5 Reasons for Optimism about Affordable Housing in 2020

1. Arlington County’s board is serious about affordable housing.

Each January, County Board members give a “New Year’s Address” outlining their goals and priorities for the coming year. In 2020, all five board members expressed support for affordable housing in their addresses.

Libby Garvey, newly-elected as the chair of the board, said, “We need to change a paradigm: the paradigm that the most vulnerable in a society are the first to suffer from change and the last to gain from it—if they ever gain at all.” She included affordable housing in her list of things that need attention, innovation, and equity.

“We need to change a paradigm: the paradigm that the most vulnerable in a society are the first to suffer from change and the last to gain from it.”

Vice-chair Erik Gutshall put it this way: “The next level of managed growth will require new tools and a modernized zoning ordinance to expand our housing supply in a way that enhances the livability of our existing neighborhoods.”

His sentiments were echoed by Christian Dorsey, Katie Cristol, and Matt de Ferranti. The seriousness of their intentions are borne out in their 2019 guidance to County Manager Mark Schwartz to look at options for increasing dollars put toward the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) and finding other ways to improve and increase services and funding for housing-related initiatives, and the upcoming Missing Middle Study that will examine how to address our supply shortage.

(Find a summary and links to full remarks from the board members here.)

2. Amazon.
Yes, we know that Amazon coming to Arlington has brought and will bring challenges. But we’re optimistic that the company is willing to make affordable housing a priority as they move in to their new headquarters.

Last year, Amazon agreed to contribute $20 million to Arlington’s AHIF, a revolving loan fund that helps nonprofit developers build homes for our lowest-income neighbors. The funding will provide more than 200 units of committed affordable housing, which will help meet about one-third of the County’s annual goal for new units.

In addition to its negotiated business deal with the county, Amazon made a $3 million donation to Arlington Community Foundation. One third of that money will go toward APAH’s Terwilliger Place (the redevelopment of American Legion Post 139).

Shared Prosperity Initiative RFP Due Jan. 22 Private owners of rental housing in Arlington County who wish to participate in the achievement of ACF’s Shared Prosperity Initiative affordable housing goal to increase committed affordable units for households earning 30% AMI or less should submit the RFP by January 22, 2020.

An additional $1.7 million will be awarded via an RFP to affordable housing producers to create additional low-cost housing in Arlington for those in the lowest income bracket.

The remainder of the gift will go toward the Shared Prosperity Initiative’s pursuit of “creative housing solutions, including underutilized financing mechanisms to increase housing production” over the next three years.

(Amazon also contributed to AHS last year as a Partner in Affordable Housing.)

3. The Shared Prosperity Initiative begins implementing its housing programs this year.

Arlington Community Foundation’s Shared Prosperity Initiative aims to bring together leaders from Arlington’s government, business, and nonprofit sectors to collaborate on finding solutions to the lack of affordable housing and child care, finding living wage jobs, and health care.

Within five years, the Shared Prosperity Initiative wants 1,500 households with incomes at or below 30 percent area median income (that’s $36,000 or less for a family of four) to have found housing in Arlington that is affordable to them.

The strategy to reach that goal includes creating 200 additional affordable housing units, using both the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund and philanthropic investments.

Plus, starting this year, they kick off a plan that will eventually provide $4 million annually in new, non-governmental rental subsides for 500 households and to create a more robust emergency housing stabilization fund to strengthen Arlington’s housing safety net to prevent homelessness and create stability for 250-500 households.

We’re excited to join with them as a nonprofit partner providing expertise on housing so we can get as many of our neighbors into homes they can afford as quickly as possible.

4. Statewide attention is focused on opportunities to improve housing.
At the end of last year, Governor Ralph Northam’s budget proposal included $92 million in proposed housing improvements. Those dollars would go toward the development of a State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, increased funding for permanent supportive housing, increased funding for an Evictions Prevention Fund, and an additional $63 million for the housing trust fund (three times what was proposed last year).

In addition to funding, Virginia’s General Assembly is expected to take a look at significant legislation related to housing, such as adding discrimination on the basis of a person’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, along with source of income, to the list of unlawful discriminatory housing practices.

5. Advocates across the county—like you.
We know that there are many people throughout the county who believe that when everyone has a chance at an affordable home our communities become more diverse and inclusive. In turn, family and environmental stresses are reduced and our economy and community are strengthened.

In 2020, we invite you to join with us in being optimistic that we can make a difference for our neighbors. Turn that optimism into action by inviting friends and colleagues to learn about our work at one of our many opportunities for engagement throughout the year. (Sign up below for our MLK Day of Service training!)

Together, we can make 2020 a great year for affordable housing.