Interim agreement approved for affordable housing at Franconia Governmental Center site

The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) took a procedural step forward last week in the controversial effort to redevelop the Franconia Governmental Center for affordable housing.

Authority members voted nearly unanimously on Thursday (Oct. 17) to approve an interim agreement with a consortium that is seeking to redevelop the 3.26-acre parcel at 6121 Franconia Road.

Though necessary to move forward, the vote was essentially administrative in nature, according to Tom Fleetwood, director of the county’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

“This is a very narrow action,” he told authority members.

It allows staff to begin negotiating with Franconia Development Partners — a partnership between SCG Development Partners, NFP Affordable Housing Corp. and Good Shepherd Housing — on its proposal to build 120 apartments and ground-floor community space.

“This is a very long process in terms of negotiating the business deal,” Fleetwood said.

Most of the details had been discussed during an Oct. 10 special meeting of the authority, but on Oct. 17, a number of critics of the project turned up at the Fairfax County Government Center to again put their concerns on the record.

“This has been so underhanded,” Amy Duncan said, voicing her opposition to the project moving forward.

Duncan said she and other residents of the area are supportive of affordable housing, but only if it’s done right and with true community engagement.

“What I see here is very disturbing,” she said. “There has not been a lot of transparency.”

Elaine Anderegg called the proposal a “giant scam” that would benefit the developers but not the community, while several speakers wanted language included in the motion that would limit the units to those who currently live or work in Fairfax County.

“Fairfax County taxpayers should be taking care of those people first,” said Joy Wahler, representing the North Franconia Civic Association .

Several speakers also voiced concern that the project, which developers have pitched as “workforce housing” for those earning between 50% and 80% of the area median income (AMI), would be used for other housing purposes.

Their comments resonated with Paul Zurawski, the Springfield District representative on the 11-member housing authority.

Zurawski, who ultimately cast the lone vote against the agreement, voiced concern that previous commitments made by county staff and political leaders might not be met.

“How do we ensure that what we have told the public is reflected in the final agreement?” he asked staff. “We need to make clear that if we said it, we meant it.”

Fleetwood said feedback from FCRHA members “will inform the deal” that’s negotiated. But that wasn’t good enough for Zurawski, who said he planned to come up with specific language to direct staff in the negotiating process. But he will need a majority on the authority to go along with him.

In all, four speakers opposed the proposal. Supporters weighed in at a public hearing last month but didn’t make an appearance for last week’s vote. As is typical for its meetings, the FCRHA commission only took in-person testimony, and the meeting wasn’t livestreamed — another point of contention for the critics, who said it undermined transparency.

Knowing which way the vote was headed and having had their say a week before, commissioners who supported the measure also were silent during the brief staff presentation that preceded the vote.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors transferred the parcel to the FCRHA in May, a precursor to its use for affordable housing. The Franconia Governmental Center’s operations will move to a new site on Beulah Street, where it’ll be co-located with the Franconia District Police Station, Kingstowne Regional Library and other public facilities.

Construction on the new governmental center is underway, and the move is expected to occur next year.