 County Board Unanimously Approves Columbia Hills Apartments
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Credit: KGD Architecture.
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On February 24th, the Arlington County Board unanimously approved APAH's use permit and AHIF loan request. We are so grateful to the hundreds of supporters, partners and APAH residents who attended the meeting and contacted County leadership to voice their support for affordable housing in Arlington.
Columbia Hills is a highly efficient project with an innovative financing structure. It will combine APAH-contributed land and pioneer Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) hybrid (4%/9%) financing; leveraging $37M in housing tax credit equity plus $20M in state bond financing.
Arlington County approved approximately $19M in Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) loans to support the project. This is an average AHIF-cost per unit of about $83,000, leveraging nearly $4 for every $1 of AHIF financing. We hope construction will begin in spring 2016 and Columbia Hills will open in 2018.
Read the full News Release here.
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Groundbreaking Celebrates New Construction of The Springs Apartments
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L-R: Brian Tracey, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; David Cristeal, Arlington Housing Division; Jim Chandler, VHDA; Bobby Rozen, APAH; Nina Janopaul, APAH; Mary Hynes, Arlington County Board; Liz Birnbaum, Neighbor; and Jay Fisette; Arlington County Board.
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On March 11 th, APAH celebrated the groundbreaking for the new 104-unit The Springs Apartments. More than 100 partners, neighbors and affordable housing supporters joined the event, which took place at The Carlin, nearby The Springs.
"Arlington County has lost 13,500 apartments that were once affordable to low income households primarily due to rent increases," said Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes. "The Springs will help meet this dire community need."
Speakers Rev. Dr. Bryan Mickle of First Presbyterian Church and neighbor Liz Birnbaum welcomed The Springs to the Ballston area. Inge Schweiger, who lived at APAH's Carlyn Springs Apartments, spoke of her 30 years living in Arlington and the impact of affordable housing on her own experience as a senior living on a limited income.
Jim Chandler of the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) spoke about the effective partnership between VHDA and APAH, and Brian Tracey of Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced that Bank of America Merrill Lynch is providing APAH with $22 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity, $18 million in a construction loan and a $550,000 forgivable loan that will be used to further lower rents on 25 units.
Click here for the full News Release.
Click here for photos from the event.
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Volunteer Registration for Earth Day Clean Up Now Open
When: Saturday, April 25th 10am-3pm
Where: Columbia Grove
You're invited to volunteer at APAH's Community Beautification Project in honor of Earth Day 2015!
Volunteers of all ages will help with projects such as invasive plant removal, litter clean up and other grounds work. This is a great way to get to know your neighbors and spend time outdoors. Lunch and opportunities for service learning are included.
To Register: Contact Emily Button, APAH's Resident Services Manager, at ebutton@apah.org or (703) 851-3635. Click here to learn more.
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Residents Gain Financial Literacy Skills
Last month, five residents at Buchanan Gardens celebrated their graduation from the Money Smarts Pay program.
This 3-month course, offered in partnership with the Virginia Cooperative Extension, helps residents to create and stick to budgets, tackle unexpected expenses and begin saving towards their goals.
Fourteen APAH residents have graduated from this program, which has taken place at three APAH properties. One graduate, Ms. Morales, has applied for life insurance and started a savings plan.
Currently, nine residents at Buchanan Gardens are enrolled in the Spanish language cycle of Money Smarts Pay. Congratulations to all graduates!
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Upcoming Events
Arlington Affordable Housing Study Community Forum
Saturday, March 28th
9:00am - 12:30pm
Washington-Lee High School
All community members are invited to learn about and comment on the proposed affordable housing policies and tools. Click here for details.
APAH Resident Services Spring Events
Spring Celebrations will take place at four APAH properties in April, and will include egg hunts, arts and crafts, family activities and more.
To volunteer, contact Emily Button at ebutton@apah.org or (703) 851-3635.
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Thank You to our Sponsor
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