* Non-profit to buy, renovate Howard Manor garden apartments
* Board approves $6.38 million loan
* Bump-outs to create family-friendly units
ARLINGTON, VA – February 16, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Arlington County Board today approved a $6.38 million Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) loan to help the Community Preservation for Development Corporation (CPDC), a non-profit organization, purchase and renovate Howard Manor Apartments. CPDC has agreed to keep the units affordable for moderate and low-income tenants for up to 60 years.
The three-building garden apartment complex, located at 2506 North 20th Road, was built in 1958.
The property now offers 28 efficiencies, 33-one bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units, and none of the units is accessible to persons with disabilities. With rents ranging from $790 to $1,360 a month, the units are considered market rate affordable units – currently affordable, but vulnerable to rent increases or development plans. With the Board’s action, the units are guaranteed to remain affordable for generations to come.
“Howard Manor offers an excellent opportunity for Arlington to expand its stock of committed affordable housing in an area where it is difficult to find affordable units, particularly units big enough to house families,” said County Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman. “This is exactly the sort of housing we need for people who want not only to work in Arlington but also to live here.”
Existing property to be modernized, renovated
In a separate action, the Board approved a plan for CPDC to add bedrooms to some of the existing units to make them suitable for families with children.
Once it secures financing for renovation, CPDC plans to use bump-outs to add bedrooms to some of the units. The property will offer nine efficiency units, 39 one-bedroom units and 28 two-bedroom units. Up to eight units will be accessible to persons with mobility, hearing and vision disabilities and an additional four units will be accessible to persons with hearing and vision disabilities. The renovation also will modernize systems and finishes and create a new office and community space.
Under the agreement with the County, immediately after acquisition of the property, CPDC will restrict 90 percent, or 68 of the units, to households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income. That would result in an average rent between $899 and $1,079 a month for an efficiency, $963 and $1,156 for a one-bedroom, and $1,155 and $1,386 for a two-bedroom apartment.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the “10 miles square” parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation’s Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency’s highest award for “Smart Growth” in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world – including the Pentagon – Arlington stands out as one of America’s preeminent places to live, visit and do business.
