State and federal housing partners fund a diverse array of projects and programs to support localities in their community development goals. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides grants for community planning and development, affordable housing, and homeless assistance. The City also works closely on programs funded and/or administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and Virginia Housing. Together, these entities work to ensure that communities and housing partners have access to resources to foster safe, affordable, and sustainable living environments.
Federal Partners: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Learn about how the City has used Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and (Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds in the past and how it currently uses these grant funds to support Alexandria.
The City’s use of CDBG and HOME funds is guided by the Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development. The Plan is developed every five years to analyze the local housing market and community needs and determine what priorities and goals the City should address in the coming five years. During the lifespan of the Consolidated Plan, Annual Action Plans specify the activities the City will carry out over the course of the year. Learn more through the FY25 Annual Action Plan report and presentation.
CDBG funds are intended to benefit low- to moderate-income households. The City uses a majority of its CDBG funds to support the rehabilitation of affordable multi-unit rental buildings and the homes of low-income households who lack resources to rehabilitate their homes themselves.
HOME funds are specifically intended to create or support housing for low- and moderate-income households. The City uses HOME funds to help finance the construction of new affordable rental units and to provide downpayment and closing cost assistance to first-time homebuyers.
In recent years, the City has also been able to secure Congressionally Directed Spending grant funds (informally known as “earmarks”) and HOME-ARP funds for housing projects. The Sanse and Naja project in Arlandria received a $1.5 million grant, and the rehabilitation of the Pendleton Rooming House received a $850,000 grant and $1.1 million in HOME-ARP funding.
State Partner: Virginia Housing
Virginia Housing (formerly VHDA), the housing finance agency that administers the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program on behalf of the Commonwealth, offers affordable and mixed income housing financing, and provides grants for projects and planning processes as well as resources to make homeownership more attainable. Virginia Housing's support has funded the following housing activities and programs in Alexandria:
- Tax Credit Projects (see the highlighted projects below)
- Sponsoring Partnerships & Revitalizing Communities (SPARC) funds provide first-time homebuyers with permanent financing for their home purchase by reducing Virginia Housing mortgage loans 1% lower than Virginia Housing's published first-time homebuyer mortgage interest rate. SPARC financing is received as a competitive allocation to the City.
- Housing Counseling—learn more during our Homeownership week!
- Rental Unit Accessibility Modification (RUAM) Program—RUAM provides grants to complete accessibility improvements to rental units for income eligible persons with a physical disability. Typical modifications include the installation of ramps, remote entry devices, and chairlifts, widening of doorways and sidewalks, and alterations to bathrooms and kitchens. Learn more on our Renter Resources page.
- Community Impact Grants (see the highlighted grants below)
CIG funding supported a range of activities under the Arlandria-Chirilagua Small Area Plan, including a Spanish first approach to the planning process, community conversations about housing needs, a housing contribution analysis, and small business outreach.
CIG funding deepened engagement during the Alexandria West small area planning process through subgrants to trusted local partners and the provision of expanded interpretation into Dari and Pashto.
Tax credit equity serves as the primary source of equity for affordable housing. Two recent projects are highlighted below.
The Waypoint at Fairlington (Wesley Housing) was the City’s fourth faith-based affordable housing partnership. Constructed in 2022 on an underutilized portion of the Fairlington Presbyterian's parking lot, the community provides 81 rental units affordable at 40-60% AMI. Learn more here.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) redeveloped the public housing units at Ramsey Homes into the Lineage, a new 52-unit community in 2021. The project provides 15 new replacement rental units affordable to households at up to 30% AMI and 37 new units affordable at 50-60% AMI. Learn how the community's history was documented through the Ramsey Homes Symposium.
State Housing Partner: Department of Housing and Community Development
The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the state agency that leads housing programs in Virginia, supports a wide range of programs, including home rehabilitation and energy efficiency, affordable housing development, downpayment assistance, and homelessness prevention.
- Affordable and Special Needs Housing (ASNH) funds, awarded through a competitive application process, have become an increasingly important source of funding for housing affordable to households with incomes up to 80% AMI. ASNH funds are layered with other funding sources, such as LIHTC equity, debt financing, and the City Housing Opportunities Fund. DHCD has awarded ASNH funds to four projects in Alexandria: three to Housing Alexandria, an Alexandria-based affordable housing developer and operator, and one to Community Housing Partners (CHP).
- State Housing Opportunity Tax Credits (HOTC), created in 2019 by the Virginia general assembly, are a state-funded housing opportunity tax credit program that mimics the federal housing tax credit program. While originally targeted toward projects in small jurisdictions and rural areas, the program was opened geographically in 2023. In 2024, Community Lodgings' Elbert Avenue project in the Arlandria was awarded State HOTC and will move forward redeveloping the 28-unit community into 91 units affordable to households with incomes at 30-60% AMI.
- Housing Innovations in Energy Efficiency (HIEE) supports energy efficiency in new construction projects, delivering benefits to property operations, the residents, and the community at large. In addition to meeting Green building certification standards as outlined under the City’s Green Building policy and the tax credit program, HIEE requires that projects meet Zero Energy Ready Home requirements which involve heightened efficiency improvements to mechanical systems, insulation, and windows.
Housing Alexandria's Sansé and Naja projects will bring 474 units of affordable rental and homeownership housing and 36,000 square feet of community-serving commercial space and City flex space to the Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood. All units will be available to households with incomes up to 80% AMI, with 105 units affordable at 40% AMI. The Sanse is under construction and anticipated to be delivered in 2026. The two-part project involves a complex, phased funding structure, which includes a 2023 $8.1 million ASNH award ($6 million of which is HIEE).
Community Housing Partners (CHP), a Virginia-based nonprofit which provides affordable housing across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, is anticipated to start construction on its first Alexandria project in early 2025. Witter Place, a new 94-unit community on Duke Street, will feature family-sized rental units affordable at 40-60% AMI, a community room and business center, underground parking, indoor bicycle storage, and free wireless. The project will make streetscape enhancements along Duke Street and Witter Drive, and pursue EarthCraft green building certification. The project was awarded $3.4 million in ASNH funding in 2023 and has secured tax credit equity and funding from Virginia Housing, NeighborWorks, and City gap investment.
State Housing Partner: Northern Virginia Regional Commission
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) has also become an important contributor to housing activities in the City. Recently NVRC awarded Housing Alexandria a $575,000 grant: this funding was a critical source of predevelopment financing that Housing Alexandria continues to draw on through the early stages of construction for its Seminary Road homeownership project.
The Seminary Road affordable homeownership development is Housing Alexandria’s first homeownership community. Upon completion, it will provide 36 for-sale homes for first-time homebuyers affordable at 80% AMI, along with three units owned and operated by Sheltered Homes of Alexandria.
Other Partners
In addition to government funders, the City has also been fortunate to secure private grant funding for housing including JBG SMITH’s Social Impact Funding (now LEO Impact) and Amazon Housing Equity Funds (HEF), as well as COG Housing Affordability Project Planning (HAPP) grant funds. Learn about the impact of these funding sources through the Parkstone Alexandria project featured below.
In January 2020, Housing Alexandria purchased Parkstone Alexandria (formerly called Avana Alexandria Apartments). Made possible through an innovative partnership among Housing Alexandria, JBG SMITH’s Washington Housing Initiative Impact Pool, Virginia Housing, and the City , the acquisition of the property helped preserve and expand an important affordable and workforce housing resource to support the City’s and region’s growing labor force. The project made 130 units affordable to households with incomes up to 60% AMI, and 114 units affordable to households with incomes up to 80% AMI. The remaining 82 apartments continue to rent at market rates.
Income restrictions on the building were phased in over time, and no tenants were displaced. The project was made possible due to a complex layering of funding. The Initiative is a transformational market-driven approach to preserve and create affordable workforce housing throughout the DC metropolitan region. The Initiative’s focus is on households who earn too much for traditional rental assistance, but who still struggle to pay for housing. The purchase also represented the first use of a new financing tool offered by the Virginia Housing as part of its commitment to invest in housing infrastructure in response to Amazon’s decision to locate HQ2 in Northern Virginia.