Nearly $10 million in funding for Phase II of Kindlewood was finalized last week, supporting the multi-year, resident-led redevelopment effort to transform the affordable-housing community formerly known as Friendship Court.
Phase II of the Kindlewood redevelopment broke ground in January, with an anticipated completion date of Fall 2026 and total cost of $86 million. The four-phase project is slated to create 450 units across several income tiers. St. Louis-based investment firm Advantage Capital leveraged $9.6 million in Virginia low-income housing tax credits for the closing announced February 26—a significant portion of the estimated $68 million cost of Phase II.
Overseen by the Piedmont Housing Alliance, the project focuses on creating affordable housing in Charlottesville, where residents continue to experience a housing shortage. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, affordable rent should cost no more than 30 percent of a household’s income. For a family of three living at 50 percent of the area median income (roughly $34,500) in Charlottesville, that equates to $860 per month for rent—or $520 for the same family at 30 percent AMI (roughly $20,700).
The 12-acre Kindlewood site, originally developed in 1978 as Garrett Square, has a complicated history. The area was a majority-Black, working-class neighborhood, but in the early 1970s, the city, as it had done with Vinegar Hill in 1964, proclaimed Garrett Street blighted, and razed it under the guise of urban renewal.
As part of PHA’s commitment to zero displacement, new construction will eventually accommodate all 150 families currently living at Kindlewood. Phase II will create 100 affordable homes, with roughly half reserved as housing for existing residents. A learning center, a community center, and headquarters for the PHA are also in the works.
“Kindlewood Phase II is a crucial step in the progress toward reaching resident redevelopment goals for their community,” said Sunshine Mathon, Executive Director of Piedmont Housing Alliance, in a release. “We are grateful to everyone who has dedicated their lives, vision, and passion to this extraordinary work.”
Photo by Stephen Barling.
