Aaron Mills Apartments
VCDC is pleased to welcome Aaron Mills Apartments to our portfolio.
April 2024 — The Aaron Mills Apartments is a new community of affordable housing in a historically industrial area of downtown Martinsville, Virginia. The site was a former mill occupied by American Furniture from the 1920s to the 1990s, and prior to that time it was used as a sawmill, lumberyard, coal yard and feed storage. After the furniture manufacturing facility ceased operation, the building burned down, and the City of Martinsville secured a Brownfields grant to perform site evaluation and cleanup to its current vacant land condition.
Aaron Mills Apartments will serve elderly individuals, aged 55 and up, making 60% of the Area Median Income or below. The newly constructed building itself will be a two-story, garden-style complex with 52 units; 34 one-bedroom and 18 two bedrooms. Aaron Mills is being developed by Landmark Asset Services, Inc., a mission-focused developer of affordable housing based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Aaron Mills Apartments will provide individual apartment sizes ranging from 675 SF to 900 SF. Six apartments are designed with special features for disabled residents under Section 504 accessibility requirements and all 52 units will meet Virginia Housing’s Universal Design requirements. The apartment building will have an elevator to accommodate residents on the second floor with mobility restrictions. Upon completion, the development will be EPA EnergyStar certified, meet the baseline energy performance for Earthcraft Gold certification and DOE Zero Energy Ready HOME to ensure energy efficiency and safe and healthy systems. Residents will be able to enjoy amenities such as a business center/community room with free wi-fi, an exercise room, a covered picnic area, and easy access to public transportation and the downtown area.
Beginning construction on Aaron Mills was no easy feat. The original plans to initiate the housing development began prior to 2020 but were put on hold after the onset of the pandemic which brought on supply shortages and construction cost increases. Four years later, Landmark succeeded in closing $11.3 million project which anticipates construction to begin in April 2024.
VCDC has committed to provide over $8 million to Aaron Mills Apartments through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program from investors of VCDC Equity Fund 25, LLC. Additional funding for the project includes the City of Martinsville, Virginia Housing Trust Funds and HIEE Funding administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, West Piedmont Planning District Commission and construction financing from First Citizens Bank.
In an article from ABC 13 News, Martinsville Director of Community Development, Keith Holland, describes the impact that Aaron Mills Apartments will have on the city. “We're like a lot of other communities, we really have a need for housing, and with this being a housing target for seniors and handicapped that will meet a niche, a need we have right now in the city," Holland said.
On behalf of VCDC, our team excitedly awaits this development and the impact it will have on the Martinsville community.