Affordable Housing Wins Funding for Seniors, Not Families
The proposed City Center South Senior Apartments complex appears to have won funding, and could receive both tax credits and federal stimulus credits.
The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) released its final rankings of applications for low income housing tax credits on Wednesday. According to Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields, the Senior Apartments proposal evidently has emerged as one of the winners.
Mr. Shields said Aug. 5 that apparently the Falls Church Housing Corporation (FCHC) project has scored high enough to receive tax credits and TCAP (federal stimulus) credits.
Originally conceived as a single project, the proposal was revised earlier this year to consist of one building for seniors and one for families.
Although competitive, the separate application for the 56 unit City Center South Family Apartments did not qualify for tacredits or stimulus funds.
Mr. Shields stated that the FCHC and its partner, Community Builders, are pursuing options on the Family Apartments project and considering overall strategy in light of today’s developments.
A review of the rankings shows that the 66 unit Seniors complex did not qualify for funding when matched against other applications from Northern Virginia. However, the project made the cut in a larger, state-wide pool.
Only two of 12 proposals qualified for tax credits via the Northern Virginia pool, one in Fairfax County and one in Arlington. The Seniors complex project ranked third and the CCSFA sixth.
Preliminary VHDA rankings released in mid-July showed both applications missing the cut.
The tax credits are provided by the federal government but allocated to and administered by each state’s housing agencies. These agencies then determine which proposals best merit the subsidy. Tax credits are awarded to low-income housing builders, with competition for the credits providing an incentive for high quality and low price.
UPDATE: The Falls Church Housing Corporation released the following statement Thursday, August 6:
The Falls Church Housing Corporation is pleased and proud to announce the award of Low Income Tax Credits and TCAP (Federal stimulus) credits to finance the construction of the City Center South Apartments (CCSA) Elderly building. The companion CCSA Family building did not score high enough in this round of funding to receive financing credits. However, FCHC and its development partner, The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), will be reviewing strategy and alternate funding options to secure financing for the Family building.
Before budget realities set in, the affordable housing project would have combined seniors and families into a space currently occupied by three separate buildings on S. Washington Street, as envisioned in this architectural rendering.
Subsequently, the proposal was scaled back to include the space currently occupied by only two current buildings, as envisioned in this drawing. But the State of Virginia has agreed to help fund only one of the two proposed structures -- that for seniors, not for families.
By George Bromley
August 5, 2009
One good step for seniors. One step yet to be taken for families.
JIm:
You assume the seniors want this step.
I would prefer any City Center South affordable housing projects move forward in conjunction with the City Center South project. Many are happy with the two projects being separate, but I think the best option and move for the city is to have parallel progress.
I also don’t think it’s ideal to replace the Winter Hill apartments with this senior housing, but if it does, the City Center South project would at least provide some green space and convenient shopping for the residents if they are required to move.
I notice that a rendering of the City Center South Apartments now added to yesterday’s original post is out of date. In response to the concerns raised by the Planning Commission as well as the current economic conditions under which we are trying to secure financing for the project, the original scope of the project has been scaled back considerably. The project will now include two smaller buildings with approximately 70 units in the Elderly building for which we just received a funding award and 50 more units in the Family building. For more information about the project, please visit FCHC’s website.
As for Mr. Anderson’s comment, FCHC fully appreciates how much the seniors currently residing here at Winter Hill love their community but once again, economic realities dictate that we make choices to ensure the long term stability of this affordable housing option for them while increasing the inventory of affordable housing options overall in our community. Have a look at this post on our News and Updates website page for more information on this topic.