More details emerge on affordable senior housing project on church property

The possible future home of the Culmore Clinic.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Jan. 26 on a major redevelopment proposal in western Annandale with 575 multifamily units, another proposal for Annandale and three in Seven Corners.

If approved by the board, those proposals would be included in the county’s work program for amending the Comprehensive Plan.

More details on one of those proposals – an affordable housing project for seniors – was presented at a meeting of the Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners Revitalization Corporation (BC7RC) Jan. 21.

That project would be built on property owned by First Christian Church at 6165 Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners. Wesley Housing, a nonprofit based in Mason District that builds, owns, and manages affordable housing, would develop an L-shaped structure next to the church with 113 units.

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The first floor would have medical offices, including the Culmore Clinic, which is housed at First Christian Church.

The Culmore Clinic provides basic health services to lower-income adults three days a week. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic switched to a telemedicine model, said Lorraine Creeley, special projects manager.

That has been challenging, however, as many patients have limited internet access, Creeley said. The population served by the Culmore Clinic tends to be essential workers who live in crowded apartments prone to COVID outbreaks. The clinic partners with Neighborhood Health to provide COVID testing.

Wesley Housing is a “full-service community neighbor,” said Rosa Estrada, senior project manager. She said the company provides assistance with food and utilities to residents, as well as enrichment programs like gardening and socialization.

If the Board of Supervisors agrees to add the proposal to the comprehensive plan work program, Wesley will file an application to have the property rezoned from R-3 (allowing three homes per acre) to R-5, plus applications for zoning special exceptions to allow multifamily housing and medical offices, attorney Noah Klein told the BC7RC.

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The units in the senior housing building will be about 600 to 900 square feet; most will have one bedroom, and some will have two, Estrada said.

Tenants will have incomes that are between 40 and 80 percent of the area median income. The rent would be about $1,100 to $1,200 a month, although none of those details have been finalized, said Shelley Murphy, president of Wesley Housing.

Wesley Housing and First Christian are planning to reach out to community residents to address concerns raised by a Mason District task force and the Ravenwood Park community about the need for a tree buffer and improved stormwater drainage.

In response to a comment from a resident who worries about declining property values, Murphy said, “studies have shown affordable housing doesn’t negatively impact property values, as long as the property is attractive and well run and fits in well with the community.”

Pastor Steven Moore of First Christian Church said “our essential workers are the ones who would retire into a community such as this.” He said it’s people like retired nurses, teachers, and firefighters who need affordable senior housing.