HCA Meeting 5/3/17
HCA Monthly Meeting
Meeting Minutes
May 3, 2017
Welcome and Introductions:
• Art Ovalle, President
• Jeff Woodward, Vice President
• Harry Shepler, Treasurer
• Everett Price, Secretary
Recognition:
• Midtown at Alexandria Station Condominiums – 2451 Midtown Avenue, Alexandria, VA. 22303a
Guest Speaker
Lori Greenlief, McGuirelief LLP., Riverside Apartments – 2000 Huntington Avenue
Presented attached slide deck about planned redevelopment of Riverside Apartments and answered questions from the community (see slide deck here)
Current Riverside apartments are at 96% occupancy
Have filed paperwork with the County and will engage with Planning Commission and County Board of Supervisors in September or October
Project would break ground in 2018 and first delivery of apartment blocks would take place in 2021 (the project will be delivered in phases)
In total about 750 new units planned, all rental properties, no retail space
All studio or 1-2 bedroom
All controlled access buildings
All featured streets in the development will be private but allow public access
A public access park is planned along Cameron Run; this is 100% coordinated with the levee project and the planned levee trail
A number of dog parks are planned for the development, some near the buildings and others in the park that would be open to the public
Pools and gyms planned for the various buildings
1.3 parking spaces per unit; will also have Metro shuttle
Developing at the level stipulated in the Master Plan
Submitted traffic study to add traffic light on Huntington Ave. to facilitate egress/ingress of traffic, although analyzing a couple options for how to do it; adding a signal could have benefits for traffic entering/exiting Huntington further down as it would break up the traffic flow with greater regularity
Also planning to increase capacity at traffic lights on Rt. 1 by changing lane lines
Riverside development does not currently have a storm water management system
New development will have modern storm water management, thereby reducing direct runoff into Cameron Run and feature more treatment of storm water
Plan to return in September to provide another update
Paul Browne, Wesley Housing Development Corp., - 2317 Huntington Avenue
Presented attached slide deck and answered questions about planned redevelopment of 2317 Huntington Ave, the red brick apartment building next to 7-11 and the two homes directly behind the apartment building (see slide deck here)
Paul Browne last briefed the HCA in September 2016
Wesley Housing Development Corp is a 40 year old non-profit specializing in affordable housing
A&R, a development company from Baltimore, originally purchased the property and developed plans to redevelop it but failed to secure financiers
Wesley Housing now has the property under contract and is making relatively modest modifications to the A&R development plan
New development would feature 126 affordable rental units
Renters would earn $64K or below
Not section eight housing, renters would pay rent
Likely to attract employees working at the MGM casino, for instance
Current residents will be given relocation assistance and the option to move into the new property when it is finished
Wesley plans to develop using a regular bank loan, plus a subordinate loan from the County, and County tax credits reserved for affordable housing units
Was passed over for credits this year so will have to wait a year for the next opportunity
Construction could begin in 2019 with delivery planned for 2021
A&R’s redevelopment plan featured ground-floor retail but Wesley is proposing to convert that space (and some second-floor space) into office space for Wesley
Paul Browne came to solicit community feedback on the change from retail space to commercial
Retail space is sometime difficult to fill and likely would be so in this area; at least having Wesley offices there would provide a guaranteed and invested tenant
This plan requires an amendment to the final plan and a reduction in the required parking space total
The parking regulation change may fit with ongoing plans in the County to change regulations for office space that is located near a Metro station
HCA Committee Reports:
Mount Vernon Council of Community Associations (MVCCA)
General Council Meeting – Art Ovalle
Supervisor Storck was present
The Mount Vernon Tree Commissioner, Catherine Ledec, gave a presentation about the importance of preserving the trees and natural habitat in Fairfax County. She also gave an update on the Mount Eagle Park Habitat Restoration Project that took place on April 9th.
A Teen Job Fair was held on April 29th at the South County High School in Lorton, Virginia. At least 50 businesses participated in this great event for our county teens.
Planning and Zoning - Ray Novitske
Not present
Transportation - Jeff Woodward
Public meeting to discuss the Rt. 1 Embark bus rapid transit system at Whitman High School on 15 May from 6:30pm-9pm
A full rapid transit system plan should be ready by the end of June
There was a discussion of modifying the intersections along the GW parkway near Belle Have and Belle View due to a recent near-fatal accident, but the Park Service is generally resistant to modifications
Environment and Recreation - Alan Ruof
Levee update
Rain has slightly delayed recent progress on the project
First goal is building the pump station
Key stakeholders will hold a disaster tabletop exercise this month
Art Ovalle met with the County rep. at the construction site; the County rep. invited HCA officers to tour the site soon
Health and Human Services - Vacant
Education - Caitlin Wilson
Caitlin not present; Attending the monthly MVCCA Education Meeting that overlaps with HCA meeting
Education committee has had some discussion of MS-13 issues that are present further down Rt. 1
Budget and Finance – Christoph Schmid
Christoph not present; attending the monthly MVCCA Budget and Finance Meeting that overlaps with HCA meeting
Neighborhood Watch – David Sears
Training required to legally participate in neighborhood watch
Going to get word out soon about upcoming training opportunity
Midtown might get involved in Huntington neighborhood watch network
New Business/Action Items/Updates
Huntington Community Picnic – June 2017
June 17th at 4pm, or June 24th rain date, at Farrington Park
June, Huntington Community Association Meeting - Date and Location
Wednesday, June 7th, at 7:30pm at newly-opened Community Center, Supervisor Storck will attend
Huntington Club Condominiums – 2601 Indian Drive, Alexandria VA. 22303
Condo Assoc. voting from now until August on property sale
Zoning application due in October
Phase 1 of the project will feature “Land Bay A” and cafe (see project design here)
Old Business/Updates
Huntington Neighborhood Cleanup – April 22nd
Cleaned the stairwells at the end of Biscayne and Blaine. Also picked up trash along the back road of Mount Eagle Park/leading to Montebello.
Next Neighborhood Cleanup to be determined
Crosswalk Safety Issue – Huntington Avenue & Metroview Parkway
A traffic officer is now occasionally posted to watch for buses making illegal turns; the officer has also given out jay walking tickets
VDOT has recently redone the uneven sidewalks in front of the Huntington Auto Repair businesses along Huntington Avenue.
HCA Flyer Handouts – HCA Officers (April 29th)
HCA officers handed out flyers about the HCA to all houses between Blaine and Biscayne south of Huntington Ave., also most parts of neighborhood north of Huntington Ave between Farrington and Mt. Vernon
Huntington Community National Night Out Volunteer (Tuesday, August 1st) – Laura Main
Main has volunteered to be the lead for this event.
Midtown Social Committee agreed to join HCA and the Parker Apartments in putting on the National Night Out
Old Business/Updates (continued)
Farrington Park, Renovation Update
On track for completion in mid-May
Huntington Community Center Renovation Update
Recently repaved the entire road/parking lot, and laid new concrete on sidewalks to meet ADA requirements; work still remains on the building
Lighting on Biscayne Drive (Top of Hill Near Huntington Metro) – Stout & Teague Property
Art met with district conservationist and she is now involved in the issue
Teague sent lighting engineer out to evaluate the situation; Neil Teague is awaiting engineers report
Bylaws Update - David Sears
Bylaws were written in 1991 and in need of review
Changes were aimed at removing unnecessary provisions that are no longer applicable
No new provisions were added except allowing for HCA to accept dues on rolling (instead of calendar-year) basis and to accept dues electronically
Will hold vote on bylaws changes and Wesley housing development (retail to commercial issue) at next meeting
Upcoming vote to change/offer alternate Payment Method for Annual HCA
Membership
Upcoming vote to change HCA Memberships from calendar year to annual date of
Upcoming Topics and Guest Speakers:
Supervisor Dan Storck, Mount Vernon District – Wednesday, June 7th
Community members should have a chance to send questions ahead of time so Art can give Storck a heads-up
Stephen Bannister, Capital Investment Advisors - 2560 Huntington Avenue
Going to reschedule for June or August HCA Meeting
Upcoming Local Events in Fairfax County:
Smart Markets, Farmers’ Market (Every Thursday from 3:00pm – 7:00pm) – 5919 North Kings Highway, Alexandria, Virginia 22003
Law Enforcement United Ride 2017 (Friday, May 12th, 11:30am – 12:45pm) – 2017 Belle View Boulevard, Alexandria, Virginia 22307
Community Shred Event (Saturday, May 13th, 9:00am – 12:00pm) – Mount Vernon District Police Station, 2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22303
Taste of Mount Vernon (May 25th, 5:30pm to 7:30pm) – Mount Vernon Governmental Center, 2511 Parkers Lane, Mount Vernon, Virginia 22306
Will feature free food from 40 restaurants; also a raffle competition
Fairfax County’s 275th Anniversary Celebration (June 17th, from 10:00am – 4:00pm) – Fairfax County Courthouse, 4000 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Other Community Issues: