To attract millennials, Loudoun County wants to build housing they can afford

As the demographics of people moving to the suburbs shifts, Loudoun County is attempting to create more housing options to address would-be residents’ unmet needs. While Loudoun has grown at a fast pace over the past few years, like many jurisdictions in the region it has an affordable housing crunch, and many young adults can’t afford to live in the area.

From 2017 to 2018, Loudoun was the fastest-growing county in Virginia with a 2.5% increase. The population grew by 9,855 people to a total of 406,850, according to Patch. However, housing is very expensive, and county leaders want to make sure there are options that young families, workers, and adults over 55 can afford, as well as homes for people living in intergenerational households.

According to the county’s 2019 General Plan, “housing affordability and attainability remain a significant challenge in the County and the region,” and “limited housing supply and high demand present difficulties for employers in attracting employees and contribute to workforce instability, especially in lower paying industries.”

What do millennials want in a neighborhood?

As an age group, millennials encompass a large swath of people. Ranging in age from 24-39, most millennials entered the workforce during the peak of an economic recession, which has shaped many resulting life choices, according to Pew Research.

In 2018, the Urban Land Institute surveyed 1,369 millennials living in cities and suburbs within the Beltway, 62% in DC and 38% in Virginia or Maryland. It found that for many millennials, affordability and experience-based lifestyles are two main factors in their decisions. Only one-third of responders owned a house, and 57% of renters felt they would have to move beyond the Beltway to find affordable housing, according to the report.

Over half of respondents rated walkability and proximity to good transit service as “critical” in a neighborhood, and access to restaurants, retail stores and overall vibrancy as “desirable.” millennials are more likely to spend money on experiences rather than materials, according to Yolanda Cole, senior principal and owner of Hickok Cole Architects and chair of the report.

“It’s really that whole ‘experiential thing’ that they’re interested in,” Cole said.

In the past few years urban growth has been slowing in much of the US (though DC and Richmond are exceptions), and people are moving to suburban counties at greater rates than they are to nearby urban counties. Part of the issue is the high cost of housing and the lack of housing supply—many cities simply don’t have enough affordable options, so some young adults might be moving to suburban areas even if an urban location was their first choice, according to analysis from Governing writer Mike Maciag.

Loudoun County lacks affordable housing

In Loudoun County, the median age of a resident is 35.8, and the median annual household income is $129,588. In DC, an average resident is similar in age but the median household income was $82,604 in 2018, according to the US Census. In the US overall, it was $59,039. Yet young adults tend to be burdened by student loan debt, and millennials in the DC area have an especially high balance.

In an attempt to become a more accessible place to live, Loudoun County’s new comprehensive plan includes an “Unmet Housing Needs Strategic Plan,” which addresses improving transportation, promoting economic development, and creating new urban developments, among other things.

Currently, over 82% of Loudoun’s housing stock is built in a traditional suburban single-family style, its Comprehensive Plan shows. Studio and one-bedroom apartments, which tend to be more affordable and desirable to young adults, comprise only 6% of the housing stock.

Loudoun’s goal in its new comprehensive plan is to make the county a place where people of a variety of backgrounds can not only work, but also afford to live, according to Valmarie Turner, the county’s Assistant Administrator.

“We don’t want to be a community that says ‘you can work here, but you can’t live here,’” Turner said. “When we’re looking at the continuum, we’re looking at how we can create housing options for individuals at 0% to 100% of area median income.”

Will building affordable housing work for millennials?

One of the biggest challenges in drawing people to a suburb outside the Beltway is time spent on transportation. Most parts of Loudoun County, for instance, are approximately one hour away by car from the District. Since so much of the area is zoned for single-family homes only, it doesn’t have the density needed to support good transit and walkable neighborhoods.

Residents do have some transit options: The Loudoun commuter bus or the Metro connection bus service which links to Wiehle-Reston East and West Falls Church on the Silver Line. As a part of the Dulles Rail Project, the Silver Line is expected to be extended to have a stop in Loudoun County. A completion date has not yet been set for Phase 2 of the project.

Nonetheless, getting around car-free is not as easy as it is in more dense areas, and the decision to move to a suburb outside the Beltway is dependent on peoples’ priorities, Cole says.

“It’s really a job-housing balance,” Cole said. “How far your job is from your house is what keeps you driving versus taking some kind of public transportation. There is a point where the distance and time to travel in and out outweighs you being able to get an extra room in your house.”

Job centers such as Tysons may lure workers to nearby Loudoun as permanent residents. At the end of the day, though, it is difficult to predict where the large diverse population of millennials will settle.

“I don’t know if there’s a definitive answer,” Cole said. “I think there are people who love the city because they like the energy and amenities that cities provide. Other people are attracted to how they grew up. If they grew up in the suburbs they feel more comfortable with more space and privacy.”