229 New Affordable Homes in Arlington
 APAH is pleased to unveil plans for the Columbia Hills Apartments: 229 much-needed affordable homes to be built on 1.2 acres of APAH's land adjacent to our Columbia Grove Apartments. The Columbia Hills adjoining East and West buildings will be attractive, new, eight-story, concrete buildings atop three levels of underground parking. This will be one of the first new housing developments under the County's award-winning Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan and will contribute significantly to the Plan's goal of preserving 6,200 affordable homes on Columbia Pike.
This highly efficient project will leverage $37.5 million in federal funds through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, plus $20 million in state bond financing along with $83,000 per unit in an Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) loan from Arlington County. 20% of units will be designated for very low income households, including 10 units for Permanent Supportive Housing. No residents will be displaced from the current Columbia Grove property. The new Hills Apartments will bring much-needed three-bedroom and accessible units to this location.
Between 2000 and 2013, 13,600 units of multifamily rental homes became unaffordable to low income Arlington households (those earning below 60% of Area Median Income, or about $64,000 for a family of four). This has created a crisis for many long term Arlington families and individuals. APAH currently has 800 households on the waiting list for its three Columbia Pike properties. 78% of residents who moved into APAH's Arlington Mill Residences, which opened in early 2014, relocated from within Arlington. Over 3,000 applied to the waiting list.
APAH is seeking approval for the new Form Based Code development and for two AHIF loans (one of $7.37 million and one of $11.6 million) at the Arlington County Board's February meeting. To show your support for this exciting, much-needed project, please come to the County Board's February Board meeting - either Saturday Feb. 21st or Tuesday, Feb. 24th. The agenda will be finalized in mid-February. Or send an email to the County Board at countyboard@arlingtonva.us.
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100+ Volunteers Join APAH's MLK Day of Service
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Saying Goodbye to an Affordable Housing Pioneer
This month, we are saddened by the loss of Charles Rinker, who served as one of Arlington's leading affordable housing activists for more than four decades.
Mr. Rinker was an active member of the Arlington Housing Commission for 20 years. He was a tireless advocate on behalf of hard working, low income families living in Arlington, and was instrumental in forming numerous organizations and in working on numerous County initiatives to advance affordable housing and renter's rights.
Mr. Rinker was awarded APAH's Affordable Housing Honoree at our 2011 Annual Fundraiser (pictured above).
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Resident Services Winter Recap
APAH's Resident Services programs were in full swing this past holiday season! To helps spread holiday cheer to our residents, we distributed more than 350 gifts for children of all ages through our Holiday Gift Drive. Thank you to all our volunteers and donors who made this possible!
In addition, APAH held holiday parties at five properties, and visits from Santa. RThanks to Del. Patrick Hope (D-47th), who takes on this special role, and his aide Mary Dooley who takes special photos to share with the families.
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APAH Welcomes Five New Board Members
Five new members join APAH's Board of Directors in 2015: Yvonne Aiken, Nadia Conyers, Jay Harris, Paul Holland and Rev. Andrew Merrow. These individuals were unanimously elected to three-year terms beginning on January 1, and they are valuable voices in broadening APAH's representation in the community. The five new Board members increase APAH's resident representation and community involvement; and all are Arlington County residents. Yvonne Aiken is a resident of APAH's Arlington Mill Residences. Nadia Conyers is an Employment Specialist with Arlington County and a fourth generation Arlingtonian. Jay Harris is Senior Director at CoreLogic; Paul Holland is Senior Analyst at Marstel-Day LLC. Rev. Andrew Merrow serves as Rector at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Robert Rozen, Principal with Washington Council Ernst & Young, begins his second year as the Chair of APAH, a position to which he was unanimously named in 2014.Click here for the News Release.
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Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
Grand Sponsor
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John Andelin and Virginia Geoffrey - Rita Bamberger - George and Sue Covucci
Lucy and Jerry Denney - Tobi and Bobby Rozen - Joe and Midge Wholey
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e volunteers helped with outdoor beautification projects, including collecting litter and removing invasive species throughout the eight-acre site located in South Arlington. These volunteers learned about the local natural environment and the positive environmental impact of their service. Others helped young APAH residents with arts & crafts projects and educational activities. Volunteers groups included Arlington Regional Master Nationalists, Accenture staff and AmeriCorps members from Arlington Works!, Greenbrier Learning Center and FEMA, and more. 
