City of Alexandria rolls out timeline for massive housing reform project

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

What do you want here? PP is complaining that driving used to be more convenient than the bus, but now it's not. Was that you? If it's more convenient to drive than take the bus, and you can drive, then nobody is stopping you from driving. If it's more convenient to take the bus than drive, but you don't want to take the bus, then nobody is stopping you from driving. If it's more convenient to take the bus than drive, so you take the bus, that's fine too.

Meanwhile, you know what helps keep the buses running on time? Dedicated bus lanes.

[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?

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

"Amenities you enjoy?" Where and what are those? It's too crowded and too dense to do anything I used to enjoy, we don't go out anymore because it's too much of a hassle to around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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!

You can't be that stupid, you just can't be. You don't get it? The point is it's totally racist to pick POC first for the vaccine. It has nothing to do with something, "specifically designed to benefit white people" but you know that you troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Why doesn't everyone including POC realize this? I don't get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

100000% THIS. Also they don't realize how many people are packing up and leaving daily just look at at Alexandria freecycle posts everyones looking for boxes every.single.day to leave the city and this has gone on for MONTHS. Me? I'm T-minus 4 months and till I'm gone and there will be yet another vacant rental unit available. The city is getting what they deserve! They are reaping what they sow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

LOL LOL "BURN BABY BURN!!!!" lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

You clearly don't live here. There were 4 busses back to back blocking seminary road completely yesterday. Most were empty you could have jumped on one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

100000% THIS. Also they don't realize how many people are packing up and leaving daily just look at at Alexandria freecycle posts everyones looking for boxes every.single.day to leave the city and this has gone on for MONTHS. Me? I'm T-minus 4 months and till I'm gone and there will be yet another vacant rental unit available. The city is getting what they deserve! They are reaping what they sow.

Eaton Square - one of the super affordable complexes (don’t mind the MS13 raids and murders) - is offering no rent for a month and even had balloons all over Arlandria today for their “move-in today” event. This does not scream scarcity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

100000% THIS. Also they don't realize how many people are packing up and leaving daily just look at at Alexandria freecycle posts everyones looking for boxes every.single.day to leave the city and this has gone on for MONTHS. Me? I'm T-minus 4 months and till I'm gone and there will be yet another vacant rental unit available. The city is getting what they deserve! They are reaping what they sow.

Eaton Square - one of the super affordable complexes (don’t mind the MS13 raids and murders) - is offering no rent for a month and even had balloons all over Arlandria today for their “move-in today” event. This does not scream scarcity.

19 units, total, available. The cheapest units are 1 BR/1 BA, 595 square feet, $1,418/month - affordable if you have a gross annual income of $57,000 (assuming the rent includes utilities). The biggest units (2 BR/1 BA, 865 square feet) are $1,918/month - affordable if you have a gross annual income of $77,000 (assuming the rent includes utilities).

[Anonymous]

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.

Democrat politicians don’t care.
The “15 minute city” is their top priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

100000% THIS. Also they don't realize how many people are packing up and leaving daily just look at at Alexandria freecycle posts everyones looking for boxes every.single.day to leave the city and this has gone on for MONTHS. Me? I'm T-minus 4 months and till I'm gone and there will be yet another vacant rental unit available. The city is getting what they deserve! They are reaping what they sow.

Yes, people move in and out all the time. Realtor.com has 646 listings for supposedly Alexandria, but not all of them are actually in Alexandria. The lowest-price listing that is actually in Alexandria is a 496 sf studio for $168,300.

[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.

Democrat politicians don’t care.
The “15 minute city” is their top priority.

How terrible it would be to be able to have all of your daily things (grocery store, drug store, coffee shop, library, restaurant for take-out when you don't want to cook, etc.) within a 15-minute walk!

Yes, I'm being sarcastic. Don't worry, nobody will stop you from spend many hours in the car running errands, if that's what you want. I can't understand why you would want that, but that's ok, different people have different preferences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly there aren't roads here that can support more density than the 12,000-13,000 people we already have a square mile for the city thanks to the mayor and his "road diets" and bike lanes. Please have your voice heard at one of the community meetings.

September 14: Community meeting, Location coming soon.
September 23: City Council Public Hearing, City Hall.

https://www.alxnow.com/2023/08/24/city-of-alexandria-rolls-out-timeline-for-massive-housing-reform-project/

Cry me a river. We've added 40,000 to Southwest DC in the last decade without doing jack shit in terms of infrastructure - and with nowhere near the space that Arlington has. I'm MORE THAN SURE you can absorb people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

100000% THIS. Also they don't realize how many people are packing up and leaving daily just look at at Alexandria freecycle posts everyones looking for boxes every.single.day to leave the city and this has gone on for MONTHS. Me? I'm T-minus 4 months and till I'm gone and there will be yet another vacant rental unit available. The city is getting what they deserve! They are reaping what they sow.

Yes, people move in and out all the time. Realtor.com has 646 listings for supposedly Alexandria, but not all of them are actually in Alexandria. The lowest-price listing that is actually in Alexandria is a 496 sf studio for $168,300.

Yes, always amusing to have the over-60 crowd chiming in confused about why people think real estate is expensive when they themselves haven't shopped for real estate in decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Democrat politicians don’t care.
The “15 minute city” is their top priority.

How terrible it would be to be able to have all of your daily things (grocery store, drug store, coffee shop, library, restaurant for take-out when you don't want to cook, etc.) within a 15-minute walk!

Yes, I'm being sarcastic. Don't worry, nobody will stop you from spend many hours in the car running errands, if that's what you want. I can't understand why you would want that, but that's ok, different people have different preferences.

But that's not possible. I live in an apartment on the east side of the city but the doctor's offices, swim lessons, etc are all a 15 minute drive away. The only things I can walk to within 20 minutes are the FoodStar (which doesn't even have basic necessities like peanut butter without additives), the library, and the public elementary. Once we had to take the bus to the pediatrician when our car was in the shop and instead of a 15 minute drive, it took us an hour. There aren't any pediatricians within a 15 minute walk. There's also not a church from my denomination within the city limits. Plus I have two small children and a permanent knee injury from sports. I can't carry heavy grocery bags and push a stroller uphill to my building. Anti-car policies just make my life harder and more inconvenient.