Alexandria Chosen as One of 15 Cities for Bloomberg Housing Grant of Up to $750,000

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria has been chosen as one of 15 cities to receive grant funding and expert support through a Bloomberg Philanthropies housing initiative, Mayor Alyia Gaskins announced Friday. The city will receive up to $750,000 to improve permitting and help move affordable housing projects forward.

“Fifteen of those cities will receive new funding, as well as technical assistance and expert support,” Gaskins said in a video posted October 16. “Alexandria is one of those 15 cities.”

The award offers help with a challenge that touches nearly every part of community life: making room for the people who teach Alexandria’s children, answer emergency calls, collect its trash, staff its restaurants and keep its small businesses running.

“We also know that we want to make sure that all of our residents are able to live here, grow here, and stay here in the city they love,” Gaskins said.

The city’s announcement places the funding between $450,000 and $750,000. It will come with operational assistance through Accelerator for America and other specialists, including Public Digital, to help translate housing reforms into results.

Helping housing move from plans to reality

Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses the philanthropic work of Michael R. Bloomberg, the businessman and former three-term mayor of New York City. Its work includes public health, education, the environment, the arts and government innovation, with programs that help local governments strengthen their ability to solve problems.

The housing initiative draws on approaches developed in San Diego, Austin and Atlanta: accelerating permitting, expanding accessory dwelling units and coordinating government teams to move housing projects through obstacles. Funding can support technology, permit-ready designs and staff capacity, depending on the approach a participating city adopts.

Gaskins emphasized improving Alexandria’s approval process.

“We will receive up to $750,000 to help improve our permitting and help streamline our processes to make it easier to advance affordable housing development in our city,” she said.

In her video, Gaskins said the support will help advance the city’s Housing 2040 plan, its One Start initiative and a development pipeline that includes 25 affordable housing developments. That figure describes developments, rather than individual apartments.

She also described an existing relationship with Bloomberg Philanthropies, including participation in its mayoral leadership programs. More than 60 city staff members have received training through those programs, she said.

The new award is intended to help get housing approved and moving. It is not an announcement of direct rental assistance for individual households.

The cost of calling Alexandria home

Alexandria’s own 2026 legislative package puts the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment at approximately $2,200. To keep that rent at 30 percent of gross household income, a household would need to earn $88,000 a year.

The same city document reports that nearly 60 percent of Alexandrians rent their homes and almost half of those households are burdened by housing costs.

Buying a home presents another substantial hurdle. July 2026 sales figures reported by ALXnow from MarketStats by ShowingTime put the average condominium sale price at $550,390 and the average detached single-family sale price at $1,323,944. Those figures reflect properties sold during one month and can fluctuate with the mix of homes changing hands.

The city’s annual assessments provide a broader reference point. As of January 1, 2026, Alexandria’s average assessed condominium value was $460,185, while the average assessed single-family home value was $1,045,750. Assessed values are different from sale prices, but both measures demonstrate the financial challenge facing prospective homeowners.

And the purchase price is only part of a homeowner’s bill. Property taxes, insurance, maintenance and, for condominium owners, association fees also must fit into the household budget.

What the people who keep Alexandria running earn

Virginia’s minimum wage is $12.77 an hour in 2026. For someone working 40 hours every week of the year, that amounts to $26,561.60 before taxes. A $2,200 monthly rent totals $26,400 annually—approximately 99 percent of that worker’s gross pay.

Pay varies considerably by occupation, experience and education. The following published benchmarks illustrate that range; starting salaries and advertised ranges are identified separately from averages.

* ACPS 2026–27 salary schedule; starting teacher with a bachelor’s degree on a 195-day contract.

** Alexandria Police Department recruitment page; Police Officer I starting salary.

*** Alexandria Fire Department recruitment page; Firefighter I starting salary.

**** City of Alexandria refuse collector job posting, January 2026; advertised salary range.

***** Hyring’s reproduction of May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data; mean annual wage for retail salespeople in the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metropolitan area.

****** Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025; mean hourly wages for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metropolitan area.

Regional averages cover the broader metropolitan area, not Alexandria alone.

At the city’s $2,200 one-bedroom rent benchmark, housing would take approximately 46 percent of a beginning teacher’s gross pay, 44 percent of a starting firefighter’s pay and 35 percent of a starting police officer’s pay. For a retail salesperson earning the regional average, it would take about 67 percent.

At full-time, year-round hours, the regional food-service wage would produce approximately $43,618 annually, while the cleaning and maintenance wage would produce approximately $42,224. Actual earnings depend on hours worked.

These comparisons assume one paycheck supporting the household. They do not account for a second income or assistance, and they leave taxes, groceries, transportation, child care and other expenses still to be paid. Families needing more than one bedroom face a different housing bill.

Affordable housing is also a small-business issue

The need extends to the people behind Alexandria’s storefronts, including small business owners.

A business’s sales are not its owner’s take-home pay. Rent for commercial space, payroll, supplies, insurance and other operating costs all compete for revenue before an owner can pay personal expenses.

There is no single salary that meaningfully describes all small business owners. Federal occupational wage estimates also exclude self-employed workers, leaving their circumstances outside many standard wage comparisons.

For a restaurant employee, shopkeeper, cleaner or business owner, access to housing near work can determine whether building a life in Alexandria is financially possible.

The Bloomberg award will not close the gap between wages and housing costs overnight. Its potential lies in helping Alexandria move projects forward more efficiently, strengthening the city’s ability to deliver additional homes.

Gaskins said that kind of problem-solving was part of her purpose in seeking office.

“I want to help unleash the creativity and innovation that I know is possible inside City Hall,” she said.

For the people who keep Alexandria running, the lasting measure of this investment will be whether more of them can afford to call it home.