In 1916, the J.S. Young Company opened a tannin extract plant located at the present day site of the Barnes Lumber Company on Carlton Avenue across the street from Sunrise Trailer Court. Across the street from the plant, the company manager lived in a Spanish-style house that has since been demolished. The Young Office Building, a Flemish-style brick structure adjacent to the Sunrise Trailer Court property at 1102 Carlton Avenue, is on the Charlottesville Landmark Survey list of historical houses.

In 1955, Sunrise Trailer Court was developed by Julius "Red" Lively who has lived in Charlottesville all his life. His family owned most of the land from Meade Avenue down to Moores Creek. When he returned from the Army in 1947, he began building houses. Lively says, "I took a wild gamble," starting a trailer court where he used to cut hay.

In 2003, Mr. Lively put Sunrise Trailer Court on the market. The property offered a highly sought-after building site within the city limits. Habitat began to investigate a development model where it could replace the housing, increase the density and not displace any of the current residents. While Habitat researched the financial feasibility of their proposal, an upscale development group put Sunrise under contract, stipulating that the residents of the trailer park would be evicted 120 days after rezoning. With the danger of being displaced, relocation became a serious problem for many Sunrise residents. Other trailer parks in the area are full and many of the trailers at Sunrise are too old to legally relocate. Further, many Sunrise residents cannot afford to pay the market rent of $600 to $700 per month for an efficiency apartment.

In 2004, the Belmont Neighborhood Association announced their opposition to the displacement, causing the development group to withdraw its plan and turn the contract over to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. Habitat purchased the property in November 2004, with the promise to provide affordable housing to the current Sunrise Trailer Court residents. None of the current residents will be expected to pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent or mortgage payments.