Affordable Housing

A home is “affordable” when you can pay the rent and have money left over to pay for other needs. Housing costs should generally be about one-third of a household’s income. In Fairfax County, 44% of renters pay more than 30% of their income each month on housing. The current average rent for an apartment in the Herndon-Reston area is around $2,450 per month.

Seniors, growing in number faster than the regular population, are especially impacted by the lack of affordable housing as well as important members of our community: teachers, health care workers, police, fire and emergency personnel, etc.  

Affordable housing stabilizes family units, allows people to live where they work, contributes to the local economy, and provides opportunities for individuals and families of all income levels. Fairfax County could not thrive as a community without a housing market able to accommodate the diverse income range of all its workers. Affordable housing is not just an issue for the lower-income and underserved populations -- it is a vital resource which benefits everyone.

We are working with Fairfax County to discover if some of our under-utilized property can be leveraged to help people in the county afford to live in a decent home. These homes would be affordable for households earning incomes up to 60% of the Area’s Median Income (AMI), which is currently $108,300 for an individual, $123,750 for a couple, and $157,400 for a family of four. These homes would not be subsidized housing but something offered to qualified individuals at about 20% less than the current rental market rate.

We have spent over a year discerning new ways to grow and sustain our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We wish to better connect and serve our congregation and greater world. We are working to demonstrate God’s love in tangible ways by meeting key needs as identified by community members over the last year: food insecurity, after-school childcare, affordable housing, and meaningful connection with God and one another.  

“Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.” – Mother Teresa  

Our plans are still in the conceptual stage and no financial partner or builder has been identified. Last fall, a Feasibility Study with a potential design and financial plan was conducted by a graduate student at Georgetown University. After a period of discernment, we made the decision to move forward to engage with the larger community to discuss and hear concerns. At the same time that decision was made, however, we discovered Fairfax County had a bi-annual deadline of February 13th to submit paperwork to be considered in amending the comprehensive land-use plan. Not wanting to wait an additional two years to advance this initiative, we submitted the paperwork. The County is now in the process of determining whether this proposed amendment is worthy of further study and impact analysis, a process that can take at least one to two years.

We have reached out to the Franklin Farm Board and begun meeting with residents of the Franklin Farm community to better understand their concerns. We initiated conversation with the Board of Supervisors Sully District representative, Kathy Smith, to see if there are ways the County can help mitigate some of these concerns. This will be an ongoing process and there will be well-publicized community meetings in the following months to ensure everyone’s voice is heard and, if the project moves forward, mitigations put in place by the builder.

At this point, Fairfax County has not yet agreed to accept the proposal into a Work Program to conduct studies for possible inclusion into their Comprehensive Plan. More information can be found on the Fairfax County website but, in summary, the county has just entered what is referred to as the Screening Phase. The SSPA nominations accepted by the Board on March 4th will be reviewed by their staff who will hold a series of community meetings to ensure those living and working near the nominated sites know about the proposed changes and can provide early comments. The comments at the meetings will be summarized by staff and provided to the Planning Commission. The community meeting is to be held March 24, more information is available in the flyer link at the top of this page. Following the community meetings, the Planning Commission will hold a public meeting on the nominations in May 2025, during which staff and the nominators will provide presentations, and the public may provide comments. If the county chooses to accept the nomination for consideration into a Work Program, there will be a significant period of time in which they will study the area, conduct impact analyses, etc. These studies can take as long as two or more years to complete.  

Check this website for updates as they occur. You may also send an email to our board with any questions or comments. We will be happy to add you to our e-mail list to ensure that you receive updates as they become available.  You can sign up by clicking the teal button below.