City of Alexandria rolls out timeline for massive housing reform project

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

I will concede the large influx of undocumented immigrants to our sanctuary city may need housing, but I truly doubt they will be renting the $3.5k a month apartment in the six-plex built on Loyola avenue with no parking spot for their unmarked work van. And why would a young couple choose to live in that same six-plex when they can move into The Porter and get happy hours in the lobby? So maybe that couple would move into a $1million duplex built on that same lot, so the removal of SFH zoning has now increased housing capacity by 1 for that lot. And not anything affordable. And not a speck of grass remaining.

My favorite talking point of the council is removal of SFH zoning is desegregation - not even hiding behind the implication that POC cannot afford SFHs so something lesser needs created. What a pessimistic view.

Mostly ALL of the new housing buildings in the west end with affordable housing are 70% or more vacant. More hosing is not needed in the city this is a ploy to get more federal funding so they can scream poverty. "Look at all the people riding our free DASH bus" we need more funding. (Although these are just students using the dash instead of the school busses.) WHY should tax payers have to pay for school busses AND the dash for people to ride for "free." For real?! This city has lost their minds!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The City doesn’t lack housing. There are massive condo buildings in west Alexandria and they are not full. If the City was serious they would move on from public housing and provide home buyer assistance.

Image if they had done that 20 years ago. They would have given a generation of families a hand up. But instead the liberals choose the thing that makes them feel good - a hand out.

+1. The Blake on Beuregard is 70% vacant. They are so desperate that they are offering two months free rent and no security deposit if your credit is over 800.

This has nothing to do with housing. This is about social justice in their mind. Stick it to the white man. That's the council's primary objective in everything. Social justice, not actual governance.

When someone interprets zoning reform as "sticking it to the white man," that says a lot about their beliefs and preconceptions.

Bless your heart. Did you miss council's recent attempt to use taxpayer funds to provide business grants only to POC?

If that's not sticking it to the white man, I don't know what is.

+100. They also offered covid vaccine to POC FIRST before white people. This is a theme here now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

Yes, they gave a detailed explanation of Alexandria’s housing needs at the meeting last night.

“ Approximately 15,500 Alexandria renter households with incomes up to $75,000 are estimated to be housing cost burdened, defined as spending more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing costs (American Community Survey 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates). Housing cost burden is experienced most acutely by Alexandria households with incomes below $50,000 (approximately 10,500 households).

In addition, approximately 3,500 Alexandria homeowner households with incomes up to $75,000 are estimated to be housing cost burdened (American Community Survey 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates).”

Ultimately, the amenities you enjoy in Alexandria require the work of lots of people at various income levels, and many of those people are being aggressively priced out. We need restaurant workers and retail employees and construction workers and many, many more lower income occupations to make our city run, and those people need to be able to live here too.

You can read more about it here: https://www.alexandriava.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/Z4H-Event-McIlvaine-Presentation-Housing-Needs-March2023.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The City doesn’t lack housing. There are massive condo buildings in west Alexandria and they are not full. If the City was serious they would move on from public housing and provide home buyer assistance.

Image if they had done that 20 years ago. They would have given a generation of families a hand up. But instead the liberals choose the thing that makes them feel good - a hand out.

+1. The Blake on Beuregard is 70% vacant. They are so desperate that they are offering two months free rent and no security deposit if your credit is over 800.

This has nothing to do with housing. This is about social justice in their mind. Stick it to the white man. That's the council's primary objective in everything. Social justice, not actual governance.

When someone interprets zoning reform as "sticking it to the white man," that says a lot about their beliefs and preconceptions.

Bless your heart. Did you miss council's recent attempt to use taxpayer funds to provide business grants only to POC?

If that's not sticking it to the white man, I don't know what is.

+100. They also offered covid vaccine to POC FIRST before white people. This is a theme here now.

How dare anyone do anything not specifically designed to benefit white people - outrageous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

I will concede the large influx of undocumented immigrants to our sanctuary city may need housing, but I truly doubt they will be renting the $3.5k a month apartment in the six-plex built on Loyola avenue with no parking spot for their unmarked work van. And why would a young couple choose to live in that same six-plex when they can move into The Porter and get happy hours in the lobby? So maybe that couple would move into a $1million duplex built on that same lot, so the removal of SFH zoning has now increased housing capacity by 1 for that lot. And not anything affordable. And not a speck of grass remaining.

My favorite talking point of the council is removal of SFH zoning is desegregation - not even hiding behind the implication that POC cannot afford SFHs so something lesser needs created. What a pessimistic view.

https://housingmatters.urban.org/research-summary/addressing-americas-affordable-housing-crisis
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2023/50-mayors-us-cities/housing/
https://nhc.org/two-issues-define-americas-new-housing-crisis/
https://www.fanniemae.com/research-and-insights/perspectives/us-housing-shortage
https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/priced-out-the-state-of-housing-in-america
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/05/business/single-family-zoning-laws/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1109345201/theres-a-massive-housing-shortage-across-the-u-s-heres-how-bad-it-is-where-you-l
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/nowhere-live-profits-disinvestment-and-american-housing-crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/upshot/housing-shortage-us.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

I will concede the large influx of undocumented immigrants to our sanctuary city may need housing, but I truly doubt they will be renting the $3.5k a month apartment in the six-plex built on Loyola avenue with no parking spot for their unmarked work van. And why would a young couple choose to live in that same six-plex when they can move into The Porter and get happy hours in the lobby? So maybe that couple would move into a $1million duplex built on that same lot, so the removal of SFH zoning has now increased housing capacity by 1 for that lot. And not anything affordable. And not a speck of grass remaining.

My favorite talking point of the council is removal of SFH zoning is desegregation - not even hiding behind the implication that POC cannot afford SFHs so something lesser needs created. What a pessimistic view.

https://housingmatters.urban.org/research-summary/addressing-americas-affordable-housing-crisis
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2023/50-mayors-us-cities/housing/
https://nhc.org/two-issues-define-americas-new-housing-crisis/
https://www.fanniemae.com/research-and-insights/perspectives/us-housing-shortage
https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/priced-out-the-state-of-housing-in-america
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/05/business/single-family-zoning-laws/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1109345201/theres-a-massive-housing-shortage-across-the-u-s-heres-how-bad-it-is-where-you-l
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/nowhere-live-profits-disinvestment-and-american-housing-crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/upshot/housing-shortage-us.html

But in the City of Alexandria, right now, where is the crisis? Where are the droves of Residents (the Council's constituency) that are in "a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger" over housing? Unfortunately financial inequities exist, and they always will even in countries purporting to be socialist / communist (look at the immigrant populations in Sweden and France). Alexandria need not destroy itself so DINKs can buy Del Ray townhouses or the Hill staffer can rent an apartment in Potomac Yard. Weirdly, there are plenty of apartments available in the West End - there are 46 units available right now at The Sherwood at Southern Towers, so they are at 89% occupancy. Right --- that developer who will make a cool million knocking down that perfectly good SFH to build three townhouses doesn't get a dime if we just encourage occupancy of the existing housing stock. So it is a crisis of not getting the house one wants or thinks they deserve - what if one wants a SFH, do they not deserve that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

I will concede the large influx of undocumented immigrants to our sanctuary city may need housing, but I truly doubt they will be renting the $3.5k a month apartment in the six-plex built on Loyola avenue with no parking spot for their unmarked work van. And why would a young couple choose to live in that same six-plex when they can move into The Porter and get happy hours in the lobby? So maybe that couple would move into a $1million duplex built on that same lot, so the removal of SFH zoning has now increased housing capacity by 1 for that lot. And not anything affordable. And not a speck of grass remaining.

My favorite talking point of the council is removal of SFH zoning is desegregation - not even hiding behind the implication that POC cannot afford SFHs so something lesser needs created. What a pessimistic view.

https://housingmatters.urban.org/research-summary/addressing-americas-affordable-housing-crisis
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2023/50-mayors-us-cities/housing/
https://nhc.org/two-issues-define-americas-new-housing-crisis/
https://www.fanniemae.com/research-and-insights/perspectives/us-housing-shortage
https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/priced-out-the-state-of-housing-in-america
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/05/business/single-family-zoning-laws/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1109345201/theres-a-massive-housing-shortage-across-the-u-s-heres-how-bad-it-is-where-you-l
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/nowhere-live-profits-disinvestment-and-american-housing-crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/upshot/housing-shortage-us.html

But in the City of Alexandria, right now, where is the crisis? Where are the droves of Residents (the Council's constituency) that are in "a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger" over housing? Unfortunately financial inequities exist, and they always will even in countries purporting to be socialist / communist (look at the immigrant populations in Sweden and France). Alexandria need not destroy itself so DINKs can buy Del Ray townhouses or the Hill staffer can rent an apartment in Potomac Yard. Weirdly, there are plenty of apartments available in the West End - there are 46 units available right now at The Sherwood at Southern Towers, so they are at 89% occupancy. Right --- that developer who will make a cool million knocking down that perfectly good SFH to build three townhouses doesn't get a dime if we just encourage occupancy of the existing housing stock. So it is a crisis of not getting the house one wants or thinks they deserve - what if one wants a SFH, do they not deserve that?

You don't sound like someone who wants to learn. You sound like someone who has made up their mind and that's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The City doesn’t lack housing. There are massive condo buildings in west Alexandria and they are not full. If the City was serious they would move on from public housing and provide home buyer assistance.

Image if they had done that 20 years ago. They would have given a generation of families a hand up. But instead the liberals choose the thing that makes them feel good - a hand out.

+1. The Blake on Beuregard is 70% vacant. They are so desperate that they are offering two months free rent and no security deposit if your credit is over 800.

This has nothing to do with housing. This is about social justice in their mind. Stick it to the white man. That's the council's primary objective in everything. Social justice, not actual governance.

When someone interprets zoning reform as "sticking it to the white man," that says a lot about their beliefs and preconceptions.

Bless your heart. Did you miss council's recent attempt to use taxpayer funds to provide business grants only to POC?

If that's not sticking it to the white man, I don't know what is.

+100. They also offered covid vaccine to POC FIRST before white people. This is a theme here now.

The theme is “let’s pretend we are helping POC when in fact, we are insulting them”. They literally can’t help themselves.

[Anonymous]

what, if anything, did the City learn from the Waypoint project near Fairlington? That seems to be a model for what they'd like to do.

What were the assumptions about cars/unit or kids/unit (it might be too soon for the latter)? What's the reality?

https://www.alxnow.com/2022/07/20/all-affordable-housing-development-in-fairlington-to-open-this-fall/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

I will concede the large influx of undocumented immigrants to our sanctuary city may need housing, but I truly doubt they will be renting the $3.5k a month apartment in the six-plex built on Loyola avenue with no parking spot for their unmarked work van. And why would a young couple choose to live in that same six-plex when they can move into The Porter and get happy hours in the lobby? So maybe that couple would move into a $1million duplex built on that same lot, so the removal of SFH zoning has now increased housing capacity by 1 for that lot. And not anything affordable. And not a speck of grass remaining.

My favorite talking point of the council is removal of SFH zoning is desegregation - not even hiding behind the implication that POC cannot afford SFHs so something lesser needs created. What a pessimistic view.

https://housingmatters.urban.org/research-summary/addressing-americas-affordable-housing-crisis
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2023/50-mayors-us-cities/housing/
https://nhc.org/two-issues-define-americas-new-housing-crisis/
https://www.fanniemae.com/research-and-insights/perspectives/us-housing-shortage
https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/priced-out-the-state-of-housing-in-america
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/05/business/single-family-zoning-laws/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1109345201/theres-a-massive-housing-shortage-across-the-u-s-heres-how-bad-it-is-where-you-l
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/nowhere-live-profits-disinvestment-and-american-housing-crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/upshot/housing-shortage-us.html

But in the City of Alexandria, right now, where is the crisis? Where are the droves of Residents (the Council's constituency) that are in "a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger" over housing? Unfortunately financial inequities exist, and they always will even in countries purporting to be socialist / communist (look at the immigrant populations in Sweden and France). Alexandria need not destroy itself so DINKs can buy Del Ray townhouses or the Hill staffer can rent an apartment in Potomac Yard. Weirdly, there are plenty of apartments available in the West End - there are 46 units available right now at The Sherwood at Southern Towers, so they are at 89% occupancy. Right --- that developer who will make a cool million knocking down that perfectly good SFH to build three townhouses doesn't get a dime if we just encourage occupancy of the existing housing stock. So it is a crisis of not getting the house one wants or thinks they deserve - what if one wants a SFH, do they not deserve that?

You don't sound like someone who wants to learn. You sound like someone who has made up their mind and that's that.

I notice you don't dispute the abundance of affordable and vacant units available, literally right this minute.

We are we considering zoning changes if there are literally dozens and dozens and dozens of vacant units right now?

Really, why?

[Anonymous]

Anyone can buy my house on a 16,000 square foot lot any time they want and build low income anything. If that doesn’t happen I will rent it to the biggest, most disorderly Section 8 family I can find

This is a long waited FU to my awful neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me like I am 5 how there is a housing crisis in Alexandria when the last report on homelessness said there were 152 people in the City experiencing homelessness in 2023 - down from 198 in 2019?

I will concede the large influx of undocumented immigrants to our sanctuary city may need housing, but I truly doubt they will be renting the $3.5k a month apartment in the six-plex built on Loyola avenue with no parking spot for their unmarked work van. And why would a young couple choose to live in that same six-plex when they can move into The Porter and get happy hours in the lobby? So maybe that couple would move into a $1million duplex built on that same lot, so the removal of SFH zoning has now increased housing capacity by 1 for that lot. And not anything affordable. And not a speck of grass remaining.

My favorite talking point of the council is removal of SFH zoning is desegregation - not even hiding behind the implication that POC cannot afford SFHs so something lesser needs created. What a pessimistic view.

Mostly ALL of the new housing buildings in the west end with affordable housing are 70% or more vacant. More hosing is not needed in the city this is a ploy to get more federal funding so they can scream poverty. "Look at all the people riding our free DASH bus" we need more funding. (Although these are just students using the dash instead of the school busses.) WHY should tax payers have to pay for school busses AND the dash for people to ride for "free." For real?! This city has lost their minds!

Might as well rename it West Alexandria because the city doesn't care about that side and usually doesn't include it when discussing "Alexandria"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The schools have been overcapacity for years the roads are impossible to travel on now in the city. City officials have seriously lost their minds. When city council was asked about class sizes and overcapacity issues years ago and asked what their plans are with all the 10 newish affordable housing buildings the literally sat there and blinked. You can't make this incompetence up.

Impossible, you say? So everyone is just sitting at home? Or, if you mean impossible to travel on by car, how come there are so many cars on the roads?

Hey go back to posting hour bike lobby crap on AlxNow. You know the roads are crowded.

My daughter ended up with a daily drop off occupational therapy appointment every day Mon-Fri this summer at a location where I needed to go up duke st, then over and up seminary road. I did the round trip drive twice daily all summer and not once did I see a single bike in the bike lanes. Honest to god, not a single bike even though the times I was driving varied and often included am or pm rush hour. What an absolute waste and cause of more vehicle congestion.

I bike on Seminary all the time. I fly right past the cars sitting in traffic. Probably why you didn't see me is because you weren't paying attention, which drivers never do.

[Anonymous]

The Appomattox statue must be glad he was removed as Alexandria sinks further and further in despair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The schools have been overcapacity for years the roads are impossible to travel on now in the city. City officials have seriously lost their minds. When city council was asked about class sizes and overcapacity issues years ago and asked what their plans are with all the 10 newish affordable housing buildings the literally sat there and blinked. You can't make this incompetence up.


Impossible, you say? So everyone is just sitting at home? Or, if you mean impossible to travel on by car, how come there are so many cars on the roads?

My son has a weekly physical therapy appointment 1.3 miles from our home in Alexandria. Due to traffic congestion, it takes 25 minutes to get there in the evening by car. It would take the same by bus.

In that case, if it were me, I would take the bus. Less stress, fewer miles on the car.

It's unfortunate how much car traffic slows down buses, though. We need more dedicated bus lanes.

FORCING people to take the bus is not a great plan for most.

Nobody is forcing (let alone FORCING) anybody to take the bus. The PP is continuing to drive to the appointment. It's just less convenient to drive than it used to be; or, conversely, more convenient to take the bus.

It isn’t convenient if the bus is running late