City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 5, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Loan of $1.8 Million to AHDC to Acquire and Preserve the Ellsworth Apartments as Affordable Housing.
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ISSUE: A loan of $1.8 million to the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC) to acquire, renovate and preserve the Ellsworth Apartments located at 2801 Seay Street as committed affordable housing (Attachment 1).
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Approve a loan of $1.8 million from FY 2020 CIP funds for AHDC to acquire, renovate and preserve the Ellsworth Apartments as committed affordable housing; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute documents related to the financing.
BACKGROUND: The Ellsworth Apartments are a 20-unit garden-style rental property located at 2801 Seay Street, just across the street from AHDC's 41-unit Longview Terrace Apartment complex. Since acquiring the Ellsworth six years ago, the current owner has made significant improvements to upgrade electrical panels and service, add gas-fired water heaters, install a new chiller and individual heating and cooling units, and modernize kitchens, bathrooms and flooring in the majority of units. Long-time residents of the property were not displaced (in fact the handful of units not fully updated yet are occupied by elderly and/or disabled households that opted to forego improvements) and the current rents fall in a "market-affordable" category just above 60% AMI per the last published 2018 limits (Attachment 2).
AHDC has an opportunity to acquire the Ellsworth and, in addition to being able to maintain current residents in their housing there, AHDC believes that purchasing the property now will not only enhance housing affordability in a corridor that is likely to redevelop over the next se...
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