Beauregard Survey: More Affordable Units Needed for Very Low-Income

The city of Alexandria may need to subsidize more housing for the very poor than originally expected with affordable housing units set aside for relocated tenants under the Beauregard Small Area Plan, city council learned Tuesday.

Speaking during a council work session, Helen McIlvaine, deputy director of the Office of Housing, said a tenant survey showed residents in the plan area tended to make either very low incomes or incomes close to the average median.

“We have a much greater number of households at very low incomes than we had originally expected,” McIlvaine said.

More than half of tenants answering the survey reported average median incomes of 60 percent of the median income or less. Affordable housing is designed to help residents in those income levels, McIlvaine said.

Thirty-eight percent of tenants answering the survey reported 40 percent of average median income (AMI), 11 percent reported an income at 50 percent of AMI, and 5 percent of households reported incomes of both 55 and 60 percent of AMI. 

The adopted plan provides for 800 affordable housing units. Hector Pineda, a member of Arlandria-based Tenants and Workers United and an at-large member of the Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group, said tenants are asking the city to dedicate 2,500 affordable housing units in the area.

Most of the cost to the city will be funded through city tax revenues, developer contributions and tax credits, with small amounts coming from mortgage proceeds and the Housing Trust Fund. That amounts to $203 million.

In line with the tenant survey, just over half of the units should be be affordable at 40 percent AMI, McIlvaine said.

Some protesters representing displaced tenants attended the session carrying bright signs protesting JBG Companies, one of the current property holders of apartments slated to be demolished. 

Councilman John Chapman asked McIlvaine how far the city has come in working with area nonprofits to help address housing needs for relocated tenants. McIlvaine said the city has sent invitations to groups currently producing results in the city, including AHC Inc., Wesley Housing Development Corp. and the Virginia Housing Development Authority.

All displaced tenants who are in good standing will receive financial assistance prior to displacement, McIlvaine said. Under the city’s draft Tenant Assistance and Relocation Plan, tenant households in good standing and making less than 75 percent AMI will receive referrals to comparable units and other affordable housing resources.

To qualify for an affordable unit, households will judged on a point scale, under which they receive a large number of points from being residents of the affected area when the plan was approved in May 2012. They may earn extra points for criteria including income at or below 40 percent AMI, children at William Ramsay or John Adams elementary schools and over age 62 or disability.

McIlvaine said if households with the same number of points are vying for the same affordable units, a lottery will likely be used.

Parallel Road Concerns

Also on Tuesday, Rich Baier, director of the city’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, gave a brief presentation on transit in the small area plan, which is designed to increase walkability and sense of connectedness in the West End.

Baier acknowledged there are concerns about the creation of a “parallel road” to Beauregard Street that runs by Seminary Heights. The development special use process will require the city to revisit the issue in the future and mitigate parallel road effects through measures such as creating buffer zones, slightly moving the road or having a different textural surface, Baier said.

Councilwoman Del Pepper advised Baier to “think about the possibility” of removing the road from the plan altogether. Councilwoman Allison Silberberg urged Baier to create more distance between the homes and the road or removing it.

Baier said the road is needed in terms of area infrastructure.