Awards and Recognition

PHA has been building community wealth for 30+ years with its comprehensive menu of community development services: home ownership counseling, fair housing education, community financing, home ownership and rental housing. Whether it’s turning renters into home owners, bridging the home ownership gap with workforce housing funds, ensuring fair housing for all, building green for an affordable and sustainable future, or developing creative solutions to complex problems, come see the many ways PHA is working to strengthen your community…





PRESS RELEASE – January 28, 2009
Construction Begins on Affordable Housing in the City;

Project Expands Housing Opportunities and Creates Jobs

Charlottesville, VA – Piedmont Housing Alliance has just launched a $2.4 million renovation of the Monticello Vista Apartments, located in Charlottesville’s Belmont Neighborhood, at 1400 Monticello Road. The 50 units at Monticello Vista Apartments (MVA) are home to some of the area’s most vulnerable residents, 78% of whom have incomes under 40% of the area median income (AMI). The average resident income is $12,500 a year. Sixty percent of households include persons with disabilities.

MVA is truly one of the few properties in Charlottesville that provides a “housing first” option for extremely low-income households with special needs. Hundreds of people have come through MVA over the past 15 years, and Piedmont Housing Alliance is making sure that these apartments remain affordable for many more years to come.

The renovation at Monticello Vista will take place over the course of the next eleven months, creating 60 local construction jobs and bolstering the local economy during this difficult period. Residents can expect upgrades to key systems, improvements in energy efficiency, and a greater degree of accessibility for those with special needs. The many upgrades will ensure a safe, accessible, affordable and sustainable housing environment for low-income members of our community. Piedmont Housing Alliance has contracted with Martin Horn, Inc. General Contractors to complete the work.

The Monticello Vista Apartments renovation has been facilitated through a number of funding sources, including the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA), Virginia Community Development Corporation (VCDC), the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the City’s Charlottesville Housing Fund, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME monies administered through the City of Charlottesville, and a generous grant from the Perry Foundation.

Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) is a regional nonprofit organization that creates housing and community development opportunities for very low to moderate income families and individuals; teaches financial literacy and management, home buying and home ownership skills; and advocates for affordable housing policies and programs in central Virginia. PHA’s Affordable Housing Production and Preservation Initiatives increase the stock of affordable housing for rent and for sale in the area; 341 affordable rental units exist because of PHA’s production and preservation efforts.

For more information on the project, contact Peter Loach, Deputy Director of Operations with Piedmont Housing Alliance, at (434) 817-2436 x 116 or peterl@piedmonthousing.org.