Arlington True Ground Housing Partners to Expand Affordable Housing Site

The owner of an affordable housing complex in Virginia dreams of a bigger building for residents. Six times bigger, to be exact.

True Ground Housing Partners, a nonprofit developer based in Arlington, filed plans for a 249-unit all-affordable housing project at 2031 North Woodrow Street in the D.C. suburb, the Washington Business Journal reported. A site plan application was filed late last month in the county.

True Ground is already the owner of Leckey Gardens, a 40-unit garden apartment community on a 1.4-acre parcel. It has owned the property since 2000, extending affordability covenants for 30 years upon the acquisition.

The nonprofit’s plan is to knock down the existing property and replace it with a property six times the size. At the moment, there are two three-story buildings at the site, as well as surface parking. The plans call for 10-story buildings spanning 277,000 square feet with two levels of partially below-grade parking.

Rents will be capped at levels that correspond to various household incomes. The affordability mix for the redeveloped property has yet to be determined. The developer will apply for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, county gap financing and other undisclosed sources for financing.

Officials at True Ground hope already owning the property it’s looking to redevelop will accelerate the process. The nonprofit doesn’t expect to break ground until 2027, but aims to have it delivered in 2029.

Formerly known as the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, True Ground has spent 35 years emerging into one of the nation’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developers. The firm has delivered homes for more than 5,000 people in the D.C. area, supporting households earning between 30 percent and 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

In 2015, Arlington adopted an affordable housing master plan. The plan included an analysis that found the county was nearly 7,000 units short of housing with rents affordable to those earning below 60 percent of the area median income.

— Holden Walter-Warner