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Fairfax staff say county is approaching 35% of 10,000-unit affordable housing goal; homelessness response updates planned
Summary
HCD staff told the Housing Committee that the county is nearing 35% of its 10,000-net-new affordable housing target, reported active shelter and leasing plans for permanent supportive housing, and debuted a public-facing affordable housing video and dashboard features.
The Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development told the County's Housing Committee on Nov. 26 that the county is approaching 35% of its 10,000-net-new affordable housing goal when counting delivered units, projects under construction and the immediate pipeline.
Tom Fleetwood, of HCD, briefed the committee on homelessness response and housing production. He said a temporary overnight shelter in Reston is open, staff are preparing a former extended-stay property to serve as a new family shelter, and the county is working with Supervisors Alcorn and Stewart on replacements for the Rucker and Kennedy shelters. Fleetwood said a partnership among the housing authority, the state, Pathway Homes and the Community Services Board will provide 300 new slots for permanent supportive housing; he said MOU negotiations with the state had been largely resolved and leasing could begin in the spring, although a few issues remain.
Fleetwood also walked through the housing pipelines: delivered units since 2020, more than 1,400 units under construction, nearly 1,000 units in predevelopment and over 600 units in conceptual stages. He said the county has issued a notice of funding availability in direct support of production and preservation tied to the 10,000-unit goal, and that updated relocation guidelines for multifamily housing have been released for public comment with an anticipated Housing Committee review in March.
Allison Pierce, HCD marketing and outreach manager, introduced an animated video and a YouTube playlist intended to humanize residents who use county housing programs. She said the animation is inspired by real residents and asked committee members to share the resource; "they are not real people, but they are certainly inspired by real people," she said.
Committee members asked about dashboard capabilities, with staff confirming an Affordable Housing Dashboard — including mapping by ADU and WDU location and district-level production — is expected by year-end. Members also raised budget questions about how much annual funding will be required to meet the 10,000-unit goal; staff said a fuller response will be provided through the budget Q&A process.
The committee recessed that segment and moved to the WDU administrative guidelines briefing.
