By Brian Trompeter
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 20 was expected to authorize supplemental financing of up to $14 million to Somos Phase B LLC for development of affordable housing in Phase B of the Somos at McLean Metro in eastern Tysons.
The project, located at 1750 Old Meadow Drive in McLean, is situated in Providence District. The 4-acre site now has a seven-story office building and a five-story parking garage.
Somos Phase B LLC is a subsidiary of SCG Development Partners LLC, a privately held real-estate-development company that focuses on affordable and workforce rental units.
SCG plans to build a total of 456 affordable multi-family units at the site, including 231 in Phase A (to be located in a five-story building constructed atop the parking garage) and 225 in Phase B (in an eight-story building that would replace the existing office building at the property’s front).
The project also will provide 1.52 acres of open park space, plus fitness and business centers, club rooms, bicycle storage, courtyards and a dog-washing station.
About 97 percent of the Phase A units will serve residents earning 60 percent or less of area median income (AMI) and the remaining 3 percent would be for those making 30 percent or less. About 23 percent of Phase B units would be for people earning 70 percent or less of AMI, 53 percent for those making 60 percent or less of AMI and the remaining 24 percent receiving 50 percent or less.
Under a ground lease with the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), the units would remain affordable for 99 years.
Fairfax County supervisors in August 2022 approved $33.3 million for the project, using American Rescue Plan Act funds and Housing Blueprint financing. Those two funding sources ended up providing about $20 million for the project’s site acquisition.
All of the units will be built using 4-percent low-income-housing-tax-credit (LIHTC) allocations from Virginia Housing. SCG originally had hoped to have 110 units in Phase B qualify for a 9-percent LIHTC, but did not win that competitive award.
Because the 4-percent LIHTC will result in significantly less equity from tax-credit investors, SCG needed the additional $14 million from Fairfax County to deliver the project’s full scope and cover its development and construction costs, officials said.
Fairfax County Supervisors Set to OK Signage for Additional Fines on Westmoreland Road: In an effort to deter speeders on Westmoreland Street between Haycock Road in McLean and the boundary between Fairfax and Arlington counties, Fairfax County supervisors on Feb. 20 were slated to authorize transportation staff to request that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) install signage stipulating $200 additional fines for speeding in that zone.
The signage will be installed under the Residential Traffic Administration Program. Residential roadways eligible for such signage must have a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less and have an existing speeding problem, as verified by county staff via an engineering review.
The Dranesville District supervisor’s office informed Fairfax County Department of Transportation officials on Dec. 14 that there was community support for the additional signage.
The signs will cost $500 to install and will be financed out of VDOT’s budget for secondary-road construction.
Public Invited to Submit Remarks for Fairfax County Police Accreditation: The Fairfax County Police Department has been accredited with Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA) since 2016.
CALEA assessors will be visiting the department for an on-site assessment Feb. 26 through 29 and are seeking the public’s feedback in advance of the trip.
To provide recommendations for the assessors to review, go to https://cimrs2.calea.org/271. Comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns.
There will be no response to submissions to CALEA’s portal other than acknowledgment, but the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with accreditation standards and tenets.
CALEA is not an investigatory body, and the public should not use the portal to submit information for such purposes. To file a formal complaint, go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/complimentsandcomplaints.
