Fairstead and Partners Break Ground on $120 Million Redevelopment of Alexandria’s Historic ‘Samuel Madden Homes’ Public Housing Community
Fairstead to bring 207 residences to Alexandria, Virginia’s Old Town district
The redeveloped Samuel Madden complex is expected to be completed in 2027. (TortiGallas)
A developer has launched a ground-up affordable housing project in Alexandria, Virginia, that is set to create hundreds of new units in an area facing a shortage of modestly priced residences.
New York-based Fairstead held a ceremonial groundbreaking for its planned six-story, 295,000-square-foot mixed-use development outside Washington, D.C. The complex would replace the existing townhouses at the Samuel Madden Homes site in Alexandria’s historic Old Town district.
The redevelopment project secured $120 million in financing this year and is scheduled for completion in fall 2027.
At full build-out, the redevelopment project is expected to contain207 affordable housing residences reserved for families earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income. “Samuel Madden Homes affirms our commitment to addressing the nation’s housing challenges through strong partnerships and long-term investment,” Fairstead CEO Jeffrey Goldberg
said in a statement.
Four out of five extremely low-income renter households in the D.C. area are severely cost-burdened and spend over half their income on housing and utilities, according to an annual report that the National Low Income Housing Coalition published this year based on data from2023. There are only 26 affordable and available rental units per 100extremely low-income renter households in the region, the coalition said.
The Samuel Madden mixed-use development is slated to feature about7,500 square feet of open space and nearly 500 square feet of ground-floor community space, to be used as a food hub run by a local nonprofit group, according to Fairstead. Additional amenities and new features are expected to include a studio for podcast recording, a game room and an interior courtyard.
The housing on the site was originally constructed in 1945, in partnership with the federal government, to provide housing for Black government workers during World War II.
Fairstead owns and operates more than 26,000 apartments in 28states. In April, it disclosed plans to renovate the 65-unit Peaceful Village Apartments in Chesapeake, Virginia, located about 200 miles south of Alexandria, and earlier this fall shared plans for the revitalization of MacDonald Manor, a six-building, 152-unit complex also in Chesapeake.
For the record
Torti Gallas and Partners are handling architecture and landscaping, while Determined by Design is overseeing interior design. The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority and affordable housing development firm the Communities Group serve as partners for the project. Financial partners of the redevelopment include Boston Financial, Freddie Mac and Virginia Housing. Sterling Bank provided bridge financing, and the city of Alexandria provided a soft loan.
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