Piedmont Housing Alliance and Habitat for Humanity Announce Joint Venture and Carlton Closing in partnership with the City of Charlottesville
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (September 20, 2024): Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville (Habitat) have announced a new joint venture – The Habitat Carlton Alliance (HCA) – to manage and eventually redevelop the Carlton Mobile Home Park in partnership with the residents who live there.
As part of the new entity, PHA is serving as the guarantor on acquisition loans made by Community Housing Capital (CHC), a NeighborWorks Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), and Virginia Housing (VH), Virginia’s Housing Finance Agency. Those loans are backstopped by a City of Charlottesville commitment to service debt on the loan over a five year period. Habitat will manage the mobile home park, working side by side with residents to improve conditions in the short term. Habitat and PHA, along with City representatives, will work with residents to plan for long-term redevelopment of the site for the benefit of current and future residents. The City’s support is bolstered by an agreement with Habitat and PHA that the park will be managed without displacement and build quality, long-term affordable housing on site.
The property sale closed on September 20th, and Habitat immediately took over management of the park.
“The work starts now,” said Habitat President and CEO Dan Rosensweig. “We are sitting down one on one with each family to get to know them and to learn about their dreams and aspirations.”
Additionally, HCA is forming a resident council to advise Habitat on property management decisions and serve as leaders within the Carlton Mobile Home Park community.
“Long term success of the community will require the residents to develop the collective capacity to be the leaders of its evolution,” said Rosensweig. “We want to know what the residents want in terms of day to day operations. What are the rules that they want enforced? What are the things that they want to stay the same? What are the short term capital investments that they would like to see prioritized?”
Habitat has established a new rental office adjacent to the site and has made available a community room that is fully furnished with a kitchen and other amenities.
The purchase of the park was made possible by a previously untested amendment to the Virginia Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act which provided residents a 60 day notification that the park was under contract. The new rule provides that, during that notification period, the residents have a right to make a counter offer that “shall be considered” by the sellers. With the help of the Legal Aid Justice Center and the City of Charlottesville, PHA and Habitat quickly mobilized to meet with residents, gather signatures on a petition providing standing for Habitat to make an offer on their behalf, lined up funding and made a counter offer. That counter offer was accepted by the Bolton family within the 60 day period.
“This process has been one of the most time-constrained and challenging efforts I’ve ever seen. Once we caught wind of the original park sale, we really only had 30 days to align all the puzzle pieces. This remarkable success required every party to work uncomfortably outside of their normal process – from residents who were confronted with housing insecurity, toLegal Aid Justice Center, Sin Barreras and DSA Charlottesville who canvassed on the ground, to City staff and City Council who went all in, and from nonprofits already stretched to their capacity, to financial institutions who moved more quickly than they probably ever have before. More than any project I’ve experienced in my professional career, this effort is a testament to the power of collaboration here in Charlottesville,” states Sunshine Mathon, Executive Director of PHA. “It’s also a powerful example of the sellers, in this case, the Bolton family, doing the right thing. They didn’t have to choose to work with us. Many residents told us that the Boltons cared about the community and they really proved that here,” states Mathon, “We are excited to hit the ground running with residents as we move forward together.”
The City of Charlottesville expressed relief that some of its most vulnerable residents now have tenure security.
“We are pleased that the City was able to support the purchase and management of Carlton Mobile Home Park by Piedmont Housing Alliance and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. We would never want to see any of our community members displaced, and that was a serious concern prior to this transaction happening. This is also a great example of what we can accomplish when community organizations work together for the greater good of our city. And it shows when people care, good things happen. Thank you to everyone who was involved in securing this special place for the residents who call it home,” said Charlottesville City Manager, Sam Sanders.
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About Piedmont Housing Alliance: Piedmont Housing Alliance stewards housing opportunity, fosters communities of belonging, and strives to undo links between race, place, and life outcomes through advocacy, education, and community-centered development in Central Virginia. We exist to ensure that all people have just and equitable pathways to home and places to thrive. Our work is guided by the core values of community, hope, respect, justice, and home.
About Habitat: Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville brings people together to build and rebuild homes and communities while catalyzing new pathways to safe, decent affordable housing. Their work has evolved from building one house at a time to developing vibrant, sustainable, mixed-income communities, where local families can achieve their dreams of homeownership. Since their founding in 1991, they have built almost 300 new homes and safely housed over 2,000 neighbors, thanks to the commitment and dedication of thousands of volunteers and supporters.
About the City of Charlottesville: The City of Charlottesville (founded 1762; charter) is located in Central Virginia in Albemarle County, approximately 100 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. and 70 miles northwest of Richmond, Virginia. Situated within the upper Piedmont Plateau at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and at the headwaters of the Rivanna River, the City is autonomous and entirely independent of any county or any other political subdivision.