Building Foundations for Dreams
In 2025, True Ground Housing Partners continued its mission to create safe, affordable homes and provide life-changing services for thousands across the DC region. Explore the stories, successes, and milestones that you made possible.
With strong leadership and the partnership of supporters like you, True Ground navigated 2025’s challenges with intention – centering residents’ long-term stability and remaining focused on what matters most: people and possibility.
affordable housing units owned
more units in development
among the nation’s Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers
Number of Residents We Serve
With a goal of 7,500 units by 2028, we are developing transformative projects to provide affordable homes in high-opportunity areas.
RESIDENT SERVICES:
Residents living at True Ground properties show resilience and perseverance while navigating often difficult circumstances. Our Resident Services team strives to build meaningful relationships, one resident at a time.
True Ground utilizes survey tools, resident feedback, and resulting data sets to tailor our priorities to residents’ self-identified needs. As a result, resident satisfaction and engagement are growing.
Maintaining residents’ housing stability allows True Ground to address other challenges or circumstances residents may face with more attention and precision. Our resident income snapshot below is the key data that drives our work.
Program Spotlight:
Resident Services Coordinator Kelley Vallecillo recognized many residents at Loudoun View qualified for additional financial support, but needed assistance navigating the process. She and the team partnered with residents and Loudoun Cares to secure $205,000+ in rental relief, stabilizing 31 households, and fostering independence and peace of mind. Multilingual support and navigation ensured all neighbors could maintain their homes and financial wellbeing.
Ms. Faridah Abdul-Latif, one of the first residents to move-in to Loudoun View in 2022, exemplifies leadership and community spirit. She volunteers at the building’s onsite food distribution, partnering with Loudoun Hunger Relief to foster unity and support among neighbors. As an active member of the Resident Council, Ms. Faridah has helped organize a Vision Care Fair across eight properties, broadening access to essential health resources. Her dedication and impact are celebrated in Serve Virginia, highlighting her role as a catalyst for positive change.
According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies report, State of the Nation’s Housing 2025, housing unaffordability is rising in older adults aged 65 and up, with more than 30 percent of households cost burdened. More than half of these households pay over 50 percent of their income for housing. True Ground recognizes and builds upon residents’ strengths, proactively connecting them with resources to help them independently achieve their goals. By championing housing stability, we honor the seniors’ capabilities as they lead fulfilling, dignified lives in vibrant communities.
FAST FACTS:
Program Spotlight:
Nearly 37 households participated in at least 3 art therapy sessions as well as tai chi and chair yoga. Residents across Ilda’s Overlook and Oakwood Meadow took 170+ shuttle trips – an average of more than three rides per week. We connected residents with groceries, nutritious supplemental food at The People’s Pantry, and affordable household essentials, as well as visits to museums, libraries, and unique destinations like an Amish market.
“Every day when I wake up, I’m always happy because I know that I’m impacting the residents’ lives.”
– Quinten,
Senior Resident Services Coordinator,
Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences
FAST FACTS:
The building reached its maximum height in July of 2025, and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027.
When complete, The Exchange will be the first 100% affordable community in Tysons, creating 516 homes and a new public community center.
Tysons is a high‑opportunity hub for jobs, transit, and amenities—but too often out of reach; this property expands affordable housing choices so more people can live near where they work and thrive.
Program Spotlight:
Thanks to a partnership with a multifamily condo owner and generous donor, several True Ground residents achieved homeownership for the first time. Eligible residents completed homeownership training, and the donor provided financing two percent lower than the market for the first 15 years of the mortgage. This replicable model also includes an assessment tool to capture best practices—offering a pathway for other property owners who wish to support homeownership.
“Having group activities inside this community room is such a great way for residents to get to know their neighbors.”
– Heather Welsh,
Resident Services Coordinator
FAST FACTS:
Program Spotlight:
Residents began planting in the community garden with the hopes to expand the program in 2026. The benefits of gardening for seniors, both in terms of physical and mental health are wide-ranging, including physical and mental fitness, and connecting more deeply with their neighbors.
“The best part of being a senior is living at Riggs Crossing. It has been everything I wanted and needed, and a place I can call Home. Riggs Crossing was a Gift from God.”
– Brenda R.,
Resident
FAST FACTS:
Program Spotlight:
The Street Outreach Network offered weekly boys’ and girls’ groups from mid-September to December, providing mentorship and essential items such as backpacks, as well as hair styling techniques and football camps. A water park trip in the summer created joyful, memorable experiences, strengthening community bonds.
“This was a fun and easy
way to learn how to run and start your own business. A opportunity that not every child is able to experience or get. The teacher who helped us during the Dare to Dream program was very kind and respectful which made the experience even more enjoyable for me as well as everyone else.
“
– Jaleisha J./p>
FAST FACTS:
True Ground Housing Partners takes immense pride in stewarding our financial resources to strengthen our communities, achieving an annual average revenue increase of 20% over the last five years. This growth is attributed to a combination of strategic initiatives to increase philanthropic outreach and a commitment to continue developing and managing award-winning properties. The positive financial trajectory has had a tangible impact on our work, raising over $20 million dollars this past year allowed us to extend our reach and support our residents and communities.
Consequently, we have grown to over $1.16 billion in assets, further enhancing our capacity to fulfill our mission, strengthening our position as a top affordable housing provider in our region.
Our ongoing commitment to excellence in operational efficiency helps to ensure our financial health for the future and the significant outcomes we are achieving.
While we are excited about the growth True Ground has experienced, we understand that the affordable housing market is constantly evolving. We reinvest a considerable amount of our income back into the organization, to help us realize our mission of delivering as many homes to as many members of the community as possible. This pragmatic approach is not only reasonable as we balance our growth, but it is essential to maintain the financial health and wellness of True Ground and the residents it serves.
Excellence in Affordable Housing Development – Unity Homes at Ballston (Developer/Owner: Central United Methodist Church; True Ground Housing Partners)
Best Large Affordable Housing Project: Unity Homes at Ballston
Your support has made a tangible impact—but there’s more work to do. Together, we can build a future where everyone has a place to call home.
True Ground does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, handicap or age in any of its activities or operations.
© Copyright 2026 Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing. All Rights Reserved.
True Ground is a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit | EIN 54-1515133 | 4318 N Carlin Springs Rd, Arlington, VA 22203
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