The Washington Post, Thursday, May 17, 2002
Subsidized Housing for Disabled Is Planned in Northern Virginia

$2.5 Million Herndon Project, part of Complex for Elderly, Would Fill Critical Need, Advocates Say

by William Branigan, Washington Post Staff Writer

An Alexandria-based nonprofit developer and its Minnesota-based partner are moving ahead with plans to build Northern Virginia's first subsidized housing designed specifically for the disabled, addressing what local governments and advocates say is a critical and growing need.

Wesley Housing Development Corp., of Alexandria, want to build the $2.5 million project in the McNair Farms neighborhood in Herndon as a part of a larger complex housing for the elderly. The complex, called Coppermine Place, is expected to cost about $10 million overall, using federal and local funds. When completed, the three-acre site would have a five-story, 67-unit apartment building for the elderly, who would pay about $650 a month for a one-bedroom apartment under a federal tax-credit program. A smaller building nearby would have 22 specially designed wheelchair-accessible units for low-income people with disabilities. They would pay 30 percent of their income in rent, with the rest funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under its Section 811 program for the disabled.

Wesley and its partner, Accessible Space Inc. of St. Paul, are seeking a $1.86 million HUD grant to help finance construction of the smaller building, a project backed by local officials and advocates for the disabled. Accessible Space, a nonprofit founded in 1978, has built 80 or so such projects nationwide, including one in Norfolk.

"We're very gratified that we're getting community support," said Alvin W. Smuzynski, president and CEO of Wesley, which is sponsored by area Methodist churches. He said that 10 homeowners groups around McNair Farms expressed approval of the idea at a community meeting last week. Wesley must now go through a lengthy rezoning process; Smuzynski said the company hopes to start construction late next year and complete the project by the end of 2003.

"The need for affordable housing for individuals with disabilities is enormous, Sen. John W. Warner (R-VA.) wrote in a letter supporting the groups' application to HUD. Others endorsing the project include Democratic officials from he Reston area as well as representatives of social service agencies in Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church.

"This Complex will be the first 100 percent accessible housing in Northern Virginia [for] very low income individuals with physical disabilities and traumatic brain injuries," said Mary Cocker, who chairs the Fairfax Area Disabilities Board. More than 4,000 disabled people are on waiting lists for subsidized housing in Fairfax County and Alexandria, she said. Many end up in nursing homes with much older people, said Barbara Gilley, who chairs the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities. "While the Coppermine project will only meet a tiny fraction of the need, it is the answer to a lot of prayers, ”she said.