[Archived] City Maintains Section 8 Housing at Foxchase Apartments; AIMCO and HUD Announce Agreement to Retain Section 8 Program

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

The City of Alexandria, the owners of Foxchase Apartments --- AIMCO and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) held a joint press conference earlier today to announce that Foxchase Apartments will continue to offer Section 8 housing.

AIMCO’s contract with HUD to Housing Assistance Payments was scheduled to expire in November 2000. Without a renewal, the City of Alexandria would lose 10 percent of its low income and affordable housing stock, or approximately 423 units of housing that currently serve elderly and disabled residents.

Following numerous discussions, AIMCO and HUD have agreed to extend their partnership for another five years, which helps to ensure a diverse housing market. The agreement was announced during a 1 p.m. press conference held at Foxchase Apartments.

"This is really a success story and a major victory for the City that is consistent with our commitment to ensuring affordable housing for all residents," Alexandria Mayor Kerry J. Donley said.

"This partnership works because we have a corporate entity, AIMCO, that is committed to providing safe and affordable housing and a federal government agency, HUD, that really stepped forward to protect the City’s affordable housing stock," Donley said.

Under the agreement, AIMCO will enroll in HUD’s federal program called Mark-Up-to-Market, which increases HUD’s subsidies to market rates --- based on a rent comparability study performed by an independent contractor --- for rental apartments and provides for annual rent increases.

"AIMCO is proud of its relationship with the residents of Foxchase Apartments, HUD and the City of Alexandria and we’re pleased to renew this contract and ensure continued stable, affordable housing for our residents," AIMCO’s Regional Vice President David Zweig said. "We look forward to a future of continued high standards at Foxchase Apartments."

AIMCO has been a participant in HUD’s Section 8 program since 1981. In the program, tenants pay 30% of their income for rent and HUD subsidizes the remaining rental costs. However, those costs did not consistently equal the market rates for rental apartments.

However, through the Mark-Up-to-Market program, AIMCO will now receive full market rates through increased HUD subsidies.

"Around the country, over the next five years, we’ve got a million units of Section 8 housing that are coming to the end of their agreements," HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary Shaun Donovan said. "At the end of those agreements, owners can choose to maintain their properties as affordable housing or raise their rents to whatever the market will bear.

"We all know that rents are rising and it has been increasingly difficult to try and keep units affordable around the country," Donovan said.

"That’s why we’re celebrating AIMCO’s continued partnership with HUD today through the Mark-Up-to-Market program," he said. "It’s working here in Alexandria and we believe it can work around the country."