I live on North 10th Road in Westover and have become quite familiar with the affordable workforce apartments gentrification saga. Latest news is that two more apartment buildings in my neighborhood will be torn down for luxury townhomes.
Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) is no longer interested in buying older apartment buildings like those in my neighborhood. APAH is very interested in expensive and complex mixed-use redevelopment deals, like the Arlington Prysbeterian Church redevelopment. APAH's President and CEO is Nina Janopaul and the Chair of APAH's Board of Directors is John Milliken. Look them up on the Web. Majority of APAH's Board of Directors (working and retired) have major-league experience with expensive mixed-use redevelopment.
APAH has announced that APAH will purchase 8 apartment buildings in Westover for renovation. Deal is going to the Housing Commission this week. That ONLY occurred because of the anger over the apartment teardowns in my neighborhood several months ago.
It gets worse. The owner of the Westover apartment buildings that were torn down and the apartment buildings that will be torn down for luxury townhohouses offered to sell all his Westover real estate holdings to APAH in early Spring. APAH refused his offer. Moreover, APAH never bothered to approach other Westover apartment building owners with so-called "first refusal offers" so APAH has the right of first refusal when owners want to sell.
It gets evern worse. When APAH buys and expensively renovates older apartment buildings not only do rents typically increase by $200 per month but only people with a narrow range of incomes (typically $50,000 to $65,000) are allowed to live in APAH's renovated apartments
I looked at the historic designation proposal and that's another part of this big charade. County Government (i.e., the Arlington Democratic Party) wants to see our neighborhood gentrified and historic designation is how they divide the community between homeowners and renters. That's what we get from having one-party government for 35 years.
So I attended the Westover Community Meeting in Westover Park yesterday. Needless to say, no County Board member bothered attending, but I left before the event ended. Green Party was there. So I and other Westover tenants absolutely want to form a Westover Tenenat's Organization, for people who rent apartments, condos, and single family homes. That's something like 60% of Westover's population.
I also want the County's Independent Auditor to audit the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) to see where the money is going that's supposed to build affordable housing. I also want the HUD Inspector General to audit APAH. It's also time for Ms. Janopaul, Mr. Milliken and others who want to make APAH into a REIT to be replaced by people who want to build affordable workforce housing, not gentrification housing and millennial housing.
Thanks for your blog.
N. 10th Road Resident
32 comments:
Arlington Democratic Party is full of Bill and Hill wanabees, what can you expect?
While you're looking up Nina Janopaul and John Milliken on the Web, do a Web search on John Vihstadt.
Try: John Vihstadt Krooth
Hi, I live outside Richmond and read this blog. So what do you expect this John Vihstadt to do for you? He's a high priced L Street housing lawyer who works for this housing law firm named Krooth and Altman and it's very unlikely the renters in Westover have enough financial resources to be able to retain his services.
FYI, John Milliken served on the County Board when the County Board built a Crystal City office building bubble and recently represented Vornado which is building a residential building bubble in and around Crystal City.
Yeah, I seriously doubt that the mostly working class residents who are abuot to be evicted in Westover can afford to retain Mr. Vihstadt and his nationally recognized housing law firm.
What can you expect from a Republicrat Regime? Limo Liberals + Country Club Republicans?
Limo Liberals? Country Club Republicans? Like the people who control the Arlington Green Party?
APAH also gentrifies out low-wage service workers, students, unpaid and low-paid interns, people who are disabled, and working class seniors who receive little or no income from pensions.
Where is 'Lyin' Libby'? She didn't attend the VDOT I-395 HOT Lanes meeting tonight with her Fairlington neighbors. I-395 bisects Fairlington.
Libby is a cancer survivor like Hillary and needs a lot of rest between meetings.
It gets even worse: Nina Janopaul and County Manager Mark Schwartz were good buds at Harvard where they were both Liberal Arts Majors in the late 70's. So Mark can't do enough for APAH.
Yeah, Mark majored in Basket Weaving and Amateur Radio. Nina majored in Basket Weaving.
Yeah. Historic Designation for Westover is a charade. Republicrat Elite want everyone out of Arlington who doesn't earn at least $200,000 and with at least $50,000 being disposable income.
I-66 + I-95 = DC to Nowhere Gentrification Expressway System.
Evicting the middle class and working class from Westover garden apartments? More stupidity by Urban Village Idiots. Just like their 'car free diet' which has increased the number of vehicle trips into. out of, and around Arlington by at least 10,000 per day over the past 5 years.
Yes. Middle Class has been completely gentrified out of Arlington and Alexandria. Never mind the people who earn $12 an hour at one of Arlingtons 'vibrant' restaurants, which open for business and go out of business every day. What to do? Answer: HOT Lanes Ecpressway to the outer outer suburbs.
Mark Schwartz is an astute financial manager and his expertise is moving tax revenue around various County slush funds for projects and programs that benefit fellow Limo Liberals like Nina.
There was a big and contentious I-395 HOT Lanes meeting in Fairlington last night. Where were Arlington's biggest Nanny Newsies, Scott Brodbeck and Scott McCaffrey, who just happen to be Fairlington residents?
Lyin' Libby was meeting with her bicyclist buds and promising them that Arlington will become like Amsterdam when she's re-elected.
APAH is now denying what APAH told a number of affordable housing VIPs - APAH received a blanket sale offer from the owner of the Westover apartments that were torn down before they were torn down.
So what can you expect when Westover's "Community Leaders" (excluding the Greens) were ordered to drop Democratic campaign literature on Westover doorsteps by the Arlington Democratic Committee?
Isn't it obvious? Democratic Regime wants Westover to be Clarendoned.
Too many civic associations are de facto subsidiaries of the Arlington Democratic Party.
Condo associations also, like several in Fairlington.
So where does Arlington's current housing agenda take us? To an Arlington in 2026 with 15,000 more luxury condos, apartments, and single family homes, 1,000 more apartments affordable to people earning $70,000 to $90 000 per year, and 50,000 more service workers commuting in and out of Arlington every weekday.
A have to agree that presently Arlington's so-called "affordable housing" is entry-level Millennial housing.
Clement for County Board - or else 4 more years of the same old same old - tax, borrow, spend for County Board Members' pet extravagances.
County Government is run by developrs, for developers.
Meeting agenda for the September 24th and 27th County Board meetings is on-line at arlingtonva.us
AHC is worse than APAH. Why don't they call themselves what they are -- Arlington Partnership for Gentrification Housing and Arlington Gentrification Corporation?
Westover tenants will meet in the lobby of 2100 Clarendon Blvd. before the 8:30 AM County Board Meeting on September 24th.
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