affordable housing | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published November 16, 2012 at 9:30AM | Updated November 16, 2012 at 10:07AM

Yorktown Hosts South County in Semifinal — In high school football action, the Yorktown Patriots will take on the South County Stallions tonight in a Northern Region Division 5 semifinal playoff game. The contest is a home game for Yorktown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Yorktown lost to South County in the regional championship game last year. [Sun Gazette]

APS Awarded for Green Initiatives — Arlington Public Schools has “earned a Platinum Certification as a Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) Certified Green Schools Division.” The school system also placed first in VSBA’s Green Schools Challenge for large school divisions. [Arlington Public Schools]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 13, 2012 at 8:55AM

APS Posts Pass Rates for State Test — Arlington Public School students passed the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests at rates above statewide averages, with one notable exception. Hispanic students in Arlington passed the English reading test at a rate 5 percentage points below their statewide peers. [Arlington Public Schools]

GOP Opposes Recreation Bond — Calling it a “boondoggle,” the Arlington County Republican Committee has voted overwhelmingly to oppose a $50.6 million bond that would help to build a new aquatics center at Long Bridge Park. At the same time, Republicans voted to support a $42.62 million school bond. The bond issues, along with bonds for Metro and for “community infrastructure,” will appear on the November ballot. [Sun Gazette]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 20, 2012 at 8:42AM | Updated August 20, 2012 at 2:30PM

North Rosslyn Profiled — The neighborhood of North Rosslyn has been profiled by the Washington Post. The neighborhood is a bastion of “tranquil residential life” in the shadows of Rosslyn’s high rise office buildings, the Post’s Eliza McGraw wrote. [Washington Post]

Children Participate in AHC ‘Olympics’ — About a hundred children who live in affordable housing managed by AHC Inc. participated in their own version of the Olympic Games last week. The competition included both academic contests like “word weightlifting” and “math distance medley,” as well at athletic events like wiffle ball, soccer, jump roping and the 100 yard dash. [Sun Gazette]

Opinion

Ask Me (Almost) Anything: Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing

By ARLnow.com

Published August 13, 2012 at 1:30PM | Updated August 14, 2012 at 2:40PM

Today we debut a new periodic feature called Ask Me (Almost) Anything. Intended to be a local, community-oriented derivation of Reddit’s Ask Me Anything discussion threads, Ask Me (Almost) Anything allows readers to discuss important and interesting topics with local community, government and business leaders. See below for discussion guidelines.

Founded by four local families, the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is an award-winning, community-based nonprofit that has been working to develop and preserve affordable housing in Arlington County since 1989.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 31, 2012 at 9:00AM

Dark Star Park Day Tomorrow — Tomorrow morning Rosslyn will celebrate “Dark Star Park Day.” At precisely 9:32 a.m. on August 1 of each year, the shadows cast by the stone spheres and iron poles in Dark Star Park (1655 N. Ft. Myer Drive) line up with the permanently-installed artistic images of shadows on the ground. Tomorrow’s event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will include a photo contest. [Rosslyn BID]

Record Contributions to Affordable Housing Fund — Arlington County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) saw a record $10.4 million in loan repayments and developer contributions in Fiscal Year 2012. The AHIF, which is used to help fund affordable housing projects, is set to receive $9.5 million in tax dollars in FY 2013, in addition to any repayments and contributions. [Arlington County]

News

Neighborhoods Plan Envisions Greater Density for Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published June 25, 2012 at 11:55AM

Arlington County’s vision for Columbia Pike would result in 10,000 new housing units being added to the corridor by 2040.

County planners are currently putting the finishing touches on the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Area Plan, a sweeping vision for the Pike that seeks to transform the area into a more urban, walkable, transit-oriented community. The plan calls for taller buildings along the Pike — up to 10 stories — and for the replacement of some existing surface parking lots with new infill development (and underground parking). It also calls for streetcar service and stops along the Pike and enhanced local bus service in the neighborhoods around the Pike.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 8, 2012 at 9:00AM

Rosslyn Outdoor Movies Start Tonight — The season of weekly, political-themed outdoor movies in Rosslyn starts tonight with the 1999 Matthew Broderick/Reese Witherspoon flick “Election.” The movie is scheduled to start at dusk.

Anti-Harassment Ads at Metro Stations — WMATA has placed anti-sexual harassment public service announcements in 28 Metro stations. In Arlington, the ads can be found in the Ballston and Clarendon Metro stations. [Stop Street Harassment]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 18, 2012 at 8:50AM

Artomatic Starts Tonight — Artomatic, described as “the D.C. area’s biggest unjuried arts extravaganza,” will kick off in Crystal City tonight. The five-week event is being held in a former Department of Defense office building at 1851 S. Bell Street, and will feature 10 floors of work by local artists. Artomatic was last held in the District in 2009. [Express]

Affordable Housing Push — A coalition of Arlington affordable housing advocates are preparing a public relations push to make the case for more affordable housing in Arlington. Supporters will be attending community events over the next six month to educate residents about the loss of affordable housing in the county. Currently, affordable housing initiatives are about 5 percent of Arlington County’s $1 billion budget. [Sun Gazette]

News

Board Approves Loans for Buckingham Homebuyers

By Katie Pyzyk

Published April 23, 2012 at 3:15PM | Updated April 23, 2012 at 3:53PM

The board’s unanimous approval will make $500,000 in Moderate Income Purchase Assistance Program (MIPAP) funds available to seven or eight first-time homebuyers who qualify. The loans will be made available to residents at Buckingham Village 3, and other Buckingham neighborhood families, to help with down payments and closing costs on homes.

County Board Chair Mary Hynes explained that there has been a plan in place to help Buckingham residents who had been displaced by development.

Feature

Mixed-Income Apartment Complex Opens in Clarendon

By Katie Pyzyk

Published April 13, 2012 at 2:30PM

The eight-story complex, developed with financial assistance from Arlington County and the Virginia Housing Development Authority, sits above the Church at Clarendon, which recently celebrated its re-opening. An adjoining building houses the county’s largest daycare center.

The development contains 46 market rate apartments, and 70 affordable housing units. The units, which the developer calls “boutique apartments,” range from studios to three bedrooms. According to the complex’s website, prices run from $2,125 per month to $3,170 per month, with affordable units going for 60 percent of the cost to those who qualify.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 26, 2012 at 8:35AM | Updated March 26, 2012 at 10:11AM

Faith-Based Advocates Seek More Affordable Housing — A coalition of local churches and community advocates is asking Arlington County to quadruple the amount of tax support it devotes to affordable housing. At a large gathering on Saturday, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE) also expressed support for Arlington refocusing its affordable housing efforts to benefit those in the lowest income brackets. [Sun Gazette]

New Metrobus Service Coming — To help make up for a forthcoming service change that will mean six additional minutes of waiting time for trains between the Pentagon and Rosslyn, Metro is expanding bus service between Crystal City and Rosslyn. [Dr. Gridlock]

Opinion

Morning Poll: Use County Land for Affordable Housing?

By ARLnow.com

Published March 23, 2012 at 10:04AM

“‘Public land for public good’ is a battle cry making its way up the Arlington agenda,” writes Charlie Clark in his Our Man in Arlington column for the Falls Church News-Press.

The idea, Clark reports, is that existing county-owned land should be used to create affordable housing, reducing the cost of affordable developments by eliminating the need to purchase land from private landholders. Advocates say both unused and already-developed county-owned parcels could be utilized for affordable housing. For instance, an affordable apartment building could be built atop a surface parking lot or a fire station.