An innovative development approach led to the creation of 240 modern, affordable apartments
for low-income seniors in Fairfax County; ribbon cutting celebration to be held Sept. 29
Photo caption: (L to R): Fairfax County Supervisor for the Hunter Mill District Walter Alcorn; Senior Director, Real Estate Development for Enterprise Community Development Matt Engel; Chief of Programs for Virginia Housing Tammy Neale; Lake Anne House resident Steve McAvoy; Commissioner, Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Hunter Mill District, Richard Kennedy; Capital One Senior Vice President and Senior Capital Officer for the Mid-Atlantic Region Ed Delany; Fellowship Square CEO Christy Zeitz; Enterprise Community Development President and CEO Brian McLaughlin; Scott Hoekman, President, Enterprise Housing Credit Investments; Director of Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority Thomas Fleetwood; Director of Partnerships and Communication for Jeffrey C. McCay, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Natalie Nguyen Woodruff. (Photo credit: Harry Connolly)
Enterprise Community Development and Fellowship Square celebrated today the much-anticipated grand opening and ribbon cutting of Lake Anne House, featuring 240 modern apartment homes for low-income seniors in Reston, Virginia. Key project partners joining this celebration included Virginia Housing, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Capital One and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The in-person event marked the end of a multi-year effort to redevelop the 1970s-era housing community and preserve affordable housing in Fairfax County, one of Virginia’s most expensive counties.
“Lake Anne House is an example of the high-quality affordable housing we can build with ingenuity, tenacity, and partnership. It is what fixing our housing supply looks like – a demonstration of how we can work collaboratively at all levels to build and rehabilitate housing – project by project, block by block, community by community – across the country,” said United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Adrianne Todman, who spoke at today’s event. “The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized housing supply and affordability, and HUD partners with communities to build and rehab homes like Lake Anne House across the country each day.”
“This new state-of-the-art building in terms of energy efficiency and accessibility sets a new standard for what affordable housing can be. Most importantly, it will enable financially fragile older adults to be able to age in place here in Northern Virginia for many years to come,” said Christy Zeitz, CEO of Fellowship Square. While Reston is now one of the most expensive zip codes in the state, residents at the Lake Anne House – many of whom live on Social Security or Supplemental Security Income alone, with an average income between just $10,000-$15,000/year – are able to live independently in the dynamic Reston community.
In 2015, nonprofit senior housing operator Fellowship Square issued an RFP to redevelop the Lake Anne Fellowship House, an aging senior housing community built in the 1970s. Community Preservation and Development Corporation (Enterprise Community Development’s predecessor) responded with a novel solution to best meet the needs of Fellowship Square and its community of senior residents (age 62+) . Instead of updating the current building and causing its residents to inconveniently relocate during renovation, the organization would construct a new building on an underutilized portion of the site. This would enable the seniors to relocate only once to their new apartments once the building was completed and enabled the developer the ability to create homes with improved accessibility, energy efficiency and numerous amenities.
“When you look at Lake Anne House today, it’s easy to see its beauty and cutting-edge design. But there’s so much more,” said Brian McLaughlin “There’s a terrific story of working hand-in-hand with residents, of partnerships with the County and financing partners, and of staying determined and focused through an unprecedented and difficult pandemic. There’s so much to celebrate and be proud of in this moment.”
Enterprise Community Development and Fellowship Square took on this innovative development approach and constructed the new building adjacent to the original Lake Anne Fellowship House. The new Lake Anne House includes 56 studios, 178 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments. Enhancements include numerous amenities for its older adult residents, including a fitness center, arts and crafts room, social hall, sunroom, game room, outdoor terrace, wellness clinic for visiting medical professionals, and on-site management and resident services offices. All units incorporate Universal Design standards, which were not in place when the original building was constructed in the 1970s. Fifty-four of the 240 units are fully handicap accessible, and the building is Earthcraft and EnergyStar© certified.
Residents were provided relocation support and moved from the original building to the new Lake Anne House in phases over the summer. Demolition of the now vacant circa-1970 buildings on the east half of the site will occur by the first quarter of 2023, and the land will be sold for future townhomes to a third-party homebuilder.
In remarks made during today’s event, Steve McAvoy, a resident of Lake Anne House for over a decade, said, “The residents are so grateful for our bright and beautiful new apartments in this incredible modern building. We are so thankful for the enormous hard work done by so many people that allows us to continue to live as citizens of our Reston community that we love so much.”
To bring the vision to life, the development team secured project-based rental vouchers for 100% of the units and secured financing to meet its ambitious goal. The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority awarded the project 122 new project-based vouchers, and HUD transferred and assigned all remaining vouchers from the old Fellowship buildings. The project financing incorporated $46.5 million in tax-exempt bond financing from the Virginia Housing and a $700,000 loan from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. Additionally, the financing package contained $21.5 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity provided through Enterprise Housing Credit Investments by Capital One, $3 million in Blueprint Funding from the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, $7.2 million in bridge financing from the Enterprise Community Loan Fund and equity from Enterprise Community Development and Fellowship Square. The market proceeds from the sale of the land underneath the old Fellowship buildings will provide repayment of all bridge financing.
“Partnerships are a crucial factor in achieving the remarkable success we continue to have in Fairfax County, and there is no better example of this than the new Lake Anne House,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay. “We had the right partners come together – leveraging local, state, and federal resources along with private capital – to deliver a beautifully designed community with amazing amenities that sets a new standard for affordable living for older adults.”
Lake Anne House is located at 11444 N. Shore Drive, Reston, in Fairfax County, Virginia. The architect for Lake Anne House is Grimm + Parker Architects, and the civil engineering firm is Charles P. Johnson and Associates. The owner’s representative is Orr Partners, and the general contractor is Bozzuto Construction. The building is managed by S.L. Nusbaum Realty, and Enterprise Community Development will provide resident services.
Enterprise Community Partners is a proven and powerful nonprofit that improves communities and people’s lives by making well-designed homes affordable and connected to opportunity. As a social enterprise, we bring together the nationwide know-how, policy leadership, partners, donors and investors to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Over more than 35 years, Enterprise has created 662,000 homes, invested nearly $53 billion and touched millions of lives. Join us at www.EnterpriseCommunity.org.
Enterprise Community Development is the top nonprofit owner and developer of affordable homes in the Mid-Atlantic and is an affiliate of Enterprise Community Partners. Formed from two Mid-Atlantic affordable housing powerhouses, Enterprise Homes, Inc. and Community Preservation and Development Corporation, Enterprise Community Development specializes in high-impact residential development, property management and resident supportive services. With 60 years of collective experience, Enterprise Community Development’s $1 billion portfolio includes 16,000 well-designed homes in over 110 communities to support over 22,000 residents. Enterprise has offices in Baltimore, Washington, DC and Richmond and is part of the Enterprise Community Partners’ family of companies. For more information, visit www.enterprisecommunitydevelopment.org.
Fellowship Square, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is one of the leading local providers of affordable housing and services to low-income seniors, owning 670 units (240 of them jointly) and serving more than 850 older adults. Through HUD funding and vouchers, residents at our properties – many who live on Social Security or Supplemental Security Income alone and live on less than $15,000/year – pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward their housing costs.Through professionally managed apartment communities, programming, and services, Fellowship Square ensures that residents have the support they need to live independent and fulfilling lives even in the face of serious obstacles, such as the high costs of housing in the greater Washington DC area. For more information on Fellowship Square housing options, volunteer opportunities or donations, visit fellowshipsquare.org.
