By a unanimous vote, the Arlington County Board recently approved necessary rezoning, the project site plan, and $5.8 million in funding from the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) to support redevelopment of American Legion Post 139. The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) will build 160 affordable apartments, half set aside for veteran’s preference, as well as a new facility for the American Legion.  The apartments will be committed affordable for 75 years and will be built on the current Post site on Washington Boulevard.

APAH and American Legion are committed to meeting the evolving needs of today’s veterans. Nearly 236,000 veterans in the DC area are housing cost-burdened, paying over 30% of their income for rent, and many have service-related disabilities. Arlington has a well-documented need for affordable housing, having lost nearly 90% of market affordable homes between 2000 and 2016. The new complex will include 48 one-bedroom apartments; as well as 87 two-bedroom and 25 three-bedroom units to meet the needs of veteran and low-income families. A new 6,000 SF American Legion facility will be a hub of innovative programming to meet the needs of today’s veterans.

Joe Simonelli, Colonel, US Army Retired and chair of Arlington’s Military and Veterans Affairs Committee noted, “This is a huge step toward Arlington County showing ‘thank you for your service’ to our veterans, and not just saying it.” Click To Tweet

Read the full press release here.