With an enormous need for 15,000 net new homes for low- to moderate-income families over the next 15 years, two things are clear: 1) collaboration and partnerships are critical to filling this need; and 2) solutions come in all shapes and sizes. Fairfax County and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia met to commemorate a unique project that proved both these axioms true as they celebrated the completed rehabilitation of a 995 square-foot home in the Woodlawn section of Alexandria.
In December 2018, The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) awarded $107,000 in federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding to support an extensive rehabilitation of a deteriorating structure in order to provide an affordable home to a displaced senior citizen—and armed forces veteran with special needs—living on an extremely low income level (below 30 percent of area median income).
While only encompassing a mere 995 square-feet, this diminutive home in Alexandria provides an enormous example of partnership, thoughtful and strategic planning and of the value that even one affordable unit can bring to a community, a family and an individual. See the complete story here.