Augusta County passes resolution to aid potential affordable housing in Stuarts Draft
NOTE: A previous version of this story indicated that Stump Elementary was said to be 100 students over capacity. The comment was miscontrued, as Stump Elementary has capacity for 100 more students.
VERONA — It’s not a guarantee, but more affordable housing could be making its way to Stuarts Draft after the Augusta County Board of Supervisors passed a revitalization resolution to help the process for a potential apartment complex in Stuarts Draft.
The resolution, which passed the board by a 5-2 vote, would improve the chances for the developer, Overlook Ridge VA, LLC., to obtain low income tax credits from the Virginia Housing Development Authority.
According to the applicant Jen Surber, the development will likely not happen without those tax credits, making the passage of the resolution an important step to getting the project underway.
What do we know about the potential development?
The project would be on the west side of White Hill Road, just north of the intersection of White Hill Road and Stuarts Draft Highway. For further context, the apartment complex would be directly south of the already existing Montague Terrace apartment complex.
The complex would have 80 units with an on-site manager and a community center. Management would be handled by a third-party company called Excel Management.
It was previously thought there would be 90 units, but Surber clarified it would be 80 in her comments during Wednesday night’s meeting.
The rental range, according to Surber, would likely be between $800 to $1200. The price would depend on the income level of potential residents, and where that income falls against the Area Median Income (AMI). The max percentage of the AMI that residents would have to stay under to qualify to live in Overlook Ridge is 80 percent.
According to Surber, the maximum income levels for Overlook Ridge by size of household would be:
One person - $44,640
Two people - $50,960
Three people - $57,360
Four people - $63,680
Five people - $68,800
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You said the project isn’t a guarantee. What does that mean, and when will we know if it's happening?
The development hinges on the success of Surber’s application to VHDA and the receipt of low-income tax credits to aid the project. Surber said the application process was highly competitive, and cited losing a previous project because of missing by 1/100th of a point. Points are allocated for projects by a number of factors, and Surber said that revitalization area designation would add 15 points to the application.
Without the credits, Surber said the project would “probably not” move forward, but the resolution was required to improve the chances of the Overlook Ridge project receiving those vital credits. Applications are due in mid-March, and there should be an idea of which projects will receive credits by June. After that, allocations wouldn’t be given out until the fall, at which point the developer would begin the design process.
The target is to start construction in spring of next year, and the complex would likely be ready for residency by summer 2025.
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The vote was 5-2. What issues did the board bring up about the development?
Safety and school capacity were the major issues brought up by the board. On safety, supervisor Butch Wells asked about how the management would deal with issues on the property, including ones that could involve law enforcement. Wells spoke about how more successful properties tended to have a good relationship between law enforcement and management, and Surber agreed.
Surber said that, ideally, they would have a few law enforcement officers living on the property, and that officers would be offered some form of rental subsidy to live in the complex. She said that they would welcome any engagement from local law enforcement.
Supervisor Steve Morelli followed up on the security point, relaying a concern he had received privately. Morelli said that the neighboring property had been having issues with drug use, and asked about the security for the property. The answer was that there wouldn’t be an on-site security staff, but there would be cameras throughout the property.
“We don’t have any problems with any of our properties,” Surber said, before adding, “But you never know. It just takes one resident to create an issue.”
“I understand the drug problem,” said Supervisor Gerald Garber, adding, ”I imagine if you get a couple of [law enforcement officers] here and talk to them, they’ll tell you there’s a drug problem in almost every corner of this county, in every socioeconomic development.”
The issue of school capacity was also raised by Morelli, and estimates from Surber put the additional student population across the school system as between 24 and 27 students.
County administrator Tim Fitzgerald said during the meeting that Stump Elementary School, which would service the new development, is reaching capacity. Supervisor Pam Carter received a text from a school board member during the meeting that she said stated that Stump could accommodate 100 more students.
Chairman Michael Shull and Morelli voted against the resolution.
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—Akhil Ganesh is the Government Reporter at The News Leader. You can contact him at aganesh@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @akhildoesthings.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta County passes resolution to aid potential affordable housing in Stuarts Draft
