Marshall project helps meet “workforce” housing need

Washburn Place townhouses will rent from $895 to $1,125 per month.

Despite a sometimes soggy spring, construction of the 30-unit “workforce” townhouse project in Marshall remains on track.

Washburn Place on Salem Avenue should be completed by year's end, as planned, Windy Hill Development Co. President Kim Hart said.

“We’ve had the advantage of an open winter,” Mr. Hart said. “So we were able to work all the way through the winter.”

The two-story, 1,130-square-foot units will include three bedrooms, extra insulation, energy-efficient windows and “water-saving devices” on all faucets and toilets, Mr. Hart said.

He expects the townhouses, which will rent for $895 to $1,125 per month, to lease quickly.

“The need for workforce housing in all of Northern Virginia is just tremendous,” Mr. Hart said. “At all Windy Hill properties there’s always a long waiting list.”

The Loudoun-based nonprofit’s project serve “working people,” he said. “There are many, many people that are earning a very decent wage and still can’t afford to live in Fauquier County, or at least in Northern Fauquier County.”

Depending on the number of people occupying a unit, household income limits would range $30,000 to $60,000 per year, according to Mr. Hart.

Washburn Place will have five handicap-accessible townhouses and three set aside for veterans.

“As far as we know, these are the first certified handicap units to be available in Marshall,” Mr. Hart said.

Low-interest financing and a variety of donations make the project viable, he said.

“The ability to do projects often depends on the availability of low-cost or donated land,” Mr. Hart explained.

Lisa and Zohar Ben-Dov, who live near Marshall, donated the 7.7-acre Washburn Place site.

Through its affordable housing program, the Atlanta-based Federal Home Loan Bank also donated $500,000 for the project, Mr. Hart said.

Additionally, Fauquier County waived building permit fees and $240,000 in real estate taxes over eight years on the townhouses and the PATH Foundation of Warrenton gave $60,000 for the development of the handicap-accessible units, he said.

“So you add all that up that’s how you’re able to provide rents at a discount,” Mr. Hart said.

Mr. Hart put Washburn Place’s development cost at about $8 million, excluding the site’s value. 

Washburn Place represents Windy Hill Development’s third Fauquier project. 

Completed in 2012, the Piedmont Lane project in The Plains has 16 units. A year later, the organization converted the former Grace Episcopal Church Rectory on Fauquier Avenue into two apartments. 

The church still owns the old rectory; Windy Hill manages both apartments.

Established in 1981, Windy Hill has developed 367 single-family homes, apartments and townhouses in Loudoun.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Parents of Student Murdered by Maintenance Man Sue Apartment Complex

He pleaded guilty to murder late last year, now the case of a maintenance worker who killed a Blinn student is back in court. The parents of 20-year-old Jenna Verhaalen are suing the Bryan apartment complex where she was killed. Verhaalen was strangled at the Autumn Woods Apartments in 2008, by 27-year-old maintenance worker Jeremiah Rosser . The suit claims Autumn Woods ignored complaints made about Rosser. Specifically, a complaint they claim Jenna made to Rosser's boss, when he entered her apartment while she was in the shower. The suit alleges the complex's negligence led to Jenna's death. Attorneys for Autumn woods said management had no reason to believe Rosser was a risk. However, that's not what the complex's corporate office told News Three in 2008. Back then, a spokesperson said Jenna complained to the maintenance supervisor about Jeremiah Rosser , but never filed a complaint with the office. Rosser quit his job at Autumn Woods several day
Read more

“Blacklist” star Megan Boone lists West Village apartment for $2.4M

Image
Megan Boone and her apartment at 302 West 12th Street (credit: NBC and BKR Partners) Megan Boone, who  plays FBI agent Elizabeth Keen on NBC’s crime thriller “The Blacklist,” has just listed her condominium at 302 West 12th Street for $2.4 million, per city records. (credit: BKR Partners) Boone bought the apartment in 2014 for $1.85 million. According to the listing, with Brian Kanarek of BKR Partners, the 837-square-foot unit has one bedroom and one bathroom. It overlooks tiny Abingdon Square Park, and has a large fireplace, soundproof windows, high ceilings, a walk-in closet and access to the communal landscaped roof terrace . Kanarek did not immediately respond to request for comment. (credit: BKR Partners) Per city records, Boone and her husband, artist Dan Estabrook , bought a townhouse in Carroll Gardens in March 2016 in an off-market deal. In addition to starring on “Blacklist” with James Spader, Boone has also appeared on “Law & Order: LA,” “Blue Bloods” and the film “St
Read more

Charlotte affordable housing forum raises possible solutions

There’s a big demand for more affordable housing in Charlotte, where rents and home prices have shot up much faster than wages over the past few years. Many of the apartments being built now target more affluent renters, waitlists for housing vouchers are long and starter homes are snapped up almost immediately. So why aren’t developers building more affordable housing ? That was one of the main questions at a candidate education panel hosted by the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association on Friday, where about two dozen candidates for Charlotte City Council turned out to learn some of the basics on a complicated subject. “ Affordable housing is one of the topics you’ll talk about a lot,” Bryan Holladay, who supervises the group’s government affairs outreach , told the candidates. The subject is an alphabet soup of acronyms (like NOAH, or “ Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing ”) and overlapping terms and definitions. Sometimes when people say “ affordable housing ” they mean go
Read more