of Columbia Pike to close later this month for cemetery expansion

By Matt Blitz
The Arlington National Cemetery Defense Access Roads Project, set to be completed in 2025 (image via screenshot/FHWA)

(Updated at 12:40 p.m. on 8/16/23) A portion of Columbia Pike is set to close for more than a year later this month to help make way for Arlington National Cemetery’s expansion.

The half-mile section of Columbia Pike between S. Joyce Street and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) facility just east of S. Oak Street is expected to be shuttered starting Monday, Jan. 23.

It will remain closed until the summer of 2024.

The closures are part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Arlington National Cemetery Defense Access Roads (DAR) project that’s being done to accommodate the 50-acre southern expansion of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC).

This will add about 80,000 burial sites, allowing the cemetery to continue burials through the 2050s. The expansion will also bring the Air Force Memorial within cemetery grounds as well as provide space for the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center, with construction on that currently slated to start next year.

The overall expansion project remains on track to be completed by 2027, an ANC spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.

Some detour specifics for the Pike closure are expected to be announced in the coming days, though the ANC spokesperson did share the general plan via email.

Traffic will be redirected to travel north on a new segment of S. Nash Street that will be opened between Columbia Pike and Southgate Road and one block east of S. Oak Street. It’s marked as a “new access road” on the map below.

The new road layout circumventing the closed portion of Columbia Pike over the next year (map via Arlington National Cemetery)

Then, to circumvent the closed portion of the Pike, traffic will be sent east on Southgate Road to the existing S. Joyce Street/Columbia Pike intersection, which will remain open.

For pedestrians and cyclists, there is set to be a “dedicated” sidewalk with a buffer zone and barricades. Those “are currently being constructed in anticipation of the 1/23 closure,” the ANC spokesperson said

At the moment, there is an established pedestrian and bike detour along the north side of Southgate Road as well as a temporary sidewalk to the east of S. Joyce Street that connects with the sidewalk under the I-395 bridge.

Vehicle, pedestrian, and bike detours along Columbia Pike through Jan. 23 (via Arlington County)
Vehicle, pedestrian, and bike detours along Columbia Pike through Jan. 23 (via Arlington County)

Last week, though, a reader reached out to ARLnow about how a portion of the pedestrian and bike detour has a “large patch of gravel” rendering it not accessible for some.

“While a wheelchair user might be able to make it across that patch, it wouldn’t be easy,” they wrote. The reader said that locals have reached out to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) about the gravel but, so far, little has been done.

Local officials told ARLnow that they have since addressed that patch of gravel.

(more…)

Gun brandishing suspect allegedly tries to flee while still in handcuffs

By ARLnow.com
File photo

An 18-year-old Arlington man is facing multiple charges after a dispute led to an alleged gun brandishing and then a foot chase.

The incident started Wednesday afternoon in the Arlington Mill neighborhood, just north of Arlington’s western end of Columbia Pike. It ended with the suspect being detained near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive — and then, according to scanner traffic at the time, leading police on a brief foot chase while in handcuffs.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

BRANDISHING, 2023-01040171, S. Harrison Street at 8th Street S. At approximately 3:38 p.m. on January 4, police were dispatched to the report of an abduction. During the course of the investigation, officers made contact with the involved parties, who are known to each other, and determined no abduction had occurred. The investigation indicates the male suspect became involved in a verbal dispute with the male victim, during which he allegedly brandished a firearm before leaving the scene in a vehicle. Responding officers located the suspect in the 1000 block of S. Edgewood Street and detained him. While the investigation was ongoing, the suspect fled from officers on foot. Officers initiated a foot pursuit and took the suspect into custody. A firearm was recovered and a search of the victim’s vehicle yielded suspected narcotics. [The suspect], 18, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Brandishing, Possession of Schedule I/II, Possession of a Firearm while in Possession of Drugs and Obstruction of Justice. He was held without bond.

Also in the latest crime report, a resident of the Penrose neighborhood found a bullet that had somehow entered their home’s bedroom.

Police radio traffic at the time suggested that the resident found a bullet hole in their roof while taking down Christmas lights — perhaps after someone within a mile or so fired a gun into the air — but an ACPD spokeswoman was unable to confirm any details of the incident to ARLnow, beyond what was in the crime report.

MISSILE INTO OCCUPIED DWELLING, 2023-01040139, 100 block of S. Cleveland Street. At approximately 12:38 p.m. on January 4, police were dispatched to the report of suspicious circumstances. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was in his home when he located damage to a bedroom. Responding officers recovered a bullet and located property damage to a ceiling within a bedroom. No injuries were reported. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

The former owner of Atilla’s on Columbia Pike is a new partner in a Glebe Road restaurant

By Matt Blitz
1/2

The former owner of Atilla’s on Columbia Pike has combined forces with his brother for a new restaurant.

Back in May, the well-loved Turkish restaurant Atilla’s and its next-door grocery store closed on Columbia Pike after nearly five decades of operation due to the building’s impending demolition. At the time, Atilla’s management told ARLnow that they were looking for another close-by space where they could open a new business that would focus on carry-out and retail.

But those plans appear to have changed somewhat.

Instead, Atilla’s owner Zulkuf Gezgic is now working with his brother at a relatively new restaurant on S. Glebe Road called Akivva Grill.

That restaurant opened at 2921 S. Glebe Road in the fall of 2021, but it was about two months ago when Gezgic “combined” his business with his brother’s.

Akivva, located about two miles away from Atilla’s former home, is a “different concept” than his previous eatery, Gezgic told ARLnow, but the Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine is similar to Atilla’s.

At the moment, he’s “unsure” if he’ll open another Atilla’s. Gezgic said he decided to not open an altogether new restaurant but, rather, work with his brother on an already existing one because Akivva was already an “established brand.”

The former location of Atilla’s is still standing, though it’s expected to be torn down soon to make way for a new residential development. Currently, there’s a sign on the door directing people to the new location.

Sign on the door of the former location of Atilla’s Restaurant on Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Gabe Paal)

The restaurant’s original owner, Atilla Kan, opened the restaurant on Columbia Pike in the mid-1970s.

In 1998, he sold it to Gezgic but Kan stayed on making bread, hummus, and other items for the majority of the next two decades. Because of that, the menu didn’t change that much from when it first opened nearly 50 years ago.

But what did change was the neighborhood, with impending development up and down Columbia Pike prompting several other businesses like Atilla’s to close. Next door, The Salsa Room moved to Tysons in 2020. Last year, both the Columbia Pike Partnership and the Black Heritage Museum closed and relocated down the street.

In May, the Atilla’s long-time manager Sarah Engi told ARLnow that it felt like many of Arlington’s older, small businesses were being pushed out.

“I’m sad. We are losing family,” Engi said. “Big companies are moving in and smaller businesses are leaving. Things are changing. It’s really sad.”

Economic downturn puts Columbia Pike redevelopment on hold

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

Construction of an approved residential development at the Rappahannock Coffee site on Columbia Pike is on hold for now.

The approved six-story, 120-unit building with ground-floor retail and underground parking would replace three one-story retail buildings and a surface parking lot on the southeast corner of the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Barton Street, at 2400 Columbia Pike.

Yao Yao, with YW Development, told ARLnow that his firm isn’t going to pursue redevelopment at this time, citing high and climbing interest rates and a generally poor economic outlook — including mixed signals of a looming recession.

Instead, he is looking for a new tenant to fill the vacant retail space next to Rappahannock Coffee and Roasting and generate some income before moving forward with the project. It used to be occupied by Cabinet Era before the business moved to Falls Church.

Leasing agent Erik Ulsaker says the space will work as-is for a temporary retail concept. Any tenant would have to be okay with a termination option if, in three to four years, economic conditions improve and it comes time to build.

“This is a good space for startups, and people who want to get going on their business plans,” he said, adding that he and his business partner “welcome creative ideas,” like pop-ups.

“If it goes over well, it could be put into the development, as we’ve got 16,000 square feet of retail on the back end,” he said. “It’s a good way to test the market.”

YW Development’s proposal went before the Arlington County Board last year. It modified an existing, already-approved proposal for the site by adding 6,500 square feet, 15 residential units and 36 parking spaces while preserving existing building facades.

The long-delayed project — first proposed in 2013, approved in 2016 and pushed back in 2020 — was initially led by Columbia Pike-based B.M. Smith, which was behind the Penrose Square development across the street.

Hat tip to John Antonelli

Where intra-county gondola travel could work if this aerial transit startup comes to Arlington

By Jo DeVoe
Swyft Cities gondola system (via Swyft Cities/Twitter)

We may not get a gondola over the Potomac River anytime soon, but a new startup may make intra-county gondola travel a reality someday.

Swyft Cities promises to provide one- to five-mile aerial connections around “densely developed areas, including corporate campuses, airports, universities and tourism districts,” according to TechCrunch, which named the startup the winner of a transit-oriented pitch contest earlier this year.

Swyft says it offers low-cost, automated kit-of-parts gondolas that private organizations and governments can set up. Its founders are commercializing the gondola solution they developed while working at Google to connect the tech company’s campuses, per its website.

On social media, the company recently received some praise but also some flak for overcomplicating public transit. There were also some predictions that the concept will never get off the ground.

The startup says it will deploy its first systems next year. Should it turn to Arlington and its adoring fans of short-distance aerial transit, here’s where Swyft infrastructure could work.

Current view of Route 1 (via National Landing BID)

Crystal City

If any company could stand up a gondola, it’s JBG Smith. The developer is already spearheading efforts to make Route 1 safer for pedestrians and to bring 5G connectivity to Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard, creating the nation’s first at-scale “Smart City.”

Automated gondolas could clinch transit safety and make the “smart city” even smarter. Bridging Route 1 with a gondola would probably be easier, faster and safer for pedestrians than VDOT’s current plans to bring elevated portions at-grade.

Or, Swyft could run a gondola parallel to the proposed pedestrian path to Reagan National Airport, making the “CC2DCA” connection even more convenient.

The Helix and all three office buildings, viewed from the south (via Arlington County)

Pentagon City

Amazon could take cues from Google when building its HQ2. Imagine the collaborative work that could take place as employees glide from the glassy double-helix to nearby office towers. It could also provide unparalleled views of the helix — whenever it is open to the public.

Swyft CEO Jeral Poskey told TechCrunch that the company is first targeting closed campuses.

“As you look to densify things, you have a lot of congestion and difficulty moving around, and this applies to a lot of universities, airports and other places within a one to five mile scale,” he said.

Sunset along Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

On Columbia Pike 

Maybe the streetcar was canned for a reason. And maybe that reason was so a gondola could one day reduce congestion and stimulate revitalization, without taking up the same lane as vehicle traffic.

Swyft says the gondolas could cost up to $10 million per mile, according to TechCrunch. While the number calls to mind initial quotes for tunnels built by Elon Musk’s Boring Company — which at this point look too good to be true — a gondola at this price on the Pike would cost a fraction of the $500 million streetcar that never was.

The startup’s CEO says the competitive pricing is supposed to allow the private sector to build aerial transit without government funding. That may make it a better sell to the Arlington County Board.

(more…)

Jair Lynch says it will consider deepening affordability at Barcroft Apartments

By Jo DeVoe
1/5

Developer Jair Lynch says it is exploring ways to make some units at the Barcroft Apartments even more affordable to families.

This comes as two organizations, Arlington Community Foundation and advocacy group ACE Collaborative, have put pressure on Jair Lynch to deepen affordability at the site over concerns of displacement.

“We have heard the assertions that tenants won’t be displaced, but we are asking for detailed plans for the displacement prevention,” ACE Collaborative Director Mitchell Yangson tells ARLnow, adding that rent for legacy residents should “be rolled back to a level that will prevent their displacement for as long as they live at Barcroft, not just on a temporary basis.”

Around this time last year, Jair Lynch acquired the Barcroft Apartments with the intent to renovate some units and redevelop other parts of the site with $310 million in loans from Arlington County and Amazon. It received these loans after promising to preserve at least 1,334 units for households earning up to 60% of the area median income (AMI).

But deepening affordability remains a live issue for two reasons. First, most residents make less than 60% of the area median income, according to the developer’s Master Financing and Development Plan, submitted to the county in late October — equating to $85,380 for a family of four. Second, the developer says next year it will begin phasing in 3% rent hikes.

A majority of the 1,100 residents living in Barcroft before the sale reported earning 40-50% AMI, or $56,920-$71,150 for a family of four, while some reported earning up to 30% AMI, or $42,690 for a family of four.

“There are some rent-burdened people here,” Jair Lynch Development Senior Vice President Ruth Hoang said in an Arlington Housing Commission meeting in November. “We are also concerned about overcrowding hiding some rent burden as well.”

The federal government defines being rent-burdened as spending more than 30% of one’s income on rent.

Range of incomes reported as of Oct. 1, 2022 at Barcroft (via Arlington County)

Jair Lynch and Arlington County have said that households will not be displaced. Rent in 2022 was frozen at 2021 levels, and increases capped at 3% per year will start in 2023.

The developer also says it will work on a case-by-case basis with residents who feel they cannot afford any rent hikes.

“As we roll out the 3% increases, those residents who are concerned and feel like they can’t pay, we’ll have those meetings with them and look at their incomes to see what they can and cannot support,” Hoang said.

Jair Lynch has committed to trying to find on-site options for those earning more than 60% AMI.

Per the financing report, Jair Lynch says it can still meet its original goals despite “significant economic and financial headwinds.”

These include scarcer affordable housing financing due to the more than 2.5 percentage point increase in interest rates and increases in operating and constructing housing, due to 8-10% inflation and a 15-20% increase in construction costs.

The report listed additional funding sources that could be used to deepen affordability levels, similar to those Arlington Community Foundation identified in a report showing how 255 units could be preserved for extremely low-income households, or those earning 30% AMI.

(more…)

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