Virginia's Transportation Department Eyeing Sale of Hunting Towers

The Virginia Department of Transportation is currently investigating whether market conditions are right for the sale of Hunting Towers and Hunting Terrace in southern Old Town Alexandria.

Melissa Corder with VDOT, which purchased the property in 2001 to make room for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, answered local residents’ questions about the potential sale during a meeting Monday evening at . Naturally, VDOT is interested in gaining the highest price possible for the property, she said.

“We are seeing whether the property will be supported by the current market,” Corder said.

Local residents, concerned about losing their homes, said a flyer placed under their doors indicated the sale could occur in fall or winter 2012. Corder said no date has been finalized for the property sale and that VDOT does not yet have permission from the Federal Highway Administration to sell the property, although she anticipates that permission will be granted soon.

Residents will be able to renew leases as normal as long as the state owns the property, Corder said, and all leases must be honored post-sale. The state will not provide any relocation benefits to anyone who is forced to move from the property, she said.

“Once the commonweath sells this piece of property, we will have nothing to do with its running,” she said. “Leases that are in place will have to be honored.”

Corder said VDOT is currently accepting expressions of interest on the property through May 28. The property’s former owner, Kay Management, has the right to make the first offer on the apartments. After that offer is made, Kay Management has 30 days to respond, then 180 additional days to finalize the sale.

If Kay Management does not buy the property, it will be put out for sealed-bid sale, Porter said.

Melodie Seau, City of Alexandria division chief of landlord-tenant relations in the Office of Housing, said if the property is redeveloped into condominiums, state law gives tenants the right to purchase the units themselves before they are sold on the market.

If the units are renovated or converted to condominiums, the property owner will not not need city approval for the new plans, Seau said. Major redevelopment likely would need city approval.

Alexandria City Councilman Frank Fannon, who attended the meeting, said the city could not mandate that the new owner provide affordable housing units.

Hunting Towers, two eight-story apartment buildings, and Hunting Terrace, five three-story garden apartment buildings, comprise the largest remaining complexes of market-rate affordable housing in Old Town. The structures date back to 1940s post-war housing.

After several buildings were demolished to make room for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, 530 units are still located at the towers and 115 units at the terrace.

Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct the last name of the Virginia Department of Transportation employee who spoke at the event.