Culpepper Garden Apartments
Project Impact
“We attend resident meetings, go to exercise class every day. And best of all, we have our own vegetable garden!” Elizabeth’s and Anthony’s faces light up when they talk about their garden plots at Culpepper Garden Apartments. The couple has lived there since 2014 and have family who live nearby. The community—Arlington County’s first affordable senior housing project—was built in 1975 and today the 210-unit building is owned and operated by an independent housing corporation, Arlington Retirement Housing Corporation (ARHC). Culpeper Garden serves senior households with incomes at or below 60% AMI and helps fill a critical housing gap in a high-cost Northern Virginia market.
“Our residents deserve safe, comfortable, and attractive homes. Now is the time! The property hasn’t had any significant upgrades to the systems or interior finishes for more than forty years.” Linda Kelleher, now retired executive director, ARHC, understood the scope of work and the size of the price tag. The renovation of Culpepper Garden consisted of the rehabilitation of 204 units and addition of six new units. “Almost $60 million. So, we needed a team with the experience, expertise, responsiveness—and patience—to pull it off. After an extensive RFP process, it was clear to us that VCDC was the right fit.”
Financing success required hitting home runs in several areas, including securing local government support, which would have been irreplaceable otherwise, and managing the value of tax credits, which became more complicated with each passing month. “By the end of 2017, the path for financing was clear, because every key partner—Arlington County, Wesley, Virginia Housing Development Authority, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and of course, VCDC—shared ARHC’s commitment.”
VCDC’s Housing Equity Fund of Virginia XXI provided over $16.6 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit Equity. In addition, VCDC’s CDFI lending affiliate, VCDF, provided a $400,000 predevelopment loan to Culpepper Garden to cover project-related expenses essential to closing.
Location:
Arlington, VA
Date of Closing:
April 2018
Development Partner:
Arlington Retirement Housing Corporation and Wesley Housing Development Corporation
Total Units:
210
Project Cost:
$59,814,499
Private Equity Invested:
$16,624,093
