Overview
Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and owned, developed, and managed by Habitat for Humanity, the Southwood community is a 100-acre mobile home park with over 1,500 residents. In 2007, Habitat for Humanity purchased Southwood Mobile Home Park to prevent mass resident displacement after failing infrastructure burdened the property owner with difficult decisions about the community’s future. Habitat for Humanity has since invested over $25M to stabilize operations and provide dependable resources to residents. Habitat’s goal for the community is to transfer ownership of the redeveloped neighborhood to residents while creating a model for community-driven redevelopment.
In 2017, Timmons Group joined Habitat for Humanity’s Southwood redevelopment team, partnering with Southwood Mobile Home Park residents to co-create an inclusive mixed-income neighborhood that offers a variety of affordable housing options, including affordable for-sale and market-rate housing. Timmons Group participated in around eighty community meetings, connecting and instructing resident designers as the team worked through a rezoning effort for Southwood, which consisted of instructing residents in the planning and designing process, covering topics such as street sections, density, unit type, and amenity spaces.
The completed project will feature a variety of amenities, including parks, community centers, and commercial resources for its residents. The Piedmont Housing Alliance has also purchased two land bays from Habitat for Humanity, with construction underway to provide affordable housing rental options in the community.
Timmons Group provided civil engineering, flood plain analysis, survey, and geotechnical services for this project and continues to work with Habitat for Humanity and residents as construction begins, future villages are designed, and subsequent phases undergo rezoning. Approved in 2022, the second rezoning of the property will include 1,000 additional units.
