Affordable Housing Design Back on Table

In a surprise development regarding the city’s affordable housing efforts, the Falls Church Housing Corporation will meet with the City Council Tuesday night to discuss what is said to be a “major redesign” of the proposed City Center South Apartments (CCSA).

For weeks, observers have expected the Housing Corporation to finalize the CCSA simply by correcting a deficient parking plan that had stifled the project. Now changes beyond the parking plan appear to be in the offing, although no details have been released.

The CCSA has been a sensitive subject with city leaders in recent months, with the majority of City Council strongly supportive, but a minority of the Council and some Planning Commission and Economic Development Authority members questioning the project’s viability. In December, the Planning Commission’s rejected the project’s site plan on grounds of inadequate parking, leading CCSA supporters to criticize the Planning Commission as paramount to killing the the project. Newly-appointed members of the Planning Commission, thought to be friendly to CCSA, were expected to quickly reverse the December site plan rejection and allow a final green light for the project. However, no new parking plan was presented, causing speculation regarding whether other obstacles had arisen to hinder the project. Now the Housing Corporation is elevating the discussion back up to the city’s legislative body, indicating that matters greater than the parking plan are at issue.

Planning Commissioners have been invited to attend the session with the City Council. The meeting is also open to the public, starting at 7pm Tuesday in the Training Room, Level G of City Hall.

Following the Housing Corporation’s presentation, there will be a review of the recent Town Hall Budget meeting, followed by a closed session of Council to discussion of issues including litigation between the city and the Fairfax County Water Authority.