APAH’s Arlington Mill Residences Receives Prestigious National Award

 

Arlington, VA (June 12, 2015) –The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing’s (APAH) Arlington Mill Residences, was named Metropolitan/Urban Housing winner at the at the 21st Annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC.

“APAH is deeply honored to accept this prominent national award for our 122-unit Arlington Mill Residences, Arlington’s first 100% affordable housing built using the innovative concept of Public Land for Public Good,” said APAH President/CEO Nina Janopaul.

“This exciting, new facility is helping to revitalize Columbia Pike. We thank our strong supporters within Arlington County, at the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA), from Bank of America and the many citizens who welcomed our residents into their neighborhood,” continued Janopaul.

“As is true everywhere in the country, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is the critical program that enables us to develop affordable housing in Arlington.  We typically combine the Housing Credit with Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) debt financing, and Arlington County soft debt financing.  The State and County are our indispensable partners in constructing new affordable housing in Arlington and we value our close working relationship,” said APAH Chair Robert M. Rozen.

“In addition to Arlington Mill Residences, APAH has 333 units in the pipeline that will effectively use LIHTC to leverage local County funds 3:1 to help meet the critical affordable housing shortage in our community,” added Rozen.

“The Edson Awards recognize the Housing Credit’s ability to lift up communities, and this year’s winners remind us just how instrumental the program is,” said Todd Crow, President of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.

“As the only significant source of funding for affordable housing, the Housing Credit must be protected and expanded so developments like Arlington Mill Residences can continue to provide residents a safe, stable, affordable place to call home, in Arlington, Virginia and across the country,” Crow added.

Built atop the County-built parking garage that is shared with a new Community Center, the project pilots the innovative, cost-saving concept of “Public Land for Public Good.” Arlington Mill Residences is a four-story, 122-unit, 100% affordable rental community and was the first affordable housing to use Form-Based Code, a tool to spur revitalization along Columbia Pike. Arlington Mill Residences is EarthCraft Virginia certified for energy efficiency and environmental living. APAH converted cost savings from the discounted ground lease, construction savings and shared site costs to permanently lower rents. The cost/unit was $253,000, far below average for this dense, high-cost and difficult-to-develop urban community.

A panel of five judges selected seven first place finishers and seven honorable mentions for this year’s awards program. The Edson Awards are given by the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition and are named for Charles L. Edson, an affordable housing luminary who was Transition Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on President Carter’s Transition Staff. Mr. Edson served in the Office of the General Counsel at HUD and was for nearly 40 years Co-Editor-in-Chief of Housing and Development Reporter. He is a founding partner of the law firm Lane and Edson, and was later a partner of Nixon Peabody LLP. He now lectures to business and professional organizations and trade associations—many of which he founded—on housing and development.

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The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition represents syndicators, developers, lenders, institutional investors, nonprofit groups, public agencies, and other allied professionals (including accountants, lawyers, and compliance specialist) concerned with the Housing Credit program. The Coalition, a nonprofit corporation chartered under the laws of the District of Columbia, is governed by an elected Board of Directors. Please visit www.taxcreditcoailtion.org for more information about joining the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. The Housing Credit program was created as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Today, the Housing Credit is widely regarded as the nation’s most successful housing production program ever, resulting in the construction and rehabilitation of more than 2.6 million housing units for low- and moderate-income Americans. In addition to producing housing, the Credit also contributes to the revitalization of distressed low-income communities and creates needed jobs. It is estimated that building 100 multifamily units generates 122 local jobs during the first year of construction and 46 jobs every year thereafter.

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APAH is a nonprofit that develops, preserves, owns, and advocates quality rental housing that is affordable to low and moderate-income families and promotes opportunity for residents through partnerships and programs. APAH works exclusively in Arlington County. Founded in 1989, APAH now helps more than 1200 households live in stable, secure and affordable rental homes. In 2014 APAH was named Developer of the Year by the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND). APAH’s Arlington Mill Residences has been awarded Best Housing Development in Virginia at the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference; EarthCraft Virginia’s MultiFamily New Construction Project of the Year and Urban Land Institute – Washington’s Excellence in Housing Development Award. APAH received the Prize for Innovation and Impact from the Arlington Community Foundation in 2011; in 2009 APAH received the HAND Innovation Award and in 2008 was named Best Nonprofit by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.

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