On Friday, August 27, Kim Hart, Executive Director of the Windy Hill Foundation, hosted dedication ceremonies marking the completion of "Virginia Lane," a complex of 7 duplex housing units that now graces the western entrance to Middleburg on Route 50.

Designed by architect Bill Turnure and approved by the town's Historic Review Committee, the complex now provides modern, clean, safe, beautifully designed and affordable housing for more than 30 people, including members of our local police, fire and rescue squads.

Derek and Andrea Summers and their two little girls Kaya and Acacia May are typical new tenants. Derek works in Purcellville at the Hayes Stair Co., and Andrea is going to Northern Fairfax Community College. Before moving to Virginia Lane, they lived in a small basement apartment with only one window. Now they have 6 windows downstairs alone and a view with trees. Derek says the reasonable rents allow him to better provide for his family, allowing Andrea to continue her education and pursue her dream of becoming a midwife, while their two little girls will enjoy new friends next door and a much safer place to live and play.

On Dedication Day, supported by the music of the Golden Tones, Windy Hill's Kim Hart expressed the Foundation's special thanks and gratitude to all those who'd made the project possible. Virginia Gunnell contributed the 7 acres on which the project was built, one of the largest gifts of its kind in the history of Middleburg. Robert H. Smith's substantial challenge grant inspired an extraordinarily successful fund-raising effort. Congressman Frank Wolf worked hard to secure a $325,000 federal Housing and Urban Development grant. Their efforts, and those of a list of contributors that filled some four pages in the dedication-day program, have meant that nearly $2.6 million of the project's $2.8 million dollar budget has already been raised.

An open-house tour of the Virginia Lane complex revealed well-designed, modern amenities tucked away inside classic, traditional exteriors.

Built to replace housing so dilapidated, unsanitary and unsafe that it had to be demolished, the new duplexes feature comfortable and sun-lit rooms and safe parking facilities well off the busy Route 50 roadway. For energy efficiency as well as easy maintenance, a central heating and cooling unit for all the units is housed in a small outbuilding resembling a one-room school. An extension of the Middleburg town limits to include the Virginia Lane site meant that tenants can enjoy town water and sewer service, while septic drain fields are therefore unnecessary, allowing the preservation of vital wetland areas. Outdoor lighting at Virginia Lane was also designed to keep to an absolute minimum any light pollution of the Middleburg night sky.

Rents at Virginia Lane are "affordable," but different from the sliding-scale and sometimes subsidized rents in other Windy Hill Foundation projects. Virginia Lane rents are fixed. A 1-bedroom there rents for $450 a month; a 3-bedroom unit for $700. Comparable housing in Middleburg can sometimes be found at $600-$800 per month, but rents of $1,000 a month are more typical. Larger, 2- or 3-bedroom apartments in Middleburg typically rent for as much as $1,500-$2,000 a month.

In order to qualify for a Virginia Lane rental, one must already be living or working within a 10-mile radius of Middleburg. A single tenant may qualify if they have an annual income in the $18,000 to $36,000 per year range. A couple may qualify if they together earn no more than $45,000 and pay no more than 1/3 of their income for housing.

There are no rent subsidies applied to the Virginia Lane units, so they are not meant to serve the very poor. "Safe, clean, decent, rent-stable housing must be made available if people of moderate means are to focus on other aspects of their life," says Administrator Stephanie Foran. In such cases, she notes, "The Windy Hill Foundation provides help that is a hand up, not really a handout."

Indeed, Windy Hill is committed to helping residents achieve financial independence, through both education and by helping tenants build sustaining careers. The Foundation sponsors a number of Family Programs, including an after-school club, parenting and computer classes, and a summer youth camp.

Former Town Council member Mark Tate describes the Foundation's work as ". . . a model of affordable housing for the nation."

"There is always a waiting list at Windy Hill," says Kim Hart, "but it is still a good idea to call and put your name on it. If there are 5 people on the list and a place becomes available, 3 people may have moved out of the area."

For more information on Windy Hill and Virginia Lane, call the Foundation at 540-687-3997.