Our Commitment to Vibrant Communities over 30 years: Monticello Vista

Sep 15

Monticello Vista Apartments

Just three years after the initiation of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in Virginia, VCDC made its inaugural investment of over $1 million in LIHTC equity to establish Monticello Vista Apartments, providing homes for seniors, individuals with disabilities and families in Charlottesville, VA. Monticello Vista comprises 50 affordable apartment homes designed with convenient accessibility features and amenities.

In 1993, VCDC helped convert Monticello Vista’s original building, a former shirt factory, into 38 apartments, and subsequently assisted with adding a new building creating 12 apartments. In 2009, we reallocated over $3 million in LIHTC equity to support extensive renovations and improvements to the apartments.

Situated in Charlottesville's Belmont neighborhood, Monticello Vista offers breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge mountains and Shenandoah Valley. Sunshine Mathon, Executive Director of Monticello Vista’s developer Piedmont Housing Alliance, emphasized the crucial role the community plays in providing affordable housing infrastructure to the city of Charlottesville. Serving families and households with extremely low incomes, the community continues to fill a vital and increasing need for affordable housing in the area 30 years later.

“The trust that our organization has built with VCDC over the last couple of decades, and in particular, my trust that I’ve built with them over the last couple of years has allowed me to take chances and to explore opportunities that we wouldn’t have otherwise done,” Mathon said.

Jay Bartlow, one of the first residents of Monticello Vista, expressed his gratitude for the accessible and supportive community. Jay also serves as a board member at Piedmont Housing alliance, advocating for residents like himself.

“If I can do anything to help, you know, somebody that's disabled like myself… that's where I'd like to spend my time,” Jay said in an interview with VCDC in 2020.

Jay’s experience at Monticello Vista holds a particularly special connection. In 1993, when Jay first moved in, he discovered from family that his late mother had worked in the building some years earlier while pregnant with his sister and again while pregnant with Jay himself.

“It's kind of like she's keeping a eye on me,” Jay said.

He credited organizations like Piedmont Housing Alliance and VCDC for caring about residents and making such living arrangements possible.