Marshall project helps meet “workforce” housing need
Washburn Place townhouses will rent from $895 to $1,125 per month.
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.
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