ARHA Seeks Partners to Redevelop Seven Low-Income Housing Sites

The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority will issue a request for proposals next week seeking partners to assist in the redevelopment of seven of its housing sites across the city.

ARHA, which provides public housing for lower-income families, is seeking mixed-income, mixed-finance and mixed-use components in the redevelopment of its sites, which include Hopkins-Tancil Courts, the Ladrey Senior Building and others.

ARHA CEO Roy Priest said the redevelopment plan is about leveraging the value of the authority’s land to create more units.

“It’s consistent with our strategic plan,” Priest said. “The effort for us will be looking at mixed-income situations and finding sustainable housing models over the long term.”

Priest said he expected a very strong response to the RFP considering the prime real estate in ARHA’s stock, including the Andrew Adkins homes located just steps from Braddock Road Metro station and other Old Town properties like the Samuel Madden homes.    

Priest said the Adkins homes could be very attractive if a developer can assemble some of the privately owned sites surrounding the ARHA homes.

“It’s a challenging site,” Priest said. “But there’s a chance for transit-oriented development. If the developers look at assembling the sites nearby, there’s a chance to maximize the floor area ratio and to put in some mixed-use development next to the Metro.”  

The process of selecting partners will take roughly a year. Priest said he expects multiple partners to be selected, with potentially some taking on multiple ARHA sites slotted for redevelopment.

The redevelopment of the sites will not happen all at once but sequenced over several years, Priest said. ARHA will need to find replacement housing for any residents displaced by the redevelopment.

ARHA’s seven sites open to the RFP include:

• ARHA’s Administrative Offices, 600 North Fairfax St.
• Hopkins-Tancil Courts, bounded by Pendleton and Princess Streets on the north and south and Fairfax and Royal Streets on the east and west
• Samuel Madden Homes, a gateway site to the city, bounded on the south by Madison Street and on the east and west by Patrick and Henry streets
• Cameron Valley, located north of Duke Street at various addresses on Yale Drive and Ellsworth Street
• Ladrey High-Rise, 300 Wythe St.
• Jefferson Village, which abuts the Jefferson-Houston School site to the south, Princess Street to the north and West Street on the east
• Andrew Adkins Homes, located near Braddock Road Metro station and bounded on the by N. Fayette Street and a private alley running parallel to West Street and north and south by Wythe and Madison streets

ARHA will post the RFP documents on its website.

On Dec. 14, Alexandria City Council signed off on the city’s first-ever housing master plan, which sets a goal of developing or preserving 2,000 affordable housing units by 2025. It is completely independent of the ARHA’s strategic plan and redevelopment efforts.

The city’s plan emphasizes housing options for households of different incomes, ages and abilities; the importance of partnerships in achieving housing goals, and the role of affordable housing as a component of Alexandria’s economic sustainability. The plan also provides principles, goals and strategies to meet the city’s anticipated affordable housing needs over the next 20 years.

For more information about Alexandria’s housing master plan, visit the city’s website.