Since 1983, Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) has been the premier nonprofit workforce and senior housing organization serving the Charlottesville area. PHA stewards housing opportunity, fosters communities of care, and strives to improve life outcomes through community-centered affordable housing development, quality property management, engaged resident services, shared learning, and financial education and lending.
Over the years, PHA’s continuum of services has helped more than 1,000 homebuyers purchase their first home; supported thousands more through financial coaching; backed the financing and construction of over 100 affordable single-family homes; and financed the preservation, construction, and rehabilitation of more than 1,000 units of affordable rental housing. PHA currently manages more than 600 affordable rental homes. You can read more about PHA’s recent projects and outcomes in their 2025 Impact Report.
One of the most exciting projects in PHA’s pipeline is the upcoming Cherry Avenue redevelopment (pictured above), which is powered by a unique partnership between PHA, Woodard Properties (a private firm), and the Fifeville Neighborhood Association. Together, this coalition is advancing a community-driven, mixed-use development plan that includes 71 new affordable homes, a neighborhood-scale grocery store, and a dedicated home for the Music Resource Center (a youth arts nonprofit) – right in the heart of Fifeville. Shaped by extensive resident engagement, this project knits together housing, food access, the arts, and community spaces into a single, walkable development that both honors Fifeville’s history and meets the needs of its present-day community. You can read more about PHA’s Cherry Avenue redevelopment project in the articles linked below.
The Cherry Avenue redevelopment initiative is an impressive example of how PHA is leveraging the Virginia Housing Trust Fund – one of VHA’s perennial top legislative priorities – to bring affordable housing projects to life. Regarding their Virginia Housing Alliance membership, PHA Executive Director Sunshine Mathon said:
“[VHA] has been the most effective advocate for strengthening and expanding the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. Without that critical resource, neither our Cherry Avenue project nor any of the other developments in our pipeline would be possible.”
PHA staff tell us that the most rewarding part of this work is the privilege of partnering with residents, neighborhood leaders, and other stakeholders to build something that truly reflects community priorities:
“Affordable housing isn’t just about buildings; it’s about stability, dignity, opportunity, and ultimately, home. When a family gets the keys to a home or blueprints become a real space that people gather in, it is incredibly powerful. That sense of shared purpose and shared victory is deeply meaningful.”
Upcoming Event: PHA’s Lender Mixer (3.23.26)
PHA invites any interested affordable housing practitioners to learn more about the organization, get to know PHA staff and resources, and network with peers at their upcoming Lender Mixer, which will be held on Monday, March 23rd from 5:30-7pm at Kindlewood (460 Garrett St, Charlottesville, VA 22902).
Recent media about Piedmont Housing Alliance:
- Charlottesville Tomorrow: Charlottesville City Council votes to help close a crucial funding gap for 501 Cherry Ave. mixed use development
- Charlottesville Tomorrow: In 20 years, Sunshine Mathon hopes that entrenched income inequality in central Virginia will be a thing of the past
- Charlottesville Tomorrow: Fifeville moves one big step closer to having a community-owned grocery store, and it wants the city’s help