Falls Church officials this week sketched out more details in what would be the largest affordable-housing effort in city history.
“What you’ve laid out today is really exciting,” said Jim Coyle, vice chair of the city’s Economic Development Commission, at a March 2 joint work session between that body, the City Council and Planning Commission.
It was the first joint gathering of the three bodies in relation to Virginia Village, a 20-building, 81-unit apartment complex that city officials eye as the location of a future affordable-housing compound that could include hundreds of units.
The Economic Development Commission already has acquired more than half of the 1940s-era duplex properties on the site. In the coming months, city officials hope to select a development partner to determine how best to use those properties and others that might be acquired.
The March 2 meeting was a chance to bring the three bodies together for a staff briefing.
“This road map is what we’ve been looking for for a long time,” Coyle said. “We’ve had many good work sessions with the city manager and staff to move this along.”
Having all three bodies on the same page was seen as vital before Council members formally kick off the effort to find a development partner at their March 9 meeting.
“We appreciate more clarity as the next few months unfold,” Mayor Letty Hardi said.
If all goes according to plan — and city leaders acknowledge it may not — any housing proposal that emerges in coming months would compete early next year for state tax credits to help finance the plan.
At the briefing, city planning director Matt Mattauszek acknowledged there might be hurdles: a plan might not come together on schedule, the public may demand a longer discussion period, or the final project could lose out in the competition for tax credits.
Despite potential pitfalls, Mattauszek expressed cautious optimism about meeting the schedule.
“It is aggressive, but it is doable,” he said.
A solid majority on Council seems determined to at least try to meet the proposed timetable.
“If we try and don’t make it, at least we tried,” Council member Arthur Agin said.
More than half the Virginia Village properties remain in private hands. City officials seem to be focused on negotiating with property owners, rather than using the threat of eminent domain to acquire further units.
“We’ve been trying to reach out to the owners for a long time,” City Manager Wyatt Shields said. “We’ve ramped up those efforts.”
Other open questions remain about how a project will be fleshed out:
- How many units there would be
- If there would be a mix of affordable and market-rate units
- Whether there would be a commercial/retail component to the project
- How much parkland would be incorporated into the site
Mattauszek said city staff “is looking at various mechanisms” to amend zoning law and take other steps to make redevelopment of the site feasible.
The goal, he said, is to “give ourselves the chance to capture the [city’s] intent, but give developers some flexibility.”
At the meeting, Planning Commission member Phil Duncan sought assurances that current residents of Virginia Village apartments would not be net losers in the process.
“It’s important that whatever we plan to do, we do take into consideration the folks that are living there,” he said.
Current planning calls for relocating those residents to other affordable apartments, and giving them the chance to move back after a new property is constructed.
Even though the Virginia Village proposal has been discussed publicly by city leaders since last fall, it likely is an issue most Falls Church residents are not focused on.
As a result, city officials need to take steps, sooner rather than later, to begin dialogue with the broader community, Council member Erin Flynn said.
“Be proactive,” she advised city staff.
The project’s implications for city taxpayers might become clearer later this month, when Shields unveils his proposed fiscal year 2027 budget proposal.
