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Citing the City of Falls Church’s vision statement, charter and comprehensive plan, all affirming diversity as an important community objective, the Falls Church City Council voted in the wee hours of Tuesday morning to approve an ambitious plan to build a new, sevenstory building with 174 affordable housing rental units in downtown Falls Church. Virtually the only item on the agenda in what became a six-hour marathon until 1:20 a.m., the City Center South Apartments project was approved and will now press forward toward hoped-for Virginia Housing Development Authority approval next year. It could represent the proverbial “third time is a charm” for Carol Jackson, executive director of the Falls Church Housing Corporation, who has been working tirelessly for most of the decade to get a significant affordable housing project built in the City. The need for such a project was underscored amid the hours of public petitioning, City staff and Council comments at Monday’s (which became Tuesday’s) meeting. Even with all the new mixed use development approved in last 10 years, there have been only 36 new affordable units added to the City’s stock. That is compared to hundreds of units already lost to renovations, rate hikes or demolition, with almost all of the City’s 600 remaining affordable dwellings at risk. It was also stressed that affordable housing is not the same as low-income housing. In Continued on Page 4