Piedmont Housing Alliance is joining forces with the Piedmont Community Land Trust
Charlottesville, VA, 7/30/2021— Piedmont Housing Alliance and the newly re-named “Piedmont Community Land Trust” (previously TJCLT) share a focus on expanding affordable housing options in Charlottesville and the surrounding communities. This month, the two organizations are forming a strategic partnership to increase collective impact, with Piedmont Housing assuming the responsibilities for day-to-day operations and expanded project direction.
The spectrum of housing options in a community needs to include both affordable rental housing and affordable homeownership. As a team, Piedmont Housing and the Piedmont Community Land Trust will be able to meet the needs of more cost-burdened families in a region where housing costs continue to increase in contrast to median income. While Piedmont Housing has historically focused on affordable rental housing development, partnering with the Piedmont Community Land Trust provides an opportunity for low- and moderate-income residents to build equity through homeownership.
“The vision is to enable more affordable housing options in the greater Charlottesville area, by combining the resources of the two organizations.
By combining operations, not only will more affordable housing get to market, but the partnership will reach more members of our community who had not previously considered homeownership accessible.” – Susan Stimart, Executive Director, PCLT.
“The partnership re-connects Piedmont Housing to its organizational roots by supporting first-time, low-income aspiring homebuyers in creating
a pathway to wealth-building and self-determination. The community land trust model of homeownership, which was pioneered by Black landowners
in the deep south to resist Jim Crow-enabled land stealing, is uniquely designed to reduce the risks of ownership and embeds permanent affordability in
neighborhoods experiencing gentrification pressures.
We are incredibly excited to be part of growing a powerful tool for our community.” – Sunshine Mathon, Executive Director, Piedmont Housing Alliance.
Together, Piedmont Housing Alliance and the Piedmont Community Land Trust will increase their regional impact by connecting more residents with a variety of affordable housing options. Reflective of the compelling road ahead, the next 15 Land Trust homes are already underway at Spring Hill Village just south of Charlottesville in Albemarle County.
About Piedmont Housing Alliance
Founded in 1983, Piedmont Housing Alliance is the largest affordable housing organization in the Charlottesville, VA area. The mission is to create affordable housing opportunities and foster community through education, lending, and equitable development.
About Piedmont Community Land Trust, formerly called Thomas Jefferson Community Land Trust
As part of this initiative, the Thomas Jefferson Community Land Trust is changing its name and is now called “Piedmont Community Land Trust.” Piedmont Community Land Trust removes the cost of land from the price of homeownership, to provide permanently affordable, for-sale housing for future generations in Charlottesville and the surrounding communities. Every Land Trust homebuyer enters a 90-year ground lease. Each home can be sold at any point and retains home equity under a resale formula that ensures affordability for the next home buyer earning 80 percent of area median income or less.