Two mid-rise apartment buildings with 132 committed-affordable units are paired with a set of townhomes in a new proposal for the Virginia Village site in Falls Church.
City leaders have selected Urban Atlantic as their development partner for the site, which currently includes about 80 1940s-era apartments grouped in fourplex buildings.
Under the proposal, Urban Atlantic would use about half that site to develop two buildings with a mix of apartments: 53 one-bedroom, 44 two-bedroom and 35 three-bedroom. All would be designated affordable with a range of between 30% and 80% of area median income.
The project would also include 10 for-sale townhouses, whose sales “will help subsidize and close any gaps [in financing] — that’s a key part of the strategy,” Brant Snyder, CEO of Urban Atlantic, said at a Nov. 2 City Council work session.
“While we are a for-profit developer, we are mission-driven,” Snyder said.
In remarks to city officials, Snyder said coming months will allow the project to be fleshed out with more specificity.
“This is very early in the process,” he said. “We need to get into due diligence to see what can and can’t be done.”
“We’ve established what the priorities are,” but many variables remain, Snyder said.
It was a message reiterated by city staff.
The present goal is to “chart the course … to take that project to the next level of detail,” City Manager Seth Hendler-Voss said at the Nov. 2 meeting.
As the process moves forward, it’s important that the development team and city government address issues raised by those living in the immediate area and across the city more broadly, Mayor Letty Hardi said.
“The concerns are fair and reasonable,” she said.
At the meeting, Urban Atlantic said its plan does not anticipate the city government would be required to contribute more to the project than offering the land on a long-term, low-cost lease.
All residents displaced from Virginia Village during the construction period would be allowed to occupy apartments in the planned development, he said.
The new development would rise on 202-204-206-208 Gibson Street, 310 S. Maple Avenue and 300-302-303-310-312 Shirley Street. The city, through its Economic Development Authority, owns all but the 300 Shirley Street property, which has been offered for sale to the city for incorporation into the project.
Those parcels, representing half the Virginia Village community, would go to Urban Atlantic under a 99-year ground lease.
The entire project may hinge on the ability of the development partners to attain low-income tax credits through a competitive process overseen by the state government.
The City Council on Sept. 14 selected Urban Atlantic from among three housing developers that submitted expressions of interest. Council members followed the recommendation of an advisory panel of city staff and members of city commissions that worked over the summer to evaluate submissions.
At the Nov. 2 meeting, Snyder detailed partners in the planning process, which include:
- BKV Architects
- Walter Phillips as civil engineer
- Bob Brant of the law firm Walsh Colucci Lubeley Walsh handling zoning matters
- Gibson Spyre as a development partner
- Whitney Turner as pre-construction consultant
While Urban Atlantic is based in Maryland, much of the partnership team has experience in Northern Virginia.
“It’s important that you have stakeholders that understand the jurisdiction,” Snyder acknowledged.
Final adoption of the memorandum of understanding between the parties is expected on Nov. 23, with Council action on zoning changes needed to move the project forward set for Dec. 14.
At that point, both a comprehensive agreement between the parties and a conceptual development formalizing the project will be developed.
Final approval of the proposal in its entirety is expected by June 2027, city staff said.
It will be challenging, but doable, to coordinate “all the different moving pieces that are needed to finally execute this vision,” city planning director Matt Mattauszek told Council members.
