Housing costs are daunting for Fairfax County residents in general, but for seniors with limited financial resources, even subsidized housing options are becoming increasingly beyond their means, county staff say.
“We’re starting to see some disconnect,” Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development Director Tom Fleetwood said, describing the “emerging challenges” to the Board of Supervisors at a housing committee meeting on Tuesday (July 8).
Currently, Fairfax is home to nearly 3,500 affordable housing units for seniors, most of them operated by private or nonprofit entities. The remaining 505 units are owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), which also operates 112 licensed assisted-living beds in its facilities.
It may not be enough, but what exists is designed to meet needs and exceed expectations, said Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk.
“It’s really important that our community members know that the type of housing being built for our seniors is impressive,” he said.
Fleetwood said county staff are considering a number of approaches to boosting housing support for low-income seniors.
One could be to support affordable housing construction that focuses on seniors at the lowest end of area median income. Those would have to be considered on a project-by-project basis, he said.
Another option is to provide more supplemental resources for seniors of limited means, so they won’t be stretched so much by housing costs.
It’s a work in progress, Fleetwood said. “I don’t really have a timeline on that just yet,” he said of coming to supervisors with specifics.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who chairs the housing committee, said that while there’s a lot of work being done by staff, government by itself doesn’t have all the answers.
“There’s only so much we can do through official channels,” she said.
It will take a community effort to “help us address that disconnect” between housing costs and seniors’ ability to pay, Palchik said.
The current development pipeline includes about 210 additional affordable units designated for seniors countywide, staff said.
As the senior population grows and the median age increases, challenges may multiply not just in independent living facilities, but perhaps even more so in assisted living complexes across Northern Virginia.
On June 30, the nonprofit parent of Arlington’s Culpepper Garden complex for low-income seniors announced it was phasing out assisted living operations due to increasing costs.
Financial impacts of providing assisted living services to those of modest means threaten to overwhelm the viability of Culpepper Garden, leadership there said.
“The cost of care has just become monumental,” said Marta Hill Gray, CEO of the nonprofit Arlington Retirement Housing Corporation, which has operated the Ballston-area facility since 1975.
“It’s just not sustainable,” she said.
Residents living there and their families will have at least a year to find alternate arrangements.
“We’re looking into every possible option,” Hill said. “We’ve given ourselves time. We have great respect and love for our residents and families.”
The assisted living units will be converted into independent living apartments, which currently total more than 270, according to the Culpepper Garden website.
