NeighborWorks Capital is pleased to extend a $500,000 increase to the existing predevelopment line of credit for Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) & National Housing Trust Communities (NHT), bringing the total line of credit extended to $2,000,000. Funds will be used for the substantial redevelopment of Friendship Court, a 150-unit affordable housing complex in downtown Charlottesville, VA.
Developed after the African American neighborhood fabric was erased during Urban Renewal, the community has largely remained economically and physically isolated from the city. In 2002 PHA and NHT partnered to acquire and renovate the property, preserving this important community of affordable housing that was at risk of being lost. PHA then established the Friendship Court Advisory Committee, a representational body of nine resident members and six members of the broader Charlottesville community, to plan their future homes through a multi-phased redevelopment.
PHA was formed in 1983 as the Thomas Jefferson Housing Improvement Commission. Four allied organizations in the Charlottesville-Albemarle County area combined in 1996 with the Charlottesville Housing Foundation bringing substantial assets to the alliance including land, and the organization took on a new identity as Piedmont Housing Alliance. They manage 13 properties located throughout the City of Charlottesville and surrounding counties. Additionally, PHA runs a certified small business lending CDFI, and provides resident services to members of its communities, and the five-county region of Nelson, Fluvanna, Louisa, Albemarle, and Greene.
This is the second loan NeighborWorks Capital has extended to Piedmont Housing Alliance, and we are pleased to continue to support their mission to create affordable housing opportunities and foster community through education, lending, and equitable development.
