Fairfax County Approves Site and Funding for Tysons Affordable Housing
By Keith Loria August 7, 2023 5:00 pm
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Fairfax County has given the green light to Dominion Square, an affordable housing community to be built near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons, Va.
The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority has finalized an 85-year lease for a 2-acre site at 1592 Spring Hill Road to Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). The regional nonprofit will develop two 20-story residential towers and a two-story community center on the site, which consists of several surface parking lots formerly used by auto dealerships.
The Fairfax County housing agency has also approved up to $89 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance the project. In addition, the project was aided by a $55 million below-market-rate loan from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund.
“The need for affordable housing in Tysons is critical,” Carmen Romero, APAH’s president and CEO, told Commercial Observer. “Frankly, until now, there has been no dedicated affordable housing in Tysons. In a larger context, Fairfax County has a goal of creating 10,000 affordable units by the year 2034, and this project is a significant boost toward that end.”
Dominion Square will create 516 affordable apartments and a 33,000-square-foot community center operated by Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services. Apartments will be affordable to those earning between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income, currently $126,438 for a household of four.
Dominion Square will feature a gym, meeting rooms, multi-purpose spaces, a kitchen, administrative offices and flexible educational spaces. There will also be a 1,900-square-foot elevated courtyard.
“This project, this location, represents APAH’s continued commitment to providing not only a place for residents with lower incomes to call home, but a foundation from which they can realize their dreams,” Romero said.
The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Keith Loria can be reached at kloria@commercialobserver.com.
