Image courtesy of Asland Capital Partners
The controversial project to redevelop The Heritage at Old Town apartments has inspired extraordinary community engagement since the concept was filed with the City and the first resident and community meetings were held in January 2020.
Over the past year, there have been numerous public meetings on the project, including four Board of Architectural Review meetings (BAR) and city council approval to demolish the existing 1970s garden-style apartment buildings on the site.
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the approval of the redevelopment project on Feb. 2.
This public engagement continued during Saturday’s city council meeting, where 42 speakers registered to speak on the project, and 173 pages of letters and emails were sent to council members in advance of the meeting. Speakers were almost evenly divided between opponents and supporters of the project, with slightly more in opposition.
One of the largest points of contention regarding the redevelopment is the height, mass and scale of the project versus the City’s need for affordable housing and commitment to equity and diversity.
Opponents of the property mainly argued that the size and design of the proposed multifamily buildings are inappropriate for their historical context in Old Town. The proposed redevelopment calls for buildings that reach heights of 7 stories and contain 750 residential units (which was reduced from the original 842 units following public feedback).
A citizen group called Citizens Association of the South West Quadrant was organized in direct response to the project. Many site neighbors and opponents of the project say they are not against affordable housing, but they believe that the project as proposed does not fit in the area. They have raised concerns of increased traffic, minimized parking and a negative impact on the quality of life and property value for surrounding houses.
“Tell this developer to go back to the principle of the South Patrick Street Affordability Study and lower the number of his market rate units, to produce a project that respects the character of the historic district and enhances the existing neighborhood, gives us the affordable housing and has a design that has an Alexandria feel to it,” said Gail Rothrock of the Historic Alexandria Foundation.
What opponents do not seem to acknowledge is the cost of affordable housing. They pointed to what they saw as the “greediness” of developers, without recognizing that in order to attract developers to undertake such a project and maintain affordability, density and height are often a requirement. The alternative would be using millions of City tax dollars to fund the affordable housing.
Proponents of the project, including current tenants of The Heritage, spoke about the City’s need for affordable housing. Preserving and creating additional affordable housing, they argued is necessary to achieve racial and economic equity and diversity in the City. It would also allow more essential workers and others who work in Alexandria to be able to afford to live here as well – in quality housing with modern amenities. The proposed redevelopment would preserve 140 deeply affordable HUD units currently on site and create an additional 55 affordable units.
Supporter of the project Betsy Faga is an Alexandria resident active in outreach to low-income residents and a member of the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee. She described herself during her public comments as a “mature citizen” who personally prefers the more traditional architecture she grew up with, but that through her work she has come to realize that “we are building for the current and future generations, not for ourselves, and that calls for a newer design style.”
Following public testimony and an impassioned presentation by developers, members of the city council discussed issues surrounding the project with developers and city staff. Concerns raised included increased traffic at an already problematic intersection at Gibbon Street and South Patrick Street, proposed building height and density, construction, stormwater and sewage infrastructure, school capacity and the relocation of tenants.
The earliest that residents would be relocated is currently November 2021 but this timeline could change depending on the COVID-19 pandemic. Some HUD tenants will be relocated on site and others will be relocated to other spots in Alexandria until they are able to move into their new units.
Despite Councilwoman Amy Jackson initially voicing objection to the project, ultimately all members of City Council voted to approve the project. “Here we have a chance to add to what’s here, we desperately need every affordable unit we can get,” said Councilwoman Del Pepper. Councilman John Chapman echoed this sentiment by saying “We know that this opportunity is one that we cannot make up in any decent amount of time…we don’t get a lot of opportunities to create [affordable units].”
Developers must still request a certificate of appropriateness and will meet again with the BAR where the architecture and design will be further refined before construction can begin. Constructions is expected to take two years for the first two buildings and another two years for the third building.
