The Falls Church committee tasked with evaluating affordable housing proposals for Virginia Village got down to business last week.
The seven-member Virginia Village Proposals Evaluation Committee met Aug. 6, the same day proposals were due from prospective partners seeking to be part of the redevelopment project.
A speedy timetable is anticipated.
“My hope is we’d be done … by the 27th,” said City Council member Marybeth Connelly, who was tapped to chair the committee.
Also on the committee:
- Economic Development Authority: Jim Coyle
- Planning Commission: Phil Duncan (selected as vice chair)
- Housing Commission: Sara Silverstein Ferrara
- City staff: David So (finance director), Cindy Mester (community relations and legislative-affairs director) and Matt Mattauszek (director of planning)
While Connelly is hopeful for a quick turnaround, delivery of a recommendation to Council members “will be dependent on what this committee feels we need, time-wise,” Mester said.
The panel spent about 40 minutes in open session discussing procedural matters, then went into closed session for an hour to begin the evaluation process.
The public is not likely to see the details of the proposals until the process moves for Council consideration. At the Aug. 6 meeting, City Manager Wyatt Shields said the Council aims to consider options on Sept. 8.
At that point, “City Council [will] do its own evaluation and make its ranking,” Shields said.
The city and the selected housing partner will then enter an interim agreement.
“Once that step is done, this group will be considered sunsetted,” Shields said.
The city’s Economic Development Authority owns nine of the 20 fourplex buildings in the Virginia Village neighborhood. Redevelopment options range from renovations on those buildings to a raze-and-rebuild strategy.
City officials say they are willing to partner with the owners of any of the properties that remain in private hands. The city appears to have ruled out using its eminent-domain authority to acquire additional parcels without property owners’ consent.
