Monday, May 13, 2013
Mayor Bill Euille says there is a chance to fix an issue caused by a misunderstanding between city staff and council during the budget approval process.
Alexandria City Council eliminated the mechanism of set-aside funding for affordable housing and open space acquisition when it adopted its fiscal year 2014 budget last week in a move that is being chalked up to miscommunication between city staff and council. • See: Alexandria, Your Average Tax Bill Is Increasing $314 “If this was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, we still have a chance to go back and fix it,” Mayor Bill Euille said Friday. “We’ll have more conversations about this at Tuesday’s meeting.” The city takes a percentage of the real estate tax rate for both affordable housing and open space funds. Throughout budget work sessions, some councilmembers expressed a desire to move away from dedicated funding mechanisms, …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Top news of the week from our Patches around Virginia and DC.
Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week. 20. Affordable housing continues to be a major topic of discussion in Alexandria. The Virginia Department of Transportation sold Hunting Point, two eight-story apartment buildings, to a realty firm. Alexandria's City Council had asked that any purchaser not turn the buildings into luxury apartments that could displace its current tenants who require more affordable housing. That message was passed on to the new buyers, according to VDOT, but was not a condition of the sale. 19. On the west side of Alexandria, the City Planning Commission gave the go-ahead to major rezoning in the Beauregard area that will tear down …
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Rebuilding Together Alexandria will use the funds to help low-income residents purchase homes.
Nonprofit Rebuilding Together Alexandria received $1 million from the City of Alexandria’s Office of Housing to continue its Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which began in 2009. The funds will allow Rebuilding Together to purchase foreclosed or short sale properties, rehabilitate them, and sell them to income eligible, qualifying homebuyers. “We are so pleased to be able to continue our work with the City of Alexandria in preserving housing affordability in Alexandria,” Executive Director Katharine Dixon with Rebuilding Together Alexandria said in a statement. “The funding will allow us to meet the original goal of the federal program by acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling properties to low-income, qualifying homebuyers.” Through …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Euille debated independent challenger Andrew Macdonald Tuesday night at George Washington Middle School.
Alexandria’s two mayoral candidates squared off Tuesday night debating the most starkly defining topics of their platforms — development and density — while addressing other city priorities such as affordable housing, transportation and green space. The two native Alexandrians who used to play basketball together as kids found themselves once again on opposite sides of the court in their approach to the direction of the city. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Euille told the audience at George Washington Middle School that the city has made great strides in growth and livability by attracting development such as the 11,000-employee Patent and Trademark Office, a rebuilt Wilson Bridge and a complete overhaul of schools such as T.C. Williams …
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Alexandria City Council candidate Victoria Menjivar responds to a letter written by fellow Democrat Donna Fossum on issues of affordable housing and the Beauregard Small Area Plan.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Dear Editor, Concerning Donna Fossum's letter to the editor; I too am a candidate for City Council and I am running to offer an alternative to the logic that says the main thing the city can do is trade density for a few units of affordable housing. Yes, our powers are limited but city government can: Re-establish the "Penny Fund'' for affordable housing. At a cost of about $50 per household, we can generate over $3 million dollars that can go toward affordable housing. This is at least a start. Require a "displacement" analysis prior to any project is approved. We should know the impact of our decisions and take them into full consideration. Play hard ball and vote down projects that require special use permits. If developers are offering…
Friday, May 25, 2012
Alexandria City Council lets potential buyers of Hunting Towers know it wants to maintain affordable housing in south Old Town.
The Alexandria City Council adopted a resolution Tuesday at City Hall affirming the current zoning of the Hunting Towers apartments and the city’s commitment to preserving the market affordable and workforce housing in the complex in south Old Town. The Virginia Department of Transportation purchased Hunting Towers and the nearby Hunting Terrace in 2001 to make room for the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge. VDOT is now looking to sell the property—valued at $61 million—and will begin taking sealed bids from potential buyers beginning this summer. “Essentially what we are trying to do with this statement is let potential owners know we want to keep this workforce through whatever way we possibly can,” Councilman Rob Krupicka said. “The second …
Alexandria City Council candidate Donna Fossum (D) writes of the importance of dedicated affordable housing that is part of the Beauregard Small Area Plan.
To the editor, The vanishing amount of affordable housing in Alexandria has been a frequent topic of discussion in the city in recent weeks. It is a complex topic that has people confusing “market-rate” affordable housing with “dedicated” affordable housing, which differ significantly. The cost of “market-rate” affordable housing is determined exclusively by the whims of the rental market, while “dedicated” affordable housing is housing the true cost of which is “bought down” (i.e., subsidized) by developers as part of the development packages negotiated with the city or directly by the city using money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In the past several years, Alexandria has become such a desirable place to live that rents in our …
Drew Hansen
12:52 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
I was at the meeting last night and the issue of the set-asides was not discussed. I believe they will pick it back up at the June public hearing when the ordinance is scheduled to be codified. more ›