Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville (www.avenue.org/habitat), the local chapter of the nonprofit Christian housing builder, has announced it will be buying the 100-acre Southwood Mobile Home park. Habitat intends to redevelop the site of 371 trailers for a mixture of housing types that keeps current residents from being displaced while also increasing the supply of various levels of affordable housing.
That’s very good news for the developers of neighboring Biscuit Run.
.jpg) Biscuit Run developers say they will give up to $3.7 million to Habitat for Humanity’s redevelopment of Southwood trailer park to meet affordable housing requirements. A connector road would also run through the Southwood property. |
Albemarle County policy says that Biscuit Run should provide at least 15 percent of its housing units as affordable, though it allows for other ways to do that, such as donating cash to the County for housing funds. Biscuit Run developers plan to make only 7.5 percent of the 3,100 units “affordable.” To make up for the other 7.5 percent, they’ve offered to give $16,000 per unit to Habitat for Humanity for their Southwood development—worth up to $3.7 million.
That was one of several deal sweeteners, called proffers, reviewed at the County Planning Commission January 16. Commissioners in general were intrigued by the idea of Biscuit Run developers working with Habitat on affordable housing.
County Chief of Housing Ron White sees some problems in the way the proffers are currently worded, but thinks that if the proffers can be made to work, it’s a good idea. “Just about everything we see is somewhat different from the last thing we saw,” White says. White will meet with Biscuit Run developers and County staff to try to work out the details.
The affordable housing proffer is but one part of a package that could help buy support for the development on 828 acres in southern Albemarle. Developers value all the proffers as worth $33.6 million. Other nontransportation proffers include $3.3 million for a new public school and roughly $8 million for green space and a district park.
Planning commissioners will next take another look at Biscuit Run transportation issues at a January 30 work session.
