A rezoning application is in for an affordable housing project proposed to replace the Crossroads Interim Park in Bailey’s Crossroads.
The NHP Foundation, a nonprofit developer headquartered in New York City, filed plans on Friday (Feb. 20) for a seven-story, 160-unit apartment building at 5831 Columbia Pike that would include approximately 6,000 square feet of space for community services.
With a maximum height of 90 feet, the multifamily residential building would be supported by 171 garage parking spaces — below the 227 spaces required by Fairfax County, necessitating a request for a reduction.
Approximately 0.78 acres or 34,500 square feet of open space is provided, including 13,000 square feet in landscaped “mews” between the proposed Columbia Crossroads building and the adjacent Alta Nova apartments. Residents would also have access to private amenity terraces.
According to a statement of justification:
The proposed development reinforces the Columbia Pike corridor; extends planned public street connections; enhances pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure; provides structured parking consistent with urban design objectives; delivers high-density residential development in a transit-accessible location; and advances County affordable housing goals.
The proposed development plan generally aligns with NHP’s pitch to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), which owns the 2.9-acre property and approved an interim agreement for the project in December.
While the rezoning application doesn’t specify income levels, indicating more details will be provided in proffers or conditions not yet included in the submitted materials, it confirms that all homes will be designated as affordable dwelling units (ADUs). NHP said in its earlier proposal to the FCRHA that it would target households earning up to 60% of the area median income, with 56% AMI as the average.
As of July 1, 2025, Fairfax County’s AMI for a household of four was $163,900, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The numbers are updated annually.
“The development directly addresses the County’s need for family-sized housing: 75% of the units will have two or more bedrooms, and at least 15% will offer three-bedroom layouts,” NHP said in its proposal. “The project emphasizes accessibility, with 100% universal design units and at least 15% fully ADA accessible units.”
Need for lower-income affordable homes ‘critical’
If the developer sticks with that income limit, the Columbia Crossroads project could make a small dent in a major need in the county’s housing market, which is facing a “critical shortage” of units affordable to people earning 60% AMI or less, according to the FCRHA.
In an analysis presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a housing committee meeting on Feb. 10, the consultant HR&A Advisors found that the county needs an additional 13,800 rental homes to meet the demand for units for households earning 60% AMI or less ($98,350 for four people and $78,700 for two people).
The lack of options for those households means they end up competing for affordable units intended for a higher-income bracket and having to spend more money on rent and utilities.
“The lack of affordable housing means more people are spending more money on housing, creating cost burden,” the FCRHA said. “The research found that almost 87% of renters earning less than $75,000 per year are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.”
According to the presentation, the county continues to make progress on the Board of Supervisors’ goal of adding at least 10,000 new affordable units by 2034, with 1,562 new ADUs and workforce dwelling units getting delivered since January 2020. The majority (60%) have been targeted at households earning up to 80% AMI.
However, thousands more units will be needed in the future. Even putting affordability aside, the county’s housing production has fallen well short of its demand based on job growth over the past decade, leading HR&A to project a need for 41,000 to 95,000 new homes by 2035.
