The traditional oath taken by doctors has applicability in life generally as well as the field of medicine. All to often, a call for "the greater good" is twisted to mean the more powerful get what they want at the expense of the weak. The well-connected Foulger-Pratt development firm, aided by an army of eight affiliates, wants to seize - at no cost to them - what they refer to as an "underutilized property." Their stated goal is to build affordable apartments on top of a shell that someday might be a library. Sounds plausible, but what really is happening here?
The "underutilized property" is Bowman Towne Court in Reston - home to thirty families for over three decades. It is one of the most successful affordable housing projects in Virginia, a showcase of what can be done to give all our citizens not just housing, but a home and a community. The families in this neighborhood have raised generations of children in three bedroom townhouses surrounded by green space and a playground. The community takes pride in their homes. As one resident notes, "Robert E. Simon donated land in Reston for low income families to have a place to call home, to raise children and watch them grow in a safe environment. I am grateful to him for his vision and hope Bowman Towne Court continues to be a home for my family and for future families."
By adding a library to the proposal - a terrible idea and one where the taxpayers will bear the full cost for an inadequate facility - the developer can claim significant tax credits Although the developer has been working with County officials for over a year and a half, neither the developer nor the County chose to inform the residents that their homes would soon be bulldozed and they would be dispersed across the County for several years before being given the option of returning, not to a townhome, but to an apartment in an overly dense apartment building. It gets worse. Residents say that for several years the County has not provided the required upkeep and repair needed to fully maintain their neighborhood. They believe the County has been allowing their properties to deteriorate to justify now condemning them.
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Affordable housing is a priority in Reston and there will be over 350 new affordable units built in the immediate area around Bowman Towne Court in the next few years - units that will be built without forcing anyone out of their home. Foulger-Pratt can shift this project to any of several County owned properties in the greater Reston area. All of these areas are larger than the one here, which would permit some open and green space for the future residents. - something the developer admits it won't be able to provide at the Bowman Towne location. Foulger-Pratt has an opportunity to do the right thing - leave Bowman Towne Court to the families that have been there for decades and go elsewhere. I hope they take it.
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