The first phase of the Upland Park development off Seminary Road got the green light from City Council on Saturday.
Alexandria Development Associates will build 92 townhouse units and a 0.5 acre park at 5165 Seminary Road, just west of North Beauregard Street. Future phases of the development could include a multifamily apartment building, retail, a hotel and more open space including an additional 0.35 acre of park.
After a number of meetings with the Beauregard Design Advisory Committee and City staff, the final design of the townhomes was refined to better complement the surrounding neighborhood.
According to a report put together by City staff, “The townhouse facades have a simple architectural expression that is contemporary yet uses traditional residential materials and patterns. The roofline has a stepped-back fourth floor, providing roof terraces oriented towards the front. Window arrangements are stacked vertically, providing a traditional appearance.” The townhomes will have a two-car garage and 67 on-street parking spaces will be created around the townhomes.
Image courtesy of AlexandriaDevelopment Associates,LLC.
Image courtesy of AlexandriaDevelopment Associates,LLC.
Image courtesy of AlexandriaDevelopment Associates,LLC.
The report discusses the school impact of the new townhomes and estimates that it will result in 19 additional students for the area which is zoned for John Adams Elementary and Francis C. Hammond Middle School.
The development is expected to provide the following benefits to the City:
- Contribution to the Beauregard Implementation Fund ($3.2 million)
- Construction of a new City park, per the Beauregard Small Area Plan;
- Transportation improvements, including a signalized intersection at Seminary Road and Fairbanks Avenue;
- Pedestrian and streetscape improvements per the Beauregard Small Area Plan, including a shared bicycle/pedestrian path along Seminary Road; and,
- Consistency with the City’s 2019 Green Building Policy and the Public Art Policy (approximately $57,281).
The townhomes are estimated to sell for $600,000 - $800,000, based on comparable homes values in the area. The lack of opportunity for affordable housing ownership in the development and the greater West End was a concern for Council members Canek Aguirre and John Chapman.
“My frustration has been that we have not been able to get affordable home ownership opportunities in the West End, it’s all been rental, rental, rental, rental,” Aguirre lamented. “Homeownership affordability in the city is very, very difficult, there are a lot of folks that are on the West End in rental units that would love the opportunity to purchase, but there simply isn’t anything within their range. I know for me 600k and above is completely out of the question, there is no way I would be able to afford something like that,” he continued.
The city is, however, working with the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation to build a townhome community of affordable housing on Seminary Road, which residents making 80 percent of the area median income would be able to purchase.
A portion of the developer’s contribution to the Beauregard Implementation Fund could be used to create more affordable rental units in Phase 2 of the project. The money cannot be used to create affordable homeownership units because currently the Beauregard Small area plan is focused on preserving and development affordable rental units.
Chapman suggested looking into Federal and state funding that could be available to help solve the problem.
In response to the concern, Housing Director Helen McIlvaine reinforced her department’s commitment to solving the affordable housing shortfall. “There is not a project that comes forward when we don’t try to see if there is not an opportunity to get housing affordability whether it’s rental or ownership within the resources we think are reasonable and efficient and we are very much looking at homeownership opportunities obviously on Seminary road and a couple of other sites.”
