More housing for senior citizens in financial need will be available in Arlington County under a development plan approved Saturday by the County Board.
With the board's unanimous vote, Arlington-based AHC Inc., a nonprofit organization, will move forward with plans to build a four-story, 74-unit apartment building on Lee Highway in the Cherrydale neighborhood. The one-bedroom apartments will be available to people 62 or older whose income is 60 percent or less of the area median income, or about $34,000 annually.
The plan, which involved a zoning change and as much as $2 million in public funds from the county's affordable housing monies, was opposed by a strong contingent from the neighborhood.
Proponents of the plan cited the county's dwindling supply of housing for those in need, especially senior citizens, and pointed to numerous amenities, such as easy access to public transportation and commitments to health care staffing, as evidence that the apartment building would be a good and important addition to the Lee Highway neighborhood. In addition, they said, the retail shops that will be on the ground floor of the building would help enliven the neighborhood.
More than a dozen area residents said they had numerous concerns about the project, including worries that there would insufficient parking for residents of the new units, that the building would be too large for the site and that the project was an inappropriate change in the county's long-term land-use plans.
"There is no Democrat who is opposed to affordable housing for senior citizens," said resident Howard Seamens, who likened Cherrydale to an "Ozzie and Harriet" neighborhood. "We want the integrity of the neighborhood respected."
Others worried about a proposal by AHC Inc. to make at least 18 of the 74 units available as Section 8 properties, meaning poor senior citizens could live there with financial assistance from the federal government.
"Section 8 housing generally devalues the neighborhood," said resident Anne Quinn, who said she and her husband moved to Arlington two years ago to get away from a neighborhood troubled because of its Section 8 residents. "My main concern here is that the strong sense of family and community values that currently exist on our block and neighboring streets be maintained."
County Board member Chris Zimmerman (D) said the case was one in which the concerns of the community and the policy aims of the county conflicted.
"They're all valid," he said.
After initial reluctance by Zimmerman and board member Paul F. Ferguson (D), the board approved the project, siding with the county manager's recommendation and the six or so residents who spoke in favor of the project.
"It's a wonderful project," said board member Barbara A. Favola (D), who led the momentum in favor of the proposal. "I think it's going to revitalize Cherrydale in a number of ways. To have housing on a commercial strip of a major arterial with excellent bus transport -- to have housing right there and for an elderly clientele is creative and innovative."
The $12 million project is scheduled to be completed by early 2004.
