HUD awards $29.1 million to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville’s initiative to redevelop the Southwood Mobile Home Park as a mixed-income community has received a major boost from the federal government.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that Habitat is among 17 organizations across the country that will receive an award from the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program.

“PRICE provides historic first-time federal grants to support communities in their efforts to maintain, protect, replace, and stabilize manufactured housing and manufactured housing communities,” reads a fact sheet for the announcement of $225 million in grants.

The organization had asked for $47.6 million and received $29.1 million.

“This award is one piece – albeit a significant one – of the entire funding puzzle that will, over time, make the promise of redeveloped Southwood – at a projected total cost of more than $500 million – a reality for our families in this resident-led community without displacement,” said Michelle Wamsley, Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer of Habitat, in a press release sent out on December 19.

Other recipients include the city of Boise, Idaho, which will use $6.7 million to build manufactured housing and the Commonwealth of Kentucky which will use $28.2 million to provide repairs to older manufactured units. For the full list, take a look at the fact sheet.

“Recognizing the repair and development needs in the Southwood Mobile Home Park and affordable housing pressures in the greater area, Greater Charlottesville Habitat for Humanity Inc will use its $29.1 million in PRICE grant funding to redevelop part of the existing MHC into a mixed-income, mixed-use development and preserve half of the existing MHC and invest in critical infrastructure and community needs,” reads the narrative in the fact sheet.

A request for additional information from Habitat was not received at press time but this story will be updated when it is posted to Information Charlottesville.

Habitat purchased the Southwood Mobile Home Park in 2007 and spent many years developing a plan to redevelop the site. There have been two separate rezonings for the project with the first approved in August 2019 for 450 units and 50,000 square feet of non-residential space on undeveloped land outside the main community.

The second phase was for the actual redevelopment of the area where trailers currently stand and allows for a range between 527 and 1,000 units, with 227 of them required to be designated as affordable. Learn more from a November 2022 story posted to Information Charlottesville.