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A Story of Success

Photo: The Southlawn Commons success story along with Michelle Robinson and her sister was featured in the 2001 annual report of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, the state agency that administered the multi-family mortgage revenue bonds and housing credits that helped make the community's turnaround possible.

A battered, deteriorating three-decade-old, 176-unit apartment property in southwestern Montgomery's Southlawn neighborhood had only 62 tenants and a rough reputation when Summit bought it in September 2000. A Summit renovation pumped life back into the property — adding new roofs, siding, mechanical systems, flooring, paint, appliances, paving and landscaping.

Along with the improvements came a new lease on life for the complex, an improved quality of life for its residents, and a new name - Southlawn Commons. “Summit came along and changed everything,” said Michelle Robinson, a Southlawn Commons resident. She and her sister Cathy lived in the complex for six years before Summit acquired it. The sisters remain residents.

Local officials praise Summit's accomplishments. “Southlawn Commons is the perfect example of what can happen when the public and private sectors work together to improve our communities,” said Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright of the renovated property. “In order to truly appreciate what all this means, you would have had to see what it looked like before. I saw it, and it was a blight on the community around it.”