Amazon announces new affordable housing development in Arlington County

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ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Amazon has announced its intention to assign its option on the undeveloped land parcels on the Crystal House Apartments site to Arlington County for the intention of developing new affordable housing with more than 550 units scheduled to be developed as affordable for moderate- to low-income households.

The agreement also gives flexibility to the county to develop a portion of the overall unit count at other properties in Arlington County, if the need presents itself.

Amazon paid $40 million to secure this land option when it helped the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC) acquire the property in 2020. They will convey it to the county as part of an Assignment and Assumption Agreement. The County Board will decide on the proposed agreement at its July meeting.

This announcement is a part of Amazon’s commitment earlier this year in which its Housing Equity Fund provided $381.9 million in low-rate loans and grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy—a nonprofit organization that preserves homes so they are affordable for moderate- to low-income residents.

The loan and grants aided WHC in purchasing Crystal House and preserve the affordability of the apartment units to support moderate- to low-income families for a 99-year period.

The proposed agreement will provide the County and its selected development partner(s) significant flexibility to provide a minimum of 554 affordable residential units, of which a minimum of 148 of the residential units will be committed to households earning 50% or less of the area median income (AMI), and a minimum of 406 of the residential units will be committed to households earning 80% or less of the AMI on the site by January 1, 2028.

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"Amazon is demonstrating dedication and commitment to the Arlington community with this game-changing opportunity to increase affordable housing in the County," said Arlington County Housing Director Anne Venezia. "Future development on the Crystal House site will help bolster critical housing supply goals in an area with limited affordable housing options."