Housing for a Diverse and
Sustainable Community
A basic overview of affordable housing
needs, development, and challenges
January 2013
Before we get started . . .
Note that Arlington County
• does not have a public housing authority
• but provides assistance with housing in a variety of
ways, including direct grants to lower income
families, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
This presentation focuses on preservation and
creation of affordable housing units, especially
units called “committed affordable” (or CAFs)
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“Affordable” housing
comes in all property types
•
•
•
•
•
Single family and multifamily
Garden apartments and highrises
Rental [mostly] and home ownership
New construction and existing buildings
“Mixed income” complexes
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Affordable housing defined
by the Department of Housing and Urban Development—
Decent, quality housing that costs no more than
30 percent of a household’s gross monthly income
for rent/mortgage and utility payments
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Who needs affordable housing?
• A variety of workers vital to our community’s health,
safety, and economic success, including:
• Teachers, first responders, and health-care workers
• Retail, hospitality, and service workers
• Young people—many of whom were raised in
Arlington—launching careers and families
• Persons on fixed incomes, such as seniors and persons
with disabilities
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Why affordable housing matters
An adequate supply of affordable housing helps the
entire community by—
• Supporting and sustaining economic development,
helping employers attract and retain workers and
keeping the Arlington economy resilient
• Keeping Arlington diverse—economically,
culturally, and age-wise
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Why affordable housing matters, cont.
• Reducing commuting, yielding a cleaner
environment, reducing stress and improving
wellness
• Reducing turnover in schools, which is good for
students, families, and Arlington schools
• Creating a “sense of place” (community) and
reducing family displacement
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Affordable units—the link to median income levels
Area Median Income (AMI): The middle income in a given area.
Of households in the area, half earn less than the median; half earn more.
Other key facts:
• Calculated by HUD based on household size
• Determines eligibility for various housing programs
• Affordable unit set-asides are pegged to various levels of AMI
2012 Median Income for Washington DC Metro Area
For a family of 4
$107,500
For a 1-person household
$75,300
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Two types of affordable units
“Market-rate affordable” housing units (MARKs)
Privately-owned units with “market” rents affordable to
households up to 80% of AMI
No requirement that they stay affordable
Often described by affordability level—
80% MARKs—units affordable at 61-80%
60% MARKs—units affordable at/below 60%
“Committed affordable” units (CAFs)
Units with income-restricted rents for an extended period, generally
for households at 60% AMI and below
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Affordability by household size
At 60% of AMI—the target for most CAFs
SIZE
INCOME/yr
INCOME/mo
“AFFORDABLE”
(at 30%)
1 person
45,180
3,765
1,130
2 person
51,600
4,300
1,290
64,500
5,375
1,612
4 person
2011 Average Rents
Efficiency
One-Bedroom
Two
Three
$1,337
$1,615
$2,063
$2,421
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Housing pressure in Arlington
• In Arlington, 2 in 5 rental households pay 30% or
more for rent
• A wage of $33.63/hour (assuming 160/hr month)
would be required for an average one-bedroom to
be affordable
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Creating CAFS
• CAFs can be created by renovation or new
construction, usually by a nonprofit developer.
• Creating a CAF requires creativity and
cooperation to put together the financial pieces.
• The County is often needed to help close the
“gap” between the cost to renovate/build and
operate the CAF unit and what the assisted
AMI% level household can afford.
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Creating CAFs: The big-ticket item
Land Cost
$6 million
Per Unit: 50 units
$120,000
Per Unit: 100 units
$60,000
Land cost is not the only challenge, but density matters…
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The CAF package
To cover costs, a typical CAF package includes:
• A commercial mortgage(s)
• Tax credits and/or bonds—most awarded by the State
on a competitive basis
• A County gap “contribution”—such as a loan from the
Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF), “bonus
density”, or land
• A developer contribution—the developer defers fees
and/or puts equity into the deal
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County gap financing sources
• Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) loans from
a revolving fund financed through general revenue,
developer contributions (in lieu of providing affordable
housing units), and AHIF loan repayments
• Project-specific Industrial Development Bonds by the
County. Revenue from the development pays for the bond.
• Grants, often federal pass-through money, for housingrelated services
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Other Country resources to support CAFs
Bonus density permits additional market-rate and CAF units,
with the income from the market-rate units designed to
offset the cost of the CAFs
Transfer of development rights (TDR) allows a site to send
density and other development rights for the purposes of the
preservation/facilitation of affordable housing (or other
community benefits: open space, historic preservation, etc.)
Public land donation. Arlington Mill is one example.
County-provided infrastructure such as streetscapes,
sidewalks, utility grounding, etc., to help keep costs down
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Parc Rosslyn
Developed by Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH)
• Redevelopment of 22
market-affordable garden
apartments
• “Mixed”:142 market rate
and 96 CAF
• VHDA bond, AHIF,
LIHTC, TDR, APAH equity
• Won major design award,
2009
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The Jordan
Developed by AHC, Inc.
• Redevelopment of 24
market-affordable garden
apartments
• 90 CAFs walking distance
from Ballston Metro
• Site acquired through land
swap with commercial
developer
• AHIF, LIHTC, AHC
equity
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vPoint of Clarendon
Developed by The Views at Clarendon Corporation
• “Mixed”: 46 marketrate and 70 CAFs
• Preservation of
landmark steeple and
onsite daycare and
other benefits
• Additional density,
AHIF
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The Gates (Ballston)
Renovation by AHC, Inc. Before—
After—
464 affordable apartments, a new community center, and . . .
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. . . winner of the 2009 Historic Preservation Award
from the National Trust for Historic Preservation
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Buchanan Gardens (South Buchanan Street)
Renovation by APAH
includes expanded family units and this new playground
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CAFs are regulated and
provide community benefits
• Yearly income certification
• Overcrowding forbidden
• County architectural, building, and streetscape
standards
• Ongoing business relationship with the County
and State agencies encourage good practices
• Onsite family- and school-oriented services
provided
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Affordable housing challenges in Arlington
• Land (the lack of it plus high price) and our high
Area Median Income
• Many MARKs have been and are being
renovated into upscale units
• From 2003-2011, the County has averaged
293 net new CAFs per year, but demand for CAF
units far outweighs supply
• Arlington needs more affordable units for its
current and projected future workforce
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2011 rental unit breakdown
3,035 – 8%
4,307 – 11%
4,685 – 12%
Market rate
8,500 – 23%
units > 80%
17,500 – 46%
22(48%)
3,570 – 8%
CAFs
Rental
CAFs
(14%)
40-60% Marks
MARKs
up to 60%
(12%)
6,685 – 15%
60-80% MARKS
15,442 – 36%
Market Rate (>80%)
MARKs
at 60-80%
(25%)
11,429 – 27%
Pg 34, Goals and Targets Report. Source: Arlington County CPHD
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Loss of 50% and 60% MARKs
20000
18000
UP to 60 % of AMI
16000
Up to 50% of AMI
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
<$1250, 46%
<$1250, 54%
$1750-2249,
14%
$1250-1749,
35%
$1750-2249,
11%
$2250+, 9%
2000
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Pg 35, Goals and Targets Report. Source: Arlington County CPHD
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Jobs v. housing: Short- and long-term gaps
In October 2011, George Mason’s Center for Regional Analysis released a major study
warning that the region’s economic engine could stall:
• Local jurisdictions are planning for an insufficient amount of housing to
accommodate future workers.
• There is a need for more multi-family housing and smaller, more affordable owner
and renter homes in the region.
~ Housing the Region’s Future Workforce: Policy Challenges for Local Jurisdictions
Arlington County acknowledges a more immediate need:
“Based on the regional ratio of needing one housing unit for every 1.6 new jobs, 3,000
new affordable units would need to be added in Arlington between 2010 and 2015 to
serve new workers”
~ Arlington County Annual Affordable Housing Targets Report for 2011
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What’s on the horizon?
Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan
Adopted by County Board July 2012; implementing plans began late
2012.
Creating and preserving affordable units are among the key goals.
More than half of Arlington’s remaining MARKs are along the Pike
corridor.
Goal: Preserve all 6,200 MARKs over the next 30 years.
Tools to achieve preservation:
• AHIF
• New form-based code (FBC), includes increased density
• Transfer of Development Rights
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• Other tools
What’s on the horizon?
Arlington Housing Study
A multi-year plan to assess community housing needs,
establish long-term objectives, and develop strategic
directions.
A housing needs survey will provide valuable data for the
study—the last such survey was done 10 years ago.
County Board adopted charge December 2012.
First meeting of citizen working group expected February
2013.
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Questions for our community
Can we convert an adequate number of MARKs to CAFs?
Will lack of housing choices stall economic growth?
Where will Gen Y live?
Will Arlingtonians work together to ensure our County
vision of a “diverse . . . and sustainable community in
which each person is important”?
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“What can I do?”
• Stay informed! Visit the AHS website and sign
up for updates.
• Share this information. Talk to your friends and
neighbors about the challenges we face and the
importance of our housing mix.
• Consider volunteering with nonprofit providers
to help provide onsite student and family support
services and/or maintenance assistance.
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Recap
 How “affordable housing” is defined
 Who needs affordable housing
 Why it is important to any community and to
Arlington in particular
 How it is developed and what “committed” affordable
housing looks like
What challenges Arlington faces in providing
committed affordable housing
What you can do
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Thank you!
For more information, including sourcing and list-serve sign up—
www.AllianceforHousingSolutions.org
For more on Arlington County housing assistance services—
http://bit.ly/Kry4dL
To learn about nonprofit providers serving Arlington—
AHCInc.org—AHC, Inc.
APAH.org—Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing
WesleyHousing.org—Wesley Housing Development Corp
RPJhousing.org—RPJ Housing
CPDC.org—Community Preservation and Development Corporation
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