The initiative includes affordable multifamily and senior housing, market-rate for-sale townhomes and a public park (Alexandria, Virginia) – Fairfax County, Pennrose, and Community Housing Partners commemorated the start of construction of the long-awaited Residences at North Hill housing development in the Mount Vernon District with a groundbreaking ceremony on July 31. Located off Richmond Highway on a vacant 35-acre site owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the $174 million development will include 216 affordable rental apartments, 63 affordable senior independent living apartments, 175 market rate townhomes and a 12-acre public park. “For more than 30 years, we have been working to develop an extraordinary plan for this property that would help us meet a critical community need and serve as a keystone project in the continuing redevelopment of the Richmond Highway Corridor. Today we are set to achieve just that,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck. “Residences at North Hill reaffirms our vision of One Fairfax through inclusive development; that all in Fairfax County will move into the future together by ensuring that new development and redevelopment includes housing opportunities for residents from all along the income spectrum and that no one will be left behind.” Watch the entire event HERE.   The 279 affordable rental units will be located within five, four-story buildings fronting Richmond Highway. The residential buildings will include garden-style apartments, with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom options available. The units will be allocated to serve a mixture of households along the income spectrum – 10 percent of the units will serve households earning 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI); 20 percent will serve households at 50 percent AMI; and 70 percent will serve households at 60 percent AMI.  “We’re very excited to work with the County and Community Housing Partners to bring much needed housing and public amenities to the community,” said Ivy Dench-Carter, Regional Vice President at Pennrose. “The planned development will take a vacant, underutilized site and transform it into a true community asset, with public space, parking and mixed-income housing.”            Residents will enjoy access to community spaces, on-site exercise facilities, surface and basement level parking, and an adjacent public park with a tot lot, public plaza, trails, and picnic areas. In addition to rental apartments, plans for the site also include 175 new for-sale townhomes. North Hill sits within the boundaries of the county’s larger development initiative for this stretch of Richmond Highway called EMBARK Richmond Highway – an initiative to provide multimodal transportation solutions and create opportunities for economic development in the Richmond Highway Corridor. There are nine areas of concentration in EMBARK, each surrounding a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station. The public plaza at the site will serve as an important anchor for a future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station.  Financing for the development includes Housing Tax Credits allocated by Virginia Housing, tax-exempt and taxable construction and permanent financing by Virginia Housing, CDBG funding and Project-Based vouchers from Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority; HOME and state and local housing trust funds from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development; and construction financing and equity investments from Bank of America and Truist Bank. The project also includes $4.4 million in local financing through the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority – about $16,000 per apartment. “When the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority acquired this property more some 30-plus years ago, it was clear that planning and providing for its development would be a monumental undertaking,” recalled Tom Fleetwood, Director of Fairfax County’s Department of Housing and Community Development. “From top to bottom, we have seen a level of collaboration, innovation and engagement unlike any other for a project of this magnitude – even amidst the turbulence of COVID-19. It is a reflection of our commitment to achieving nothing less than success when it comes to creating new opportunities for affordable housing.”   Related Information: North Hill Project Website ###   About the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority serves more than 18,000 residents through a variety of rental housing assistance and First-Time Homebuyer programs; and owns and operates nearly 4,000 units of housing – including multifamily housing, senior housing, licensed assisted living and specialized housing for tenants with a variety of needs. The Redevelopment and Housing Authority also oversees and administers Fairfax County’s land use housing programs and the investment of local funds as well as state and federal grants to increase and/or preserve the county’s stock of affordable homes.       Contact: Ben Boxer; benjamin.boxer@fairfaxcounty.gov; 703-246-5092 About Pennrose With nearly 50 years of experience, Pennrose combines quality development and proven management to deliver exceptional lifestyle-centered communities for its residents. With the superior knowledge and unparalleled dedication to get the job done right, Pennrose develops and operates both conventional and affordable communities throughout the Eastern and Midwestern portion of the United States. For more information visit www.pennrose.com.        Contact: Alexa Vecchione, avecchione@mavenagency.com; 215-634-9880

AUGUST 2020 NEWSLETTER The Office to Prevent and End Homelessness – now part of the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development – is committed to eliminating the disproportionality of people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness from communities of color and other marginalized populations by providing equitable paths to safe, stable, affordable housing. COVID-19 UPDATES Thanks to the ongoing dedication of numerous partners, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness has continued to address the needs of those at risk of and experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is a summary of activities from the past month: Temporary Shelter Available During COVID-19: The availability of Quarantine, Protection, Isolation, and Decompression (QPID) Hotels as a temporary resource for those who meet the eligibility criteria and are unable to safely practice infection control was announced to the broader community. Fairfax County also activated the Emergency Support Function 6: Mass Care Health and Human Services, a Workgroup comprised of multiple Fairfax County Departments, to support this collaborative effort.  More than 400 people have transitioned into QPID Hotels since April 16th with locations now operating in Falls Church, Herndon, and Alexandria. The QPID Hotels are managed by several non-profit partners, including Shelter House, Cornerstones, New Hope Housing, and FACETS. Northern Virginia Family Service operates a Central Intake to triage referrals to the various QPID Hotels.   Shifting the Focus to Permanent Housing: Just as in our emergency shelter and outreach programs, case managers are working with clients experiencing homelessness at our QPID Hotels on obtaining permanent housing.  Thank you to the many providers that are serving people in our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each and every one of you are sincerely appreciated. PARTNERSHIP UPDATES Bi-Annual Continuum of Care (CoC) Meeting: Thank you for joining us for the virtual Bi-Annual CoC Meeting held on July 7, 2020. We were excited to connect with the 20 organizations represented and nearly 70 attendees. To access the PowerPoint presentation, please visit the Continuum of Care Meetings information available on the website.    CoC Annual Membership Invitation: The Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) strives to ensure that membership and participation in the CoC includes a diverse and broad representation of all the necessary voices needed to accomplish the goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and one time. This annual invitation is open to any organization or individual connected to Fairfax County that is also interested in preventing and ending homelessness in our community, including but not limited to, the representatives outlined in 24 CFR § 578.3 DEFINITIONS.    To change your email address or unsubscribe please visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mailinglist/. Additional staff can also sign up to receive the monthly newsletters and other CoC announcements distributed through this website. For questions about CoC membership, please contact michael.willson@fairfaxcounty.gov.    2020 Census Workers to Count Population Experiencing Homeless in September: The U.S. Census Bureau has announced the new schedule for counting people experiencing homelessness in the 2020 Census. The operation was originally scheduled for March 30 through April 1, but health and safety concerns due to COVID-19 forced a delay. People experiencing homelessness will be counted by specially trained census takers September 22 through 24.   Virtual Town Hall Meeting: The National Alliance to End Homelessness held its Virtual Town Hall to End Homeless on Wednesday, July 15. A recording of the event can be viewed on their YouTube page. TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Please register for the following trainings if you have an interest in attending. By registering, we will be able to inform you of any adjustments or cancelations due to COVID-19.    The Street Outreach Training that was originally scheduled for August 21 will be rescheduled to a later date.    Fair Housing Seminar, Virginia Fair Housing Office  Enter “DPOR” in the Keyword Search and follow the prompts.  Registration will begin July 18   November 18 | 10a – 2p Jefferson Center 541 Luck Ave SW, Ste 221, Roanoke, VA 24016   In-Person Classroom Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Training will start on August 14. Huge training rooms will be available to practice social distancing, and facial mask will be required when in the Government Center Building and are not allowed to be removed during the training session. With the re-start of in-person HMIS training, the training needs of the Continuum will be greatly improved. Homeless service providers need to coordinate with their supervisors to attend the training.