by Tom Chillemi –
The Middlesex Foundation plans to build 24 workforce housing apartments, a component of the Cooks Corner Revitalization Project.
The project has received $3 million in funding from multiple state and federal resources.
Housing, slated to be built in 2020, is only one part of this project that will transform the area, with a restaurant to be located in a historic building and an event center in the former Rappahannock Central Elementary School.
The housing model, which has been successful in Kilmarnock, is aimed at attracting skilled professionals to the area.
While five of the 24 units will be reserved for low-income families, half of the units will be open to all, provided there is not a waiting list for local government employees.
The “area median income” for a 4-person family in Middlesex County is $63,800, which is the middle—half incomes are higher and half are lower.
Five of those units will be reserved for “low income” households, defined as a family of 4 with an annual income of $51,000, explained Bruce DeSimone, chair of the Middlesex Foundation.
The starting pay for a Middlesex Public School teacher is $41,200 ($3,400 per month). The starting pay for a Middlesex deputy sheriff is $34,200 ($2,850 per month).
A low-income family would pay $813 a month for rent. The other 19 units would be rented for $900 a month, DeSimone told the Middlesex Board of Supervisors (BOS) in November, when the BOS voted to lease the 6-acre parcel to the foundation for $1 per year for 60 years. The county would collect real estate taxes on the land and buildings, said Middlesex County Administrator Matt Walker. Walker told the BOS that a key provision of the lease will require the Middlesex Foundation to report its budget and financial audit to the BOS on an annual basis. The lease also gives the BOS a considerable amount of control and oversight of the project, said Walker.
Priorities
The main goal of the workforce housing project is to provide affordable housing for those employed by local government. The first preference would be for employees of Middlesex County or Middlesex County Public Schools, said DeSimone. The second preference tier would be for government employees and school employees in immediately adjacent counties. The third preference tier would be for governmental or quasi-governmental agencies that serve the citizens of Middlesex, such as the Community Services Board (CSB) or the Agency on Aging.
If none of the above types of employees were waiting for an apartment, then it would be available to anyone who meets credit standards and has a satisfactory criminal history report.
All apartments have two bedrooms and two baths and total about 1,050 square feet.
DeSimone explained Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) funding requires that five units be at $813 a month, which is 80% of the county’s area median income, and seven units must be for 120% of the area median income, which is considered “moderate” income. The remaining units have no income limits. The housing is slated to be open in 2020.
Big picture
The workforce housing is one component of major redevelopment of the Cooks Corner area. The Cooks Corner Revitalization Project to date has received $3 million in funding from multiple state and federal resources. Governor Northam approved a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund, which is administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), and will be matched by funds from Middlesex County. In addition, the Governor approved $2.25 million in Vibrant Community Initiative funding and $480,000 in Industrial Revitalization Fund awards, both administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) has awarded $50,000 for a nature trail, and $200,000 to the Middlesex Foundation for the 24-unit workforce housing apartments. VHDA will also provide permanent land and grant financing for the apartments.
Water and sewer
The Cooks Corner area will be the first to receive central water and sewer lines, which are currently in the planning stages. This infrastructure will make possible a micro-brewery, restaurant, event center, as well as the housing development.
The public-private partnership will transform the area. A joint venture by Travis Croxton of Rappahannock Oyster Company (owner of Merroir on Locklies Creek) and Jay Shah of Shamin Hotels will transform vacant buildings in the area into a new commissary kitchen located in the former Rappahannock Central Elementary (RCE) School cafeteria. In addition, a new brewery and restaurant will be built in the relocated and renovated historic African-American school building, formerly known as the St. Clare Walker High School agriculture and vocational building. This historic building will be moved across Route 33 and be placed near the former elementary school.
The Cooks Corner revitalization is a model for other areas, indicated Governor Ralph Northam, when he and other officials visited the project site on March 25, 2019. “This portion of the Cooks Corner Revitalization Project builds on a number of other components aimed at injecting vitality into this region,” said Northam in March. “This is a team effort. No one can do this on their own.”
