The three civic associations—Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, and Crystal City—representing the 22202 ZIP code in Arlington County, Virginia held its House Affordability Working Group meeting on February 9th.
7:00 pm: Matt Mattauszek, Arlington County Master Planner, Crystal City/Pentagon City Planning Coordinator, provided a detailed overview of the county planning activities for 2021 in 22202. The year will be very busy as development ramps across our community.
7:30 pm: Kimberly Driggins, Executive Director of the Washington Housing Conservancy, explained what the WHC is, its funding by Amazon to acquire Crystal Houses for $377M, and the affordable housing parameters for Crystal Houses. The acquisition will lead to the preservation and creation of 1,300 affordable homes.
8:00 pm: The Livability22202 Housing Working Group provided a summary and highlights of the Livability Housing report issued in December, the ongoing county Missing Middle Study and Housing Report, and the Working Group’s meetings with County Board members.
The meeting was recorded and can be viewed here when available.
Crystal Houses and Housing Affordability
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Great News! The Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC) has bought Crystal Houses on S Eads Street with a major grant from Amazon and JBG SMITH will manage it. The conservancy’s mission—and the Crystal House project—aim to create spaces for individuals and families who may make too much money to qualify for government housing assistance but do not earn enough to afford high-demand real estate markets. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/06/amazon-arlington-affordable-housing/
With Amazon’s flexible capital, WHC was able to execute the purchase of Crystal House in under two months, an expedited timeline for commercial real estate transactions. WHC’s finance partner, the Washington Housing Initiative, and Impact Pool, created by developer JBG SMITH, provided commercial real estate expertise and an additional loan of $6.7 million.
Amazon announced its Housing Equity Fund, a more than $2 billion initiative to preserve and create more than 20,000 affordable housing units in the Puget Sound region in Washington State, Arlington, Virginia region, and Nashville, Tennessee—three communities Amazon calls home. The first investments include $381.9 million in below-market loans and grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy to preserve and create up to 1,300 affordable homes on the Crystal House property on S. Eads Street. Over the next five years, rent prices for 75 percent of the units at Crystal House will drop to help residents who are making less than 80 percent of the area’s mean income of $126,000. Read the Amazon announcement here: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-launches-2-billion-housing-equity-fund-to-preserve-and-create-over-20-000-affordable-homes
The Housing Working Group held two working group meetings in 2020, January 25th and March 7th. The results of those working groups are being prepared as a formal summary report with recommendations for the County and will be posted here when approved. For information or to join the group, contact the Coordinator Ben Davanzo: bendavanzo@gmail.com
Working Group Report on Housing Affordability
This report reviews the housing history, data, and recommendations prepared by 22202 residents to address the need for diverse and affordable housing types in the area. Given the upward pressure on rents and housing prices that have already restricted who can live in 22202, this report provides a series of detailed proposals for ensuring the neighborhood can be welcoming to a diverse population. These recommendations were developed through two workshops in early 2020 and written by a group of neighborhood residents.
A brief summary of the Livability22202 housing recommendations can be found here, as well as in the full report.