Charles County Advances Three Affordable Housing Projects In Waldorf

LA PLATA, Md. — Three proposed affordable housing developments in Waldorf are moving forward in Charles County after commissioners voted Tuesday, March 3, 2026, to schedule a public hearing on the projects as part of the county’s Affordable Housing Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program.

The presentation was delivered by Dina Barclay, director of the Charles County Department of Community Services, Cathy Thompson, deputy director of Planning and Growth Management, and Jacob Dyer, director of Fiscal and Administrative Services, who outlined four applications totaling 439 proposed affordable housing units.

Following the presentation and discussion, commissioners agreed to advance the three highest-scoring projects — Eagle Point Phase 1, Lenville Crossing and Pine Way Village — for public review.

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Charles County Government Building, 200 Baltimore St., La Plata, and will be held both in person and virtually.

Addressing The Housing Shortage

According to the county’s 2025 Affordable Housing Report, Charles County currently has a shortage of about 1,180 affordable housing units.

County officials say building roughly 200 affordable homes each year would help close that gap over time.

Staff told commissioners the four proposed projects together would create 439 affordable units, which would represent more than one-third of the county’s current deficit.

How The PILOT Program Works

The county’s PILOT program offers developers tax abatements in exchange for building and maintaining affordable housing.

Projects can also receive additional points during evaluation for offering units at lower income levels, providing tenant support services, incorporating transit-oriented development or offering enhanced community amenities.

The Proposed Developments

All four applications submitted this year are located in Waldorf.

Eagle Point Phase 1, located at 2970 Old Washington Road, proposes 60 affordable housing units. The project includes units for households earning 30% and 50% of the area median income, along with nine units for residents experiencing homelessness and housing for residents with disabilities.

The project received the highest evaluation score with 82 points.

Lenville Crossing, proposed for 11885 Patchwork Place, would include 144 affordable units in garden-style apartment buildings for households earning up to 60% of the area median income.

Pine Way Village, also planned for 11885 Patchwork Place, would include 85 age-restricted units for residents age 55 and older, all affordable at 60% of the area median income.

A fourth proposal, Eagle Point Phase 2, would include 150 affordable units but was not included in the three projects moving forward to the public hearing.

Program Developed Over Several Years

Charles County Administrator Deborah Hall said the county spent several years developing a structured process for reviewing affordable housing incentives.

“This has been a very long process, probably the entirety of my three years as county administrator,” Hall said.

Hall explained that housing incentive requests previously came through several departments without a consistent evaluation process.

“We were getting these requests from a variety of ways. They would come to community services, they would come through legal, they would come through economic development, and we were trying to figure out how to address this in a very systematic way,” Hall said.

She said the new process creates a competitive system that allows the county to review projects more clearly and consistently.

“It took a little while, but we did get here,” Hall said.

Residents will have an opportunity to learn more about the proposals and share feedback before commissioners make a final decision.

The public hearing on the three projects — Eagle Point Phase 1, Lenville Crossing and Pine Way Village — is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Charles County Government Building, 200 Baltimore St., La Plata, and will be held both in person and virtually.

Watch the afternoon session of the Board of County Commissioners: March 3, 2026 – Afternoon Session on CCGTV.

Review the full Affordable Housing PILOT Project presentation below.

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