County Panel to Consider Colonial Village Renovations

A county panel could approve major renovations to part of a historic housing complex as soon as tomorrow night.

The Arlington Tenant-Landlord Commission is scheduled to hear arguments for a plan to renovate the 162 Colonial Village apartment units owned by Wesley Housing Development Corporation. The hearing will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Azalea Room (lobby level) of 2100 Clarendon Boulevard.

The plan calls for major upgrades and configuration changes, including new windows, kitchens, bathrooms and insulation. The grounds will also be improved, with new walkways and lighting.

Currently, there 109 one-bedroom and 53 two-bedroom apartments among Wesley’s Colonial Village portfolio. The non-profit expects the post-construction mix of units to be 90 one-bedrooms, 57 two-bedrooms and 14 three bedrooms. Seventeen apartments would be constructed to be compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility specifications.

If approved by the commission, Wesley hopes to begin renovating small batches of apartments starting in April 2011. Affected residents would be moved to either a vacant unit or to another apartment complex, with the moving costs at least partially paid for by Wesley. The entire renovation process is expected to take about a year.

Some tenants will not be allowed to move back in after renovations, however. All but 33 of the new apartments will be placed into the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.  This fall, Wesley will begin interviewing tenants to determine whether their household income is low enough to qualify for the program. Tenants who don’t qualify may be able to move into one of the 33 market rate apartments, or may be forced to move elsewhere.

The income threshold for an individual is $43,500 or below. For a five-person household, it’s $67,080 or below.

The apartment buildings set to be renovated are 1702-34 North Troy Street and 2101, 2103, 2105, 2107, 2109, 2113 and 2115 North 18th Street.

Wesley, which is based in Alexandria, receives part of its funding from Arlington County.