VHDA gives Alexandria apartment complex $83M mortgage loan

Investment is first in state deal with Amazon on affordable housing.

Published February 13, 2020 by Kate Andrews

The Virginia Housing Development Authority has given a nearly $83 million mortgage loan to Parkstone Alexandria, an apartment community near Amazon.com Inc.’s incoming HQ2, to support its conversion to affordable housing, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The loan is in addition to a $5 million VHDA grant announced earlier.

Last month, the Alexandria Housing Development Corp. purchased the 326-unit apartment complex in the Fairlington neighborhood, previously known as Avana Apartments, for $106 million. Parkstone will have 130 units for households making less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) —$51,000 annual salary for one person in Alexandria — and 114 apartments will be rented to people making less than 80% AMI, or $54,350 for one person. The remaining 82 apartments will be rented at market-rate prices, and the governor’s office said that no current tenants will be displaced. Instead, income restrictions will be phased in.

VHDA has allocated $15 million a year for five years to support affordable housing initiatives in Northern Virginia. The Parkstone funding is the state’s first affordable housing investment as part of its partnership with Amazon.

In addition to VHDA’s contributions, the city of Alexandria provided an $8 million loan, and developer JBG Smith’s Washington Housing Initiative provided a loan of $15 million.