The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has approved the use of money in the county’s housing fund for two projects to subsidize the cost of building affordable units.
“Those two projects are the Premier Circle permanent supportive housing project being developed by Virginia Supportive Housing as well as the Southwood Cardinal Hill Apartments which is being developed by Habitat of Humanity of Greater Charlottesville,” said Stacy Pethia used to have the title of Housing Policy Manager but is now Assistant Director for Housing.
The Premier Circle project is a multi-phase initiative to develop the site of a former hotel on U.S. 29 with 80 units built by VSH as well as a future phase where the Piedmont Housing Alliance will build 60 units. The first phase has run into a budget shortfall, and City Council will hold second reading on approval of $750,000 in funding at their meeting on January 16, 2024.
“The Virginia Supportive Housing project really focuses on that permanent supportive housing project which serves households with incomes between 30 and 50 percent of [the area median income] ,” Pethia said. “So really reaching down to some of our residents and neighbors that have the greatest housing needs.”
For reference, the 2023 area median income for Albemarle was $123,000, according to Albemarle County’s website.
The first phase of Premier Circle will be 80 studio apartments with onsite services to help people with job-training and other ways to move forward with their lives. It will be VSH’s second project in the area after the Crossings at Fourth and Preston were built last decade in Charlottesville.
Pethia said VSH has raised $22.6 million for the project but the costs have continued to increase. She said the request to Albemarle and Charlottesville was $1.4 million. Council was told $1.5 million.
When this $700,000 payment is complete, Pethia said Albemarle’s total contribution will be $4.85 million.
“That includes the $2.4 million that we have allocated to the project through [American Rescue Plan Act] funds a few years ago and approximately $1.75 million which is the estimated worth of project-based vouchers that have been awarded to the project,” Pethia said.
The latter piece of information implements a specific strategy in Objective 10 of the Housing Albemarle plan.
Pethia acknowledged the city contributed $750,000 but that the county’s amount would remain at $700,000.
“We believe given the amount that we’ve already placed in that $700,000 is appropriate
Habitat requested $1.5 million to guarantee that 14 units at Cardinal Hill Apartments in Southwood be kept “deeply” affordable for a longer period of time at a rent of nearly $500 a month compared to $1,200 a month.
“Residents of the original Southwood Mobile Home Park will be given priority access to the Cardinal Hill units, with a focus on avoiding resident displacement during and after the redevelopment process,” reads the staff report.
Pethia said these properties were originally to be sold as condominium units.
“Really the focus is on the hardest to re-house Southwood units so again those who may not be able to purchase a home on own at least right now and senior residents,” Pethia said. “The rents will be affordable at households at or below 80 percent AMI and that range is really to provide some flexibility of the income qualifications for relocation purposes.”
The $1.5 million will guarantee affordability for 30 years and would go directly to pay down a construction loan. Albemarle has already contributed $306,000 for rental relocation assistance for Habitat’s overall Southwood project. She said this would satisfy Objective 2 of Housing Albemarle.
Pethia also said Habitat and county officials are in talks about a performance agreement to guide the county’s investment in phase 2 of the Southwood project. That would let the county know how much funding they will be asked for in the future. She said the two work together for funding opportunities.
“The Governor announced on December 29 the county was awarded [$1,075,000] [Community Block Development Grants] for phase 2 and that will help to install water and sewer lines for 75 houses,” Pethia said.
More about housing in Albemarle County in future editions of the newsletter.
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