Amazon Provides $51M in Financing for Alexandria Affordable Housing Acquisition
By Keith Loria February 28, 2022 4:38 pm
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Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC) has acquired Park Vue of Alexandria, a 196-unit apartment community in Alexandria, Va., for $51.4 million.
The property will be converted to affordable housing thanks to a $51.4 million low-rate loan from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.
The seller, Covenant Capital Group, nabbed the property in 2018 for $36.75 million, according to property records.
“We will be working with our lending partners to establish a more permanent financing structure in the coming months,” Kayla Hornbrook, communications and development manager for AHDC, told Commercial Observer. “The quick-strike support from Amazon (AMZN) allowed AHDC to move in and acquire this property now while it was still available to us, and they will continue to remain a partner with us in the refinancing process.”
Alexandria has a well-documented need for affordable housing. In fact, since 2000, the city lost nearly 90 percent of its “naturally occurring affordable housing” rental units, according to AHDC. In response, the Alexandria Housing Master Plan set a goal of adding or preserving up to 2,000 affordable units by the year 2025.
Park Vue of Alexandria is situated in a historically affordable and heavily Hispanic neighborhood, Hornbrook noted, but faces significant redevelopment and displacement pressure due to nearby growth in Crystal City and Potomac Yard.
“This property represents an opportunity to invest in a long-standing community in one of Alexandria’s neighborhoods at this critical time, and keep it as affordable housing for the long term,” Hornbrook said. “Alexandria’s Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood faces significant redevelopment pressure due to nearby growth and its current residents have told us that they are concerned they don’t have a future in the place they have long called home.”
Located at 511 Four Mile Road, the building was originally built in 1965.
Anthony Liberto, an associate director at Cushman & Wakefield (CWK), represented the seller in the deal. Liberto told CO that the owner had executed its business plan and was therefore choosing to sell.
“Between two ownership groups since 2012, just under $7.5 million was invested in the property,” Liberto said. “These included HVAC replacement, unit interior renovations, amenity refreshment, boiler replacement, and gate repair among others.”
The buyer was represented in-house.
Requests for comment from Amazon were not immediately returned.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
