Arlington selects two developers to lead affordable housing effort for Crystal House grounds

Arlington County has selected two developers — Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and D.C.-area developer EYA — to oversee the construction of affordable housing within an apartment complex in Crystal City.

They’re committing to provide 844 units, of which 655 will be committed affordable units and the remaining will be market-rate, in the Crystal House Apartments at 1900 S. Eads Street, near Amazon’s second headquarters.

After a site plan for the project was approved in 2019, Amazon put up $381.9 million so that the nonprofit Washington Housing Conservancy could purchase the 16-acre site in late 2020, stabilize rent for the 828 existing units and build more than 500 new units. The purchase was part of its commitment to create and preserve affordable housing as rents rise amid its growing HQ2 presence. Amazon later donated the land and development rights to the county.

APAH and EYA are committing to provide 100-plus more committed affordable units than for which the county planned.

“While this is a large development for APAH, the scope and phasing are consistent with our capacity and the need for more affordable housing in the region,” APAH Director of Resource Development and Communications Garrett Jackson tells ARLnow. “EYA has successfully completed several similarly-scaled public-private projects with municipalities and housing authorities including the Brownstones at Chevy Chase Lake and the Lindley with the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission, Capital Quarter with the District Housing Authority, and the 45-acre Westside Shady Grove with Montgomery County.”

Jackson said both APAH and EYA have experience developing housing in partnership with localities in the D.C. area.

“Specifically, APAH co-located the Arlington Mill Residences, 122 homes, adjacent to the Arlington Mill Community Center over one shared garage. Presently, APAH is building 150 units of senior housing in Fairfax County on what was previously a Fairfax County stormwater detention facility,” he said. “EYA and APAH are currently working together on a public-private partnership in the Fort Totten neighborhood in the District that shares many of the same characteristics as the Crystal House project.”

“The Crystal Houses development will create a mixed-income community, ranging from people making 30% of the area median income and up. It will be multigenerational, with one 80-unit development set aside for senior housing. There will be 371 units with two bedrooms or more, of which at least 102 will be three bedrooms and “rare 4-bedroom affordable units,” Jackson said.

“We will provide permanent supportive housing units onsite, all affordable units will offer free Wi-Fi, we will offer residents services for affordable units, and we will develop two parks for the approved site plan,” Jackson said. “EYA is also exploring homeownership.”

Services will be provided in partnership with Arlington County Department of Human Services, Arlington Food Assistance Center and Our Stomping Ground, which helps adults with disabilities live independently.

In her last meeting as County Board Chair (Dec. 17), Katie Cristol praised the agreement for departing from the county’s typical approach of funding affordable housing, using its Affordable Housing Investment Fund.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck challenge and so it’s exciting to see more tools brought to the fore,” she said. “This is a huge deal in Crystal City, which we know is one of our most economic opportunity-rich areas, and one of our most transit-oriented areas. It will be an opportunity to majorly expand our affordable housing supply.”

In a statement to ARLnow, National Landing Business Improvement District President Tracy Sayegh Gabriel said the agreement is an “important step towards realizing our collective goals to address” Arlington’s shortage of affordable housing.

“The National Landing BID is proud of the commitments Arlington County, Amazon, and others are making toward increasing housing affordability throughout National Landing and looks forward to the completion of this exciting development project,” she said.

Construction is slated to begin in July 2025 and end in January 2028. Between now and the start of construction, APAH and EYA will have to reach agreements with the Washington Housing Conservancy related to property subdivisions, parking sharing and easements.