The Connection

In a vacant lot that was once the Woodley-Nightingale Mobile Home Park in Mount Vernon, officials are preparing to break ground on North Hill, a development project consisting of apartments, senior living apartments, townhomes and a park to upgrade an area of Hybla Valley along Richmond Highway.

The 33-acre North Hill site is across from Lockheed Boulevard in an area that is dominated by car dealerships, fast food and quick shop retail outlets that dot this section of highway. North Hill will consist of 216 affordable apartments, 63 affordable senior independent living apartments, 175 market rate townhomes and a 12-acre public park.

Supervisor Dan Storck (D-Mount Vernon) is looking at the project as a plus on all fronts for his district. “The development of the North Hill site is a game-changer. It will bring much-needed affordable and market rate housing to Richmond Highway and support the area’s overall revitalization effort,” Storck said.

The North Hill price tag is $124 million. Fairfax County says it will be built as part of the Public Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA), and financed through a public-private partnership with the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The FCRHA’s contributions have included awarding 68 federal project-based vouchers and $4.4 million in local dollars for the affordable housing development – or about $16,000 per apartment, county information stated.

North Hill is part of a bigger plan called EMBARK Richmond Highway. Embark Richmond Highway is described by the county as an initiative to provide multimodal transportation solutions and create opportunities for economic development in the Richmond Highway Corridor. There are nine areas of concentration in EMBARK, each surrounding a bus rapid transit station. One of them is called “Lockheed Boulevard,” that contains

North Hill as well.

In early June, a North Hill project update letter was sent out confirming funding for the project was secured, and “construction on the site is expected to begin within the next three weeks.” Crews were clearing the site earlier this month, so the ball is rolling for this improvement for Hybla Valley. Construction is expected to take two years, so people will move in fall 2022, the county said.

The development partner on the project is CHPPENN, LLC. The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority selected the developer through the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act, which is a competitive selection process, the county said. The CHPPENN, LLC team is a partnership between the Virginia-based Community Housing Partners and Pennrose, a Philadelphia-based developer.