279-Unit Fairfax Crest Opens on Former Government Center Parking Lot

Fairfax County officials gathered on Monday (Oct. 26) to open a housing development built on a former parking lot beside the Fairfax County Government Center.

Fairfax Crest, located at 12020 and 12040 Government Center Parkway, contains 279 units ranging from one to three bedrooms. Lincoln Avenue Communities developed the project in partnership with the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Construction began less than two years ago.

The building holds EarthCraft Gold certification and carries rooftop solar power. Amenities include a playground, dog park, game tables, in-unit laundry, a fitness center, lounges, free internet access, and underground parking. An on-site childcare center will be operated by the Reston nonprofit Cornerstones.

Braddock District Supervisor Rachna Sizemore Heizer said the project converted underused parking areas into housing near transit, retail, and jobs. The land is owned by the housing authority, which bought it from the Board of Supervisors in early 2021 and holds it under a 99-year ground lease.

Capital One financed the construction. Stephanie Pierre-Louis, the company's head of community finance for the Mid-Atlantic region, said the financing package included more than $97 million in construction loans and over $67 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development also supported the project.

Fairfax Crest sits within the county's stated goal of producing 10,000 net new affordable homes by 2034. The county's affordable housing records list more than 20 projects under development or recently opened, including sites in the Braddock District and at the Franconia Government Center.

Lincoln Avenue Communities is working with the housing authority on two all-affordable high-rises totaling 525 homes on a vacant site on Leesburg Pike in Tysons Central. The housing authority also acquired parcels at 3625 and 3627 King Johns Way in the McNair area south of Herndon for about $23 million; the nearly 2-acre site is estimated to support about 400 affordable units.

Proposals for affordable housing are also being weighed alongside renovations at the Centreville Regional Library and the Chantilly Regional Library. The adopted fiscal year 2027 capital improvement plan earmarks $53 million for Chantilly and $37 million for Centreville through Economic Development Authority bonds.

The Board of Supervisors transferred the Centreville library site to the housing authority at the end of September. That transfer allows the housing authority to identify a developer and evaluate the proposal.