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There were cheers, hugs and tears as the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved the first phase of the redevelopment of Southwood Mobile Home Park on Wednesday night.

The unanimous vote followed a long discussion about potential issues with the proposal.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville bought the property off Old Lynchburg Road near Fifth Street Extended in 2007, and it plans to redevelop the site into a 700- to 800-unit mixed-income, mixed-use development. Habitat expects to do the project without displacing any of the current residents.

The current rezoning request would apply to about 34 acres of vacant land and allow for a maximum of 450 residential units and up to 50,000 square feet of nonresidential buildings.

“I will say, the things that are said are wonderful,” Supervisor Liz Palmer said. “I'm worried about what's actually in the code of development so we can be assured before we do any upzoning like this that we're getting what we think we’re getting.”

The county Board of Supervisors in June approved an agreement​ with Habitat for the redevelopment of the site that could give the organization $3.2 million if certain milestones are met.