A high-priority project to create more affordable housing in Merrifield is officially underway.
Officials with Fairfax County and developer Conifer Realty broke ground Monday (June 23) on a project to repurpose the currently vacant, four-floor office building at 2990 Telestar Court as an 80-unit affordable apartment building.
The one- and two-bedroom units will eventually be available at rental rates aimed at households that earn between 30 and 80% of the area median income. Speakers lauded the project as a crucial step in addressing the county’s “affordable housing crisis.”
“Everything we can be doing to convert underutilized or unused property into affordable housing opportunities is not just good for our economy, but good for the overall county housing affordable goals that we have in place,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said.
In July 2023, supported by $8 million in funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the Board of Supervisors approved the financing to acquire the building from Inova, which used the property as its administrative headquarters from 2010 until 2022.
A proposal to convert a second office building formerly used by Inova at 8110 Gatehouse Road into a live/work development also received the board’s approval in June 2023.
The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), partnered with Conifer Realty, officially closed on the building last month.
As part of the deal, the FCRHA secured a 99-year ground lease for the property. Conifer, along with Joseph Browne Development Associates, will serve as co-managing members of the project entity, Merrifield Housing LLC.
According to Conifer, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
“We will have 80 families who are really going to thrive in this community, in a building that would have otherwise been sitting vacant,” Conifer Executive Vice President for Development and Acquisitions Lisa Kaseman said. “This community really does need folks who can live in the community in which they work, and that is something that I’m extremely proud to be part of.”
Though Fairfax County has seen office-to-residential conversions before, this is the county’s first specifically tackling affordable housing needs.
Hopefully more are on the horizon, McKay said.
“We will keep up our momentum and we look forward to continuing to work with our private partners to make more of these deals happen in the future,” McKay said, “because the time is now to do so.”
Plans are currently in motion on other affordable housing projects across the county, including a proposed 90 apartments on the grounds of the Community of Faith United Methodist Church in Chantilly.
Additionally, the Fairfax County Planning Commission voted overwhelmingly last month to recommend advancing a proposal that would allow affordable housing on the site of the Franconia Governmental Center.
