Photo caption: Partners, community members, residents and Arlington County Board members Christian Dorsey and Libby Garvey joined AHC staff to celebrate Woodbury Park’s grand re-opening celebration. Photo: John Dawson, Harkins Builders
April 12, 2017
Built in the 1940s, Woodbury Park at Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. When AHC purchased the property in 1987, the 364-unit property doubled the young organization’s rental portfolio.
Thirty years later, the Colonial Revival apartment community again stands as a testament to Virginia’s rich, historical heritage. A comprehensive two-year renovation has both restored and updated the property’s classic features, which include a mix of red and blonde brick masonry, gabled and flat roofing, and porticoes at the buildings’ entrances.
Exterior improvements include repair and repainting of the seven large brick buildings, and new roofs, casement windows and plantings. Interior renovations include new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, and electrical systems. In warm months, the freshly re-bricked courtyard, with a water feature and plenty of comfortable benches, will serve as a central gathering place in the nine-acre community.
The renovation also provided an opportunity to turn under-utilized space into two new resident-oriented buildings – a leasing office and a community center with an exercise room and a gathering area with a large TV, game table, and plenty of seating.
Woodbury Park is one of the few affordable garden apartment communities in Arlington within walking distance of the Metro, jobs, shopping, and open green spaces. The tree-filled community, which includes 204 affordable apartments and 160 market-rate units, preserves much-needed, convenient living opportunities for a spectrum of individuals, including working families, senior citizens, and young people just starting careers.
The property also provides an extensive array of onsite programs for residents, including AHC’s year-round Resident Services’ education programs with After-School, Teen Tutoring and Summer Camp opportunities for youth. The apartment community also includes a Montessori school in the adjacent Frederick apartment building. One third of the students in the school are Woodbury/Frederick residents who receive scholarships.
AHC also partners with Arlington County and other nonprofit organizations to provide additional onsite services for Woodbury Park residents, including weekly food distribution through Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) and an office for Arlington’s Community Outreach Program three days a week.
The renovation was funded through a combination of financial tools, including Historic Tax Credits, and did not require use of Arlington’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund.
Project partners include: Burke & Herbert Bank and Trust Company; Capital One, NA; Collins Kronstadt O’Neill and Partners, LLP: Cynthia Ferranto Landscape Design; EHT Traceries; Harkins Builders Inc.; Hudson Housing Capital; and Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA).
About AHC Inc.
AHC Inc., a nonprofit developer based in Arlington, VA, builds and preserves affordable and mixed-income housing in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. Since 1975, AHC has developed more than 8,200 apartments in the mid-Atlantic region, including 3,400 in Arlington. AHC’s Resident Services program reaches thousands of children, teens, adults, and seniors each year through onsite education and social service programs and activities.
Media Contact: Jennifer K. Smith, Director of Communications, jennifer.smith@ahcinc.org/ 703-486‑0626 x1118