National publication Affordable Housing Finance has named Baltimore-based Enterprise Community Development and Fellowship Square’s joint project, Lake Anne House, as the 2023 “Best Overall Project” and “Best Senior Development” in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards program.
Lake Anne House was selected for its preservation of affordable housing that has enabled more than 300 culturally diverse, low-income residents to remain in Fairfax County, one of Virginia’s most expensive counties.
Lake Anne House is an eight-story concrete and steel building featuring 240 apartment homes for low-income seniors (age 62 and older) in Reston, Virginia. It replaced the Lake Anne Fellowship House, one of the first senior affordable housing communities in northern Virginia that was built in the 1970s.
The property was redeveloped by constructing a new building on an underutilized portion of the site to avoid relocating senior residents. This plan offered residents a one-time relocation and the developer the ability to create homes with improved accessibility, energy efficiency and new amenities.
The now-vacant east half of the site including the existing circa-1970 building has been demolished and the land has been sold for future townhomes. Proceeds from the sale of this land subsidizes the construction of the New Lake Anne senior building. Most importantly, the new Lake Anne House has enabled financially vulnerable older adults to age in place in northern Virginia for many years to come.
All 240 units serve low-income senior residents with incomes at or below 60% of AMI for at least 30 years. Each resident pays no more than 30 percent of their income toward their housing costs, including rent and a utility allowance.
Affordable Housing Finance received more than 120 entries and narrowed the field to 36 finalists in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Each finalist was profiled in the magazine’s August issue and readers were able to vote online for the winner in each of the 10 categories and the overall winner. Winners will be celebrated at AHF Live: The 2031 Affordable Housing Developers Summit in November in Chicago.
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