FACTBOX
PROPERTY: The Jordan
LOCATION: Arlington, Va.
DEVELOPER/OWNER: AHC
ARCHITECT: Bonestran/Haresign Architects
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Bowman Consulting
OPENED: October 2011
RENTS: One-bedroom, $1,000 to $1,200; two-bedroom, $1,200 to $1,450; three-bedroom, $1,400 to $1,675. Residents must earn less than 60 percent of the area median income (AMI); 18 units are for families at or below 50 percent of AMI.
After an almost five-acre, mixed-use project stalled on an infill site in the Rosslyn–Ballston corridor of Arlington, Va., a creative land swap between two local developers enabled the project to proceed while winning more community support. Nonprofit AHC wanted to build more affordable units than feasible on its original parcel at the site, while The JBG Cos. envisioned erecting 28 high-end, four-story townhomes and two office towers on its section. “But the tall buildings wouldn’t have looked right in their location, and the community and county leaders wanted more affordable housing,” says John M. Welsh, AHC’s director of multifamily development. The swap permitted AHC to build a 90-unit affordable building, The Jordan, within walking distance of public transportation. JBG benefited, too, with two “trophy-class” office structures, one built for Virginia Tech, and space for 27 market-rate townhomes.
