ALEXANDRIA — The city broke ground Wednesday on Newport Village II, an eight-story, 383-unit apartment building that will replace two garden-style buildings at 4898 W. Braddock Road near Northern Virginia Community College.
City Council members Canek Aguirre and Sandy Marks attended the groundbreaking, the city said in a social media post Thursday.
The developer is UDR, a publicly traded apartment company that owns and manages the existing Newport Village complex next door at 4757 W. Braddock Road, according to its 2021 presentation to the city's housing committee.
The two buildings being replaced held 24 market-rate apartments. UDR provided relocation assistance to eligible residents under a city-approved relocation plan, according to the city's Office of Housing.
The city said the project will include space for the future West End Transitway, a shared-use path, sidewalk and streetscape improvements, ground-level open space, public art and money for a new Capital Bikeshare station.
The affordable units
City Council approved the project in February 2021 with 12 committed affordable units. UDR first offered them at 60% of the area median income, according to its January 2021 presentation to the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee. They were later set at 50% by converting what would have been a $418,608 contribution to the city's Housing Trust Fund, according to a 2025 city briefing.
City staff valued UDR's total affordable housing contribution at about $3.78 million, roughly $2.09 million more than the standard voluntary contribution, according to UDR's 2021 presentation, which cited the staff analysis. Most recent market-rate projects with affordable units on the city's list, including Montgomery Center, 901 North Pitt Street and the first phase of Landmark Mall, set theirs at 60% of the area median income.
The 12 units represent 5% of the additional density the project gained through rezoning, and the application predated the city's current rezoning housing policy, according to the 2025 city briefing. UDR's first concept plan was submitted in 2018, according to its 2021 presentation. The approval was extended in 2023.
In September 2025, UDR told the committee that financing for the new building could not support the 12 units, according to a city presentation. It proposed moving them into renovated apartments in the existing Newport Village buildings, with two options: 14 two-bedroom units, or 12 units made up of 10 two-bedrooms and two three-bedrooms. The approved plan's units were mostly one-bedrooms and studios. Both options would keep the units at 50% of the area median income.
The city's affordable housing project page, last updated in October 2025, lists the project with 12 units at 50% of the area median income and does not mention the proposed change.
Ryan Belmore is an Alexandria resident and the founder and publisher of The Alexandria Brief. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
