True Ground Housing Partners

The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) was founded in 1989 by four couples from Arlington seeking to advance social justice through affordable housing. Their goal was to buy small garden apartments and renovate them for lower-income Arlingtonians. One of those founders was Tom Leckey, for whom Leckey Gardens Apartments was renamed. After retiring from the Navy, Leckey followed his lifelong passion for social responsibility and served as the first president of APAH.

In 1991, APAH bought its first property in Arlington's Westover neighborhood, a 16-unit complex named Fisher House. By 2000, they owned eight properties with over 197 units. By 2008, they had added larger complexes, including Leckey Gardens just off Langston Boulevard, with over 600 units available for affordable housing. Throughout the teens and twenties, APAH became more involved with major Arlington developments, including in Crystal City and on Columbia Pike. In the Fall of 2024, APAH rebranded as True Ground Housing Partners. The renaming reflects the company’s broader vision, which includes a deep commitment to the communities and residents it serves. True Ground has grown from a small nonprofit managing a few properties to a major developer for affordable housing in the region, with projects ongoing throughout the DC area. To date, ninety percent of their current properties are affordable housing.

Carmen Romero joined the True Ground team fifteen years ago; today, she serves as the president and CEO. We sat down for a People & Places interview with Carmen to learn about True Ground’s general mission and their efforts along Langston Boulevard. Carmen laid out True Ground’s bold future plans to triple its affordable housing footprint by 2028. She also outlined how she is guided in her mission by five goals defined by her board of directors: increase the affordable housing supply available in the region through True Ground’s portfolio; ensure that residents across all True Ground properties have the services and support they need; help residents meet their financial goals; communicate the positive effects of affordable housing and champion affordable housing funding and policy change; and become an employer of choice for their current and future team.

What also became immediately evident in the interview is that Carmen and the True Ground team are incredibly empathetic and supportive of True Ground residents. Carmen said True Ground is deeply committed to resident services, with about a third of the staff dedicated to those efforts. She and the team want to ensure that they are not only helping their residents with financial wellness but also addressing their basic needs, such as food security, by offering food pantries to residents in need. Additionally, Carmen is deeply committed to keeping essential workers in our Langston community. She said that if we want to have retail, restaurants, shops, and services along the corridor, we must create opportunities for people working in those jobs to live and send their children to good schools within the community. She continued by saying we all win when Langston Boulevard has more people and more diverse points of view. 

According to True Ground, nearly a quarter of DC-area households are severely rent-burdened, and there are only 35 affordable apartment units for every 100 residents or families who need one. True Ground has long supported the affordable housing needs of the Langston Boulevard communities, redeveloping four complexes along the corridor: Queens Court, Calvert Manor, Leckey Gardens, and Cameron Commons. For community planning, True Ground has also been heavily involved in and committed to our Plan Langston Boulevard initiative, making sure that the future vision of housing along our corridor is more inclusive and diverse, and that all our neighbors have a chance to stay in the community we all love.

Watch the True Ground 35th Anniversary Video