An Underused Parking Lot to Become New, Affordable Rental Housing
The ‘front yard’ of the Fairfax County Government Center — or the front parking lot to be exact — is not where you’d expect to find a construction site for a 279-unit affordable housing complex. But that’s what’s now being built to house hundreds of working families who live in high-cost, high opportunity Fairfax County, Virginia, not far from the nation’s capital.
Forward Commitments Boost Housing Supply
Nationwide every year, Freddie Mac helps create thousands of affordable housing units by offering a range of financial products, including our forward commitment financing.
To bring Residences at Government Center II to life, we worked with Optigo® lender Capital One and the developer Lincoln Avenue Communities, a Freddie Mac Multifamily sponsor. They used two of our loan products for this project: 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and our Bond Credit Enhancement with 4% LIHTC.
“When the opportunity came to make a lasting impact on the place I love by leading the charge to develop one of the most symbolic, attainable housing developments in Fairfax County, we had to do it,” said Nick Bracco, vice president and regional project partner for Lincoln Avenue Communities, at the groundbreaking of Residences at Government Center II.
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From left to right: Kimmel Cameron of Hudson Housing Capital, Nick Bracco, Sepideh Sanaei of Freddie Mac, Matt Zmuda of Capital One.
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The old, underused parking lot to be transformed into a new affordable housing community.
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An architectural rendering of Residences at Government Center II
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Nick Bracco and his family at the groundbreaking.
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The parking lot left in front of the Fairfax County Government Center.
Fairfax County offers great job and educational opportunities, making it an appealing place to live. Yet the high cost of living can be a challenge for many families. To help solve this issue, the County agreed to a 99-year ground lease for just $1, in an effort to turn underused public land into affordable housing.
The one-, two- and three-bedroom units are affordable to renters who make 30 to 70% of area median income (AMI) — and 30% of the units will serve very low-income families earning less than 50% of AMI. Bracco says that translates into significant savings for families of up to $600 to $2,400 a month, depending on AMI level, compared with a market rate property.
The Residences will feature not only a child care facility and a playground, but a new County community center.
The development will also include basic internet access for every unit and electric vehicle charging stations, focusing on connectivity and modern living.
“Creating quality affordable housing is hard, complicated work,” says Bracco. “But as I like to tell my kids, creating anything of real consequence is never easy, but it’s always worth it.”
