A Church Above, 144 Affordable Homes Around It: How an Arlington Congregation Rebuilt on Its Own Land

• Central United Methodist Church and APAH built an eight-storey building at 4201 Fairfax Drive, Arlington
• It contains 144 committed affordable rental homes, including 15 for households at or below 30% of area median income
• The $84 million project was financed partly by the church’s land lease proceeds
• The church gained a new sanctuary, classrooms, kitchen and an expanded preschool

Across the street from the Ballston-MU Metro station in Arlington, Virginia, a Methodist congregation has rebuilt itself inside a block of affordable homes. Central United Methodist Church and the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) developed an eight-storey mixed-use building at 4201 Fairfax Drive, which celebrated its grand opening in April 2024, according to the church.

The building holds 144 committed affordable rental homes. Fifteen are for households earning 30 per cent of area median income or less, 60 for those at 50 per cent or less and 69 at 60 per cent. The mix includes 24 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom apartments for families.

The church kept a home in the building: a condominium of about 26,699 square feet with a sanctuary equipped for live-streaming, offices, classrooms, a music suite, a commercial kitchen and a fellowship hall. The Kinhaven School’s expanded space serves about 90 children with preschool and infant daycare.

The project cost $84 million. It was financed through 4 per cent low-income housing tax credits, Virginia Housing loans, proceeds from the church’s land lease, church fundraising and Truist Bank. Davis Construction was general contractor and DCS Design the architect. Ground was broken on 9 December 2021. Site contractor W.B. Hopke, which laid water, sewer and drainage lines, described the building as about 80 to 85 per cent complete in January 2023.

The Ballston model shows how a church on valuable land near transit can use a long lease to fund a new worship space while adding a large number of affordable homes. The congregation did not have to sell; it traded development rights for a modern building and a new role in the neighbourhood.

Jamaican churches in growing town centres, from Half Way Tree to May Pen, face similar choices about ageing buildings on prime land. For church boards at home and diaspora congregations in the Washington area, Arlington offers a detailed template: combine tax credits, housing finance and land lease income so a church can rebuild and house families at the same time.

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