In a rare feat of quick government action and nonprofit collaboration, the owner of one of Charlottesville’s last trailer parks has decided not to sell the property to a private buyer.
Less than 60 days ago, residents of the Carlton Mobile Home Park in the city’s Belmont neighborhood were informed that an undisclosed private entity had offered $7 million to purchase the property.
It immediately stoked fears that if the deal went through the 6-acre, 66-trailer park would be redeveloped into apartments, forcing the people living there to find new housing.
But national nonprofit homebuilder Habitat for Humanity and the more local Piedmont Housing Alliance, with assistance from the city of Charlottesville, quickly rallied to make a counteroffer. On Tuesday, the Bolton family, which owns the property, chose to accept that offer.
It’s a significant victory for housing advocates and city residents who worried the anonymous buyer would effectively displace the people residing at the park.
In a city experiencing a housing crisis, Carlton Mobile Home Park offers some of the lowest rents in all of Charlottesville, with many residents paying less than $400 a month; the average Charlottesville apartment rents for $1,618. If the original deal had gone through, and if the buyer had chosen to redevelop the land, residents would have had to scramble to find somewhere to live, likely well beyond Charlottesville limits seeing as how there is only one other trailer park in the city. Those who own their trailers would have had to transport them elsewhere, which could have resulted in their trailer literally falling apart after years of sitting in the trailer park. Those who rent would have needed to find affordable housing in a city with a very limited supply.
After learning from a park resident that the property was going to be sold, Habitat and community organizers approached residents about signing a petition to stop the deal. With more than 25% of tenants on board, Habitat had the legal right to make a counteroffer on the residents’ behalf.
It’s not yet determined what exactly Habitat will do with the land, but in similar projects at the Southwood and Sunrise trailer parks in the Charlottesville area, the organization built mixed-income housing, transitioning residents into new residences without displacing them.
That will likely be the goal at Carlton. But after a four-hour meeting two weeks ago, where Habitat officials met with a skeptical group of trailer park residents, the organization was only given permission to make a counteroffer under the condition that no redevelopment occurs for at least three years.
Those who attended the meeting described it as tense, with residents distrustful of Habitat’s intentions. Some have told The Daily Progress they’d prefer the property to remain a trailer park.
“The four-hour meeting was very difficult, completely understandably because a lot of residents don’t have relationship with Habitat,” City Council Member Michael Payne told The Daily Progress.
In previous projects in the area, Habitat has spent a year with residents to build relationships and trust. But neither Habitat nor the residents had that luxury — Virginia law requires that a counteroffer on a trailer park be made within 60 days.
With the resident’s blessing, Habitat and Piedmont were able to secure a loan, enabling them to make a competitive counteroffer.
Payne said a loan was necessary because “neither the city nor Habitat had $7 million laying around.”
The organizations did not have the collateral to pay off the loans, but the city of Charlottesville did. The city has effectively front-loaded the loan and will now put together a performance agreement with partner organizations to lay out expectations for the future of the park.
“We along with our partners at Piedmont Housing Alliance, Legal Aid Justice Center and the City of Charlottesville are thrilled and relieved to know that the Bolton family has accepted the offer we put before them on behalf of the residents who live in the community. Most importantly, we hope the residents can breathe a collective sigh of relief, knowing that we will now be working with them in partnership to prevent displacement and keep them right here in the community that they call home,” Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, said in a statement announcing the deal.
The deal required quick work and cooperation from city staff, City Council, partner organizations and park residents. Typically, such a process would take well over a year, but the parties involved determined the matter was important and urgent enough to demand a swift response.
Over the next six or seven years, the city will be paying off the loan using funds from its capital investment project budget.
“I think it’s incredible,” Payne said. “I’m still shocked everything came together for a counteroffer to even be made and then accepted.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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