Arlington County Board members on April 20 took another procedural step forward in shifting ownership of the Reevesland farmhouse in the Boulevard Manor neighborhood to Habitat for Humanity of Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia.
That, in turn, will pave the way for the property to be renovated, expanded and used as a group home, and will end a nearly quarter-century saga where the use of the property effectively has remained in limbo.
Saturday’s action does not, by itself, lead to the property’s sale. But it is another step in a process that began in 2020, when Habitat and the County Board signed a letter of intent on the initiative.
Because the parties aim to use federal funding for the renovation effort, additional steps including environmental-impact and historic-preservation findings are required. Representatives of the Reeves family and the Boulevard Manor Civic Association also are involved in the ongoing process along with the county government, Habitat and its partners, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
The farmhouse, located at 400 North Manchester St., was acquired by the county government for $1.8 million shortly after the death of its last owner, Nelson Reeves. Reeves, who died in 2000, had been born in the house 99 years before and for much of his adult life operated the site’s dairy farm, the third generation of ownership dating back to the 1860s.
For years after the purchase, the property languished, with the county government seemingly unable to decide what to do with it. After three years of discussions, the county government and Habitat for Humanity in early 2020 inked the letter of intent to transform the property into a group home for L’Arche of Greater Washington, but the arrival of COVID just weeks later sent that momentum into limbo.
Earlier this year, County Board members approved procedural steps moving closer toward consummation of the deal. A Habitat for Humanity spokesman told the GazetteLeader then that the organization expects to take ownership this year.
Habitat’s plans call for a two-story addition on the south side of the property and a one-story addition at the southwest side, which combined with the main house will provide for seven bedrooms and make the property compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
