UDR Newport Village
UDR Newport Village LLC, has received approval for a development special use permit to tear down two garden-style apartments and build a multifamily residential building with 383 units near Northern Virginia Community College.
According to the plans, 24 units would be studios, 255 would be one-bedroom units, and 104 would be two-bedroom units. At least a dozen of the units would be affordable, and the developer is making a contribution to the affordable housing fund.
The complex, at the intersection of North Beauregard Street and West Braddock Road, replaces two buildings that were approved for construction in the late 1960s.
Council Members Mo Seifeldein and Canek Aguirre voted against the project, citing a variety of concerns including the relatively small number of affordable units, the scale of the project and concern about encroachments.
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The new buildings will take up about 4.2 acres of space at the 20-plus acre Newport Village development. A playground would be relocated and the Planning Commission in early 2020 approved a small encroachment onto a Resource Protection Area along North Beauregard Street, however the plan also calls for leaving in place many mature trees and providing open space that goes beyond what is required. The developer will have to remove several tons of dirt to build into the land grade, which increases the development cost.
UDR Newport Village is providing a mix of land dedications and easements to the City to help facilitate future construction of the West End Transitway, which will travel directly outside the new development, and a pedestrian/bicycle path.
Students will be zoned to John Adams Elementary School, but the developer and city staff believe there will only be about a dozen students living in the complex because most apartments will be studios and one-bedroom units. The developer hopes that people attending or associated with the community college would find the apartments attractive.
The main entry to the complex will be on West Braddock Road.
Construction could start later this year.
