The One University housing complex in Fairfax weathered widespread community opposition, rising costs and a worldwide pandemic during its decade of progression from concept to reality.
But affordable housing supporters are confident that the development near George Mason University’s campus just outside Fairfax City was, in the end, worth the trials and tribulations.
“We’re really excited to highlight the innovation,” Jill Norcross, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance (NVAHA), said last Wednesday (Aug. 27).
That day, the advocacy group hosted its annual “virtual bus tour,” an online forum highlighting three affordable housing success stories across Northern Virginia. One University was among them.
Opened last year, development of One University was led by SCG Development, which took out 99-year land leases on three parcels totaling 10.8 acres adjacent to GMU’s Fairfax campus to build:
- 120 affordable family units, ranging from one to four bedrooms, available to all ages
- An additional 120 affordable one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, reserved for those ages 62 and older
- 330 student apartments rented at market rates, developed separately by RISE
The affordable units are available to those earning between 30% and 60% of the county’s area median income, which is currently $114,750 for one person or $163,900 for a family of four.
“We’ve still got a few units to lease on the senior side, but on the family side, everything is leased,” SCG President and Principal Steve Wilson, said at the Aug. 27 forum.
Wilson said he has worked on many development projects, but One University was “the most controversial rezoning I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
“I give a lot of credit to our political leadership,” Wilson said, singling out then-Braddock District supervisor John Cook for helping convince the public to accept the project.
Owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the site at 4530 University Drive previously was occupied by 46 townhome units and an office building.
At the end of the 99-year term, ownership of the land and the development sitting on it will revert to the county government. Until then, however, the project will be on the tax rolls. It currently brings in about $1.5 million annually in real-estate taxes to the county.
At the Aug. 27 NVAHA program, One University was among three projects highlighted as examples of the creativity and perseverance of affordable housing advocates.
The other spotlighted developments included a duplex project completed by Habitat for Humanity of Loudoun County and the Unity Homes development, a partnership between Arlington’s Central United Methodist Church and True Ground Housing Partners.
Norcross said the three projects represented triumphs in challenging environments.
“Each of these projects had their own challenges,” she said, but each represented “the type of project that’s going to help us achieve our goals.”
With the cost of housing emerging as a primary obstacle to residents staying in Northern Virginia, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors set a target in 2022 of creating 10,000 new affordable units by 2034. As of July, almost 40% of the units needed to meet that goal were completed, under construction or in planning, county staff reported.
