The Station at Potomac Yard

CD was engaged as Real Estate Development Consultant by the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC), a non-profit organization established and funded by the City of Alexandria as a developer and owner of affordable housing for low and moderate-income families in the city.

CD has worked with AHDC and its partnership that includes the City of Alexandria and Potomac Yard Development, LLC (PYD) to finance and develop The Station at Potomac Yard, a class A rental property with 64 units of affordable and workforce housing at the 165-acre Pulte/Centex Potomac Yard mixed-use development.

The total development budget was $35,000,000. Specific tasks have included the following:

  • Supported the development of a tax credit application resulting in an allocation of $1,027,086 in tax credits awarded by the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) in the 2007 9% Competitive Tax Credit Round. The allocation of tax credits provided approximately $9 million in equity to finance the affordable housing units.
  • Worked with VHDA to secure funding under the Multifamily Loan Program’s Mixed-Use/Mixed-Income (MUMI) product for construction and permanent financing to support the workforce housing units and a 1,400 square foot retail space.
  • Responsible for identifying vendors to support the project and issuing requests for proposals to retain legal counsel, tax accountant,
    market study consultant, tax credit investor, rental property management services, and branding and marketing firm.
  • Developed financial and cash flow analysis; structured and assembled the LIHTC and MUMI loan applications.
  • Working with PYD architect and general contractor to monitor construction progress to coordinate funding and draw schedule in compliance with LIHTC requirements.
  • Developed documentation for LIHTC 10% test and monitored all expenditures and construction progress payments in compliance with VHDA reporting requirements and to ensure that the project in completed on time and within budget.

Project Update: The project status is the construction at the Station at Potomac Yard is now complete. A ribbon-cutting celebration of project completion took place on October 17, 2009 and as of December 1, 2009, all units were leased.

Awards and Recognition
The Station at Potomac Yard has received several outstanding project awards and recognition as an example of “smart urban growth,” combining civic and other public uses close to employment, shopping and public transportation:

  • “The Station at Potomac Yard: A Model of Innovative Urban Planning,” Quorum Magazine, September 2009.
  • “Affordable Housing, Retail Space… and a Fire Station,” Tax Credit Advisor, April 2009.
  • Cited by Virginia’s Governor Tim Kaine during tour on March 16, 2009, this project was said to be “a unique example of the Governor’s Renew Virginia program to build green and conserve energy.”
  • Finalists in the first Urban Land Institute (ULI) Workforce Housing Models of Excellence Award that recognizes “exemplary developments that meet workforce housing needs in high cost communities.”
  • U.S. Conference of Mayors Excellence in Public-Private Partnership Award for “The Station at Potomac Yard,” January 24, 2008, nominated by National Association of Home Builders.
  • Featured by Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) as a “case study” for its new Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income (MUMI) loan product.
  • Potomac Yard Catalyst for Change as REACH Virginia increases involvement in Northern Virginia, VHDA, The REACH Report, Summer 2007 edition.

Details

Location

Alexandria, Virginia