Piedmont Housing Alliance to delegate property management duties to Virginia Beach firm

The portfolio of apartments managed by the Piedmont Housing Alliance has grown over the years as the nonprofit entity has tapped into the City of Charlottesville’s budget to pay for multiple projects such as the redevelopment of Friendship Court into Kindlewood.

Groundbreaking is expected soon on 71 units at 501 Cherry Avenue as well as two projects on Park Street. Piedmont Housing Alliance also co-owns the Carlton Mobile Home Park with Habitat for Humanity.

In late August, the executive director announced that the Franklin Group of Virginia Beach will take over property management of PHA sites on October 1, 2026.

“Ownership, long-term control, and the broader vision to support the residents remain unchanged,” wrote Sunshine Mathon in a letter to friends and colleagues. “Piedmont Housing will still be providing ongoing resident services, the Financial Opportunity Center, new affordable housing development and all other aspects of our work.”

In an email to this newsletter, Mathon explains that the Franklin Group will be paid from a property management fee that is part of each location.

Mathon said that after careful review and consultation, PHA officials realized they no longer had the scale to run all of their units.

“For everything we’ve attempted to do to address our property management challenges, it has become clear we simply don’t have the scale or resources to do it well ourselves,” Mathon said.

Mathon said about 90 percent of the Franklin Group’s portfolio is subsidized housing with capped rents.

Mathon said the nonprofit has already experimented with property management at Hickory Hope Apartments at Southwood. The property website does not even mention that Piedmont Housing Alliance is involved and the property is managed by the S.L. Nusbaum Realty Company. Groundbreaking for the 121-unit complex was in January 2024 as reported by Catie Ratliff in C-Ville Weekly.

Existing property management staff will have the opportunity to transition to the Franklin Group. That company manages 253 communities across nine states with a total of 37,739 apartment homes according to its website.

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