Applicants began lining up before dawn for a chance to land one of 122 affordable apartments being built in Arlington, VA. More than 3,600 people have applied in total, surprising the developers and pointing to the area's increasing unaffordability.
The Arlington Mill Residences project being built by nonprofit developer Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, and financed by state and federal programs, is just one of the many efforts aimed at preserving and expanding affordable housing in the D.C. area after a decade of dramatic growth.
"The increasing cost of living in the inner suburbs, especially in northern Virginia, has taken a significant toll on the number of apartments considered affordable to families," notes Patricia Sullivan. "In 2000, about 20,000 of the 35,000 rental apartments in Arlington were ranked as market-rate affordable; now, only 6,000 of the county’s 43,000 rentals are."
"Those who lined up early last week for the chance at the new apartments attested to the difficulty of finding affordable rentals."
According to "The Green Miles" blog, the amount of affordable units at Arlington Mill was actually reduced from 192 to 122 to address community concerns about traffic and density (thanks to Streetsblog for the tip).
FULL STORY: 3,600 apply for 122 new Arlington apartments
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