County organizations receive affordable and special needs housing loans

Four Fairfax County organizations will receive part of the more than $93 million in Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans announced by Governor Glenn Youngkin March 10.

The recommended projects will create and preserve units for low-income and extremely low-income households, including permanent supportive housing, rental units, and units for sale as homeownership opportunities.

“Increasing Virginia’s supply of attainable, affordable, and accessible housing is foundational to strengthening Virginia’s economy, and furthers my administration’s Make Virginia Home Plan,” said the governor. “These awarded projects will create and preserve almost 4,000 units of affordable, quality housing for our most vulnerable residents.”

Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing will receive $2.7 million for Dominion Square - Tysons North Four project and an additional $2.7 million for Tysons South Four. Wesley Housing Development Corporation will be awarded $2.7 million for their First Christian Church of Falls Church project.  SCG Development Partners LLC will receive $700,000 for their One University Family project and another $700,000 for their One University Senior project. Finally, Pathway Homes Inc. will receive $200,000 for Pathway Homes Renovating Support.

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administers Affordable and Special Needs Housing (ASNH) loans, which combine state and federal resources to provide a simplified and comprehensive application process. Funding comes from four main sources: the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the federal National Housing Trust Fund (NHFT), Housing Innovations in Energy Efficiency (HIEE), Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) state funds, and the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF).

VHTF is provided by the General Assembly and supports financing for housing construction projects that create or preserve affordable housing units, reduce the cost of affordable housing, and increase homeownership. This funding is a key source of financing for these affordable housing initiatives to support moderate- and low-income families, as well as supporting homeless reduction grants to provide rapid re-housing and longer-term housing solutions for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.

“Stable and affordable housing is vital to building a thriving economy, and we are aligning housing development resources to holistically fill this need across Virginia,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “Increasing the supply of affordable housing is integral to our economic development efforts as we continue to build an economy that works for all Virginians.”

Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans are awarded through a competitive process. Sixty-one applications were received for this round of funding, requesting more than $108 million. The funded projects will leverage over $1.39 billion in additional federal, state, local, and private lending resources. To learn more about the ASNH program, visit www.dhcd.virginia.gov/asnh.