Originally published January 20, 2025 at 07:09p.m., updated January 20, 2025 at 07:25p.m.
Do Lessons Learned Increase Odds of Success?
Key challenges impacting redevelopment in 2025 and how to best create affordable housing at the Crescent are known. The deal killers are rising construction costs, increased interest rates on loans and the need for zoning changes to allow for increased density which could offset increased construction costs.
Key players of the Crescent Project, the redevelopment firm, and the county will know through experience that they face significant challenges offset by potential.
This is the second time in over a decade that residents of the aging Crescent apartment complex, which the county purchased for $49.5 million in 2006 for use as affordable housing, are seeing a county-level, authorized step toward a viable path forward in replacing their units.
— Mercia Hobson
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized the redevelopment of the 1960s Crescent Apartments in Reston on Tuesday, Jan. 14. This could signal the possible end of a nearly two-decade-old affordable housing saga that beamed bright and transformational in 2012 for The Crescent, collapsed in 2015, and is resurfacing with learned lessons in 2025.
Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn read his related board matter aloud during the regular meeting. “In short, it is now time to move toward realizing the future of the Crescent,” Alcorn said. “The residential units at the Crescent are now nearly 60 years old, and in need of renovation or replacement. The adopted Comprehensive Plan guidance supports additional density on the Crescent Property, thereby creating an opportunity to replace the 181 existing homes by leveraging development of additional new affordable and market residential units,” Alcorn said.
In March of 2023, the Board doubled its strategic goal to provide a minimum of 10,000 new affordable housing units by 2034, according to Alcorn. The Crescent could be numbered in the unit count. The Board owns the approximately 16.49 acres of land in the Hunter Mill District known as the Crescent Property.
“The adopted Comprehensive Plan Guidance supports additional density on the Crescent Property, thereby creating an opportunity to replace the 181 existing homes by leveraging the development of additional new affordable and market residential units,” Alcorn said.
The Crescent Apartments were originally constructed from 1964 through 1966. The Crescent complex consists of five garden-style, 3-story apartment buildings. It currently offers 181 affordable workforce housing units to households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) as defined and published by HUD. One unit serves as the property’s management office. The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority manages the property.
Alcorn noted that the Crescent is within walking distance of bus stops, retail, offices and healthcare. It offers convenient access to schools, parks, transit routes, and recreational amenities. Such is consistent with the Board’s equity goals as described in its One Fairfax Policy. He reminded the board that the new economic visioning study for the Lake Anne Village Center had been completed, and the anticipated redevelopment of the property would complement the revitalization and economic development needs of “the historic heart of Reston,” referencing the Lake Anne Village Center Historic Overlay District, which includes Lake Anne Plaza.
Alcorn motioned that the Board direct staff to: “Initiate steps to formally authorize and schedule a public hearing to consider conveyance of approximately 16.49 acres of the Board-owned Crescent Property located at Tax Map Parcels 0172 16 0001A and 0172 14010002G to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) for the development of affordable housing, complementary market-rate housing and associated uses consistent with the Lake Anne Economic Visioning Study, subject to the stipulations.”
Two stipulations are: (1) ‘(If) the FCRHA no longer pursues the project, it will transfer ownership of the property back to the Board;” and (2) “the FCRHA will provide the county with access to, and use of, the site until development activities begin.”
Alcorn added that the Board directs the Housing and Community Development staff to conduct outreach with two groups. The first group is the existing residents of the Crescent Property. The purpose would be “to inform them about the redevelopment and receive their feedback about the community’s needs relative to the replacement of their existing affordable homes.” The second group is “the broader community and County to understand additional opportunities and challenges that should be considered in the context of a redevelopment.”
Alcorn said that the Crescent has already received much community discussion: “I look forward to working with HCD (Housing and Community Development) and FCRA (Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority) to make this happen,” Alcorn said.
The 16.495-acre Crescent Property the Board owns is located in a portion of the northeast of the approximately 41-acre Lake Anne Village Center in Reston. It is bounded by Baron Cameron Avenue (Rte 606) to the north, Lake Anne to the south, North Shore Drive to the west, and Moorings Drive to the east.