AHC Inc., an affordable housing developer, needs several dozen volunteers to tutor middle and high school teens. Tutors get paired with a student for the academic year and meet up once a week for 90 minutes at one of the program’s six locations. Several of the locations are Metro accessible.
More help is needed this year than in the past because the program has expanded the number of nights per week that tutoring is available to the teens.
Crystal City is changing, and thanks to the new Crystal City Sector Plan it will change dramatically over the next 40 years.
The report, commissioned by the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, examined three major corridors where redevelopment is underway: Alexandria’s Beauregard corridor, Fairfax County’s Baileys Crossroads area and Arlington’s Columbia Pike corridor.
All three areas, the report says, are affordable thanks to a “lack of private investment, along with poor transportation options and infrastructure” — attributes that have made the areas undesirable to more affluent residents. Now that the Arlington County is actively encouraging economic development and planning a new streetcar line along Columbia Pike, however, the “type of households” seeking to live on the Pike will likely change, leading to “opportunities” for the owners of existing affordable apartment complexes to “reposition their properties… to attract higher-income residents.”
The $12 million development consists of 19 one bedroom and 17 two-bedroom apartments, as well as 2,000 square feet of commercial space for the Bonder and Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation (BAJCDC) and a planned business incubator/shared work space. It was developed by AHC Inc. on land owned by the next-door Macedonia Baptist Church with county, state, federal, private and nonprofit financing.
While some of the attention surrounding the Macedonian is due to its environmentally-friendly features — it has a green roof and other energy-efficient accouterments, earning it the first EarthCraft Virginia certification for a multifamily development — the building’s real mission is the preservation and economic development of the diverse Nauck community against the pressures of higher rents and gentrification. The church, the county and BAJCDC have been fighting to keep Nauck affordable, and speakers today described the Macedonian as an important step in that continuing effort.
Affordable housing developer AHC Inc. hosts “educational and fun” summer camps for low-income youngsters “to help ensure they don’t drop behind over the summer months.” The camps — held at six community centers throughout Arlington — start on July 11 and run from noon to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, until Aug. 18.
AHC is seeking chaperones for its off-site swimming trips on Mondays and its field trips on Thursdays. They’re also looking for volunteers who can help with the art activities, literary activities and outdoor games that are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Where Are the GOP Candidates? — So far, Arlington Republicans have not been able to find a single candidate willing to run in any of this year’s six county government races. The last time a Republican was elected to the County Board was the late 1990s. [Sun Gazette]
Police Looking for Missing D.C. Man — Police are hoping for the public’s help in finding a missing D.C. man. Matthew Hill, 26, was reported missing on Tuesday. His last debit card transaction was recorded at noon on Tuesday at an Exxon gas station in Arlington. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to call D.C. police. [WUSA]
The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) plans to use the loan to help purchase the Marbella Apartments (1301 N. Queen Street) in the Radnor/Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood. APAH is in the process of securing about $10 million from the Virginia Housing Development Authority to complete the $13 million purchase.
The Marbella Apartments include 120 existing committed affordable units, but the restrictions that keep the units affordable are set to expire in 2018. With its purchase, APAH will keep the units affordable for at least another 60 years, and will convert the complex’s 14 market rate units to committed affordable units.
Affordable Apartments Get Green Certification — The 36-unit Macedonian apartment complex in Green Valley has become the first EarthCraft-certified new multifamily building in Arlington and the most energy-efficient EarthCraft building in Northern Virginia. The affordable apartments, at 2229 Shirlington Road, received the green building certification thanks to a special central heating and cooling system, foam insulation and other high-efficiency components. The building is a partnership between affordable housing nonprofit AHC Inc. and the Macedonia Baptist Church. [AHC Inc.]
Jail to Host Mother’s Day Event — The Arlington Sheriff’s Office will be hosting its bi-annual Incarcerated Mother’s Holiday Program at the county lockup Monday night, one day after Mother’s Day. From 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., female inmates will get the chance to have a “contact visit” with their children within the jail. The event will feature a card exchange, dinner and bonding time. “The program is designed to strengthen and encourage mothers to have positive relationships with their minor children to help lessen the impact and effects of separation,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The board formally set the goal of creating a comprehensive, year-round homeless shelter — a long-standing local priority that’s currently in the early stages of implementation. At the moment, Arlington County is only served by an emergency winter shelter. By building a new year-round shelter, the board hopes to cut the number of unsheltered homeless in the county by half.
The board also set the goal of finding permanent housing for 95 percent of all homeless families and elderly homeless individuals. Five years ago the board set essentially the same goal for 2010, but was only able to find housing for 44 percent of homeless families. Factors cited for the failure of meeting the 2010 goal included “poor credit history; limited number of slots in transitional programs; mental health and/or substance abuse issues; underemployment/ unemployment and lack of job skills or readiness.”
Why, then, did three self-identified teachers have to stand up before the county board last night to say that the affordable housing project the board was considering would result in them being forced from their already-affordable apartments? And why did the board unanimously approve a $6.38 million loan for the project anyway?
The answer is complex, but the practical implication is that because as single teachers they make just above the income limit for affordable housing, the board’s vote last night will most likely result in them being forced to move — perhaps even out of the county.
Happy Valentine’s Day — To celebrate, Caribou Coffee is offering a buy one, get one free coupon. [Shirlington Village Blogspot]
Fairfax Supervisor Slams Arlington on HOT Lanes — The animus for Arlington continues over at the Washington Post. In an opinion piece published online, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity says the Arlington County Board has “thumbed their noses at every motorist sitting in traffic on our region’s congested highways” by using “gutter-style tactics” to block HOT lanes and other projects. A pro-Arlington Letter to the Editor, however, says that “The Post needs to stop blaming Arlington County for congestion on I-395.”
Local affordable housing outfit AHC is “in serious need” of teen tutors.
AHC has been running its teen tutoring program for more than 15 years. Tutors act as a teacher, mentor and role model for at-risk middle school and high school students who live in AHC communities. They work one-on-one with the teens, devoting at least an hour and a half per week.
