Less than two years after breaking ground, an ambitious affordable housing development on the Fairfax County Government Center campus is starting to welcome residents.
To mark the occasion, members of the Board of Supervisors and others involved in the development gathered on Monday (Oct. 26) to celebrate the grand opening of the nearly 300 newly constructed homes at 12020 and 12040 Government Center Parkway, now called Fairfax Crest.
The 279-unit building, created by affordable housing developer Lincoln Avenue Communities in partnership with the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), is delivering one- to three-bedroom homes for families on the site of a former parking lot for the government center.
“Every home represents an opportunity for someone to build a better future, and Fairfax Crest is an exciting step forward for affordable housing in the Braddock District,” Braddock District Supervisor Rachna Sizemore Heizer said in a press release from the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).
“By transforming underutilized parking lots into 279 beautiful homes, we get to show how strategic use of our land creates meaningful opportunities for individuals and families,” she continued. “Located in the heart of Fairfax Corner, this connects residents to the resources they need to succeed: public transportation, retail, jobs, and even childcare.”
The EarthCraft Gold-certified building has rooftop solar power and offers a number of amenities for families, including an on-site childcare center that will be run by the Reston nonprofit Cornerstones, a playground, dog park, and game tables. Residents have free internet access, in-unit laundry, access to a fitness center, lounges, and underground parking.
The land is owned by the housing authority, which acquired it from the Board of Supervisors in early 2021 and retains it under a 99-year ground lease. Capital One financed construction, and the development also received support from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
“Stable, affordable housing is the cornerstone of economic opportunity, and the need is especially urgent across Northern Virginia,” said Stephanie Pierre-Louis, Capital One’s head of community finance for the Mid-Atlantic region.
“We are thrilled to partner with Lincoln Avenue Communities, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and local leaders by providing more than $97 million in construction loans and over $67 million in [Low Income Housing Tax Credit] equity to deliver 279 new homes for our community.”
While a significant change to the area around the government center, the new development represents a small step toward Fairfax County’s ultimate goal of producing 10,000 net new affordable homes by 2034. The county’s affordable housing webpage currently lists more than 20 projects that are either under development or recently opened, including several more in the Braddock District, and one at the Franconia Government Center.
Among those projects is one in partnership with the same developer that worked with FCRHA on Fairfax Crest: Lincoln Avenue Communities is in the early stages of working with the housing authority to construct two “all-affordable” high-rises for 525 homes on a vacant site on Leesburg Pike in Tysons Central.
FCRHA also recently acquired two parcels at 3625 and 3627 King Johns Way in the McNair area south of Herndon for about $23 million, estimating that the nearly 2-acre site could support about 400 affordable units.
In addition, affordable housing developments are being considered to supplement planned renovations of the Centreville Regional Library and the Chantilly Regional Library, including its technical operations center. The county’s adopted fiscal year 2027 capital improvement plan calls for financing $53 million for Chantilly, and another $37 million for Centreville through Economic Development Authority bonds.
The Board of Supervisors transferred ownership of the Centreville library site to the FCRHA at the end of September, which will allow the housing authority to identify a potential developer and further evaluate the proposal.
