Tag: Planning & Development

C-VILLE Weekly’s planning and development coverage features regular stories on Charlottesville and Albemarle County real estate and local government actions.

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A look back at our most-read news stories of 2024

At press time, more than 840,000 visits were made to c-ville.com, with over 4,230 views of our September story on closings at Dairy Market, including Jonathan Wright's 434th Street.

With this issue, C-VILLE wraps up its 2024 news coverage. What follows is a glimpse at our top news stories of the year, according to Google Analytics.

Big changes in the works at Dairy Market 

September 4 A popular topic for C-VILLE readers (it made our top 10 list in 2023, too), changes at Dairy Market was our most-viewed news story of 2024. Specifically, the mass exodus of restaurants from the food hall. While some of the market’s future plans have come to fruition (including the much-anticipated free parking), more new vendors are expected in the coming months.

Updates on the construction and detours at Hydraulic Road and Route 29 

July 17 Construction stories were top of mind for many this year, with more than 2,700 viewers checking our online update of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s work on Hydraulic Road and Route 29. VDOT Project Manager Will Stowe recently told us he does not have data yet, but notes anecdotally, “We still occasionally see some confusion from drivers at the [Hydraulic Road] roundabout, but drivers are getting the hang of it.”

Tim Kaine and Hung Cao talk policy and priorities 

October 30 Ahead of Election Day, C-VILLE swapped emails with longtime Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and challenger Hung Cao about their respective platforms. Kaine won his third U.S. Senate term by a margin of 8.2 percent. In a weird update, the Associated Press shows only 96 percent of precincts reporting results at the time of this writing (December 12).

UVA frat expelled, others suspended 

May 1 Written by C-VILLE contributor Matt Dhillon, this story recapped the (then) latest on fraternities in hot water following a hazing investigation. Since the expulsion of Pi Kappa Alpha in April, two more fraternities have had their fraternal charters terminated: Kappa Sigma and Theta Chi. Sigma Alpha Mu’s suspension is set to expire on January 5, just before the start of rush.

Quirk Hotel to undergo rebrand following $24 million sale

May 8 The former Quirk Hotel, now called The Doyle, was rebranded in the wake of its sale in April. Since our original coverage, new owner Blue Suede Hospitality Group has expanded its portfolio to eight properties—doubling its locations after purchasing the Charlottesville hotel.

A seat on the Albemarle County School Board is up for grabs in upcoming special election 

September 25 In other election news, many C-VILLE readers checked out our coverage of the special election for the Rio seat on the Albemarle County School Board. Though former-appointee Chuck Pace won, he’ll be campaigning again soon—the same seat will return to the ballot as regularly scheduled in November 2025.

VDOT removes left-turn lanes from Hydraulic Road onto Route 29 

August 23 Always interested in construction news, readers logged on for our August update on the removal of left-turn lanes at the busy intersection of Hydraulic and 29. No formal data about improved traffic flow has been released, but Stowe told C-VILLE that VDOT has “observed better throughput and reduced travel times on all approaches … due to additional green time.” He also shared that the installation of remaining pedestrian signals at the crossing is almost complete, with work slated to wrap up in late December or early January. Construction of a pedestrian bridge in the same area will continue into fall 2026.

Changes at IX Art Park 

February 7 Early this year, Dhillon also took a look at changes in the works at IX Art Park. Since his dive into the skeleton crew running the park, IX has undergone a variety of updates (including the stylistic change of its name from Ix to IX).

UVA withholds degrees from students arrested at encampment

June 18 The University of Virginia made headlines for its reaction to protesters when it withheld degrees from some graduating students arrested at the pro-Palestine encampment. All of the withheld degrees have now been conferred and backdated, but not without public pressure and stress for impacted students. Despite continued organizing by pro-Palestine student groups, UVA has not met demands for divestment or disclosure.

House of Delegates committee advances resolutions calling for constitutional amendments

November 20 A late entry to this list,
C-VILLE’s review of three potential state constitutional amendments, and the amendment process, was popular with readers in recent weeks. Even if the legislature passes the suggested amendments during its 30-day session starting on January 8, the earliest any of the items could make it on the ballot is November 2026.

Sentara must comply with DOJ demands

March 27 Returning to a story she’s been following for years, former C-VILLE news editor Lisa Provence highlighted recent discoveries in the Department of Justice investigation into Sentara Health. Updates have been scarce since March, but the investigation into Sentara’s insurance rate hikes is ongoing.

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UVA Foundation moving forward with North Fork residential development

Up to 1,400 units can be built at the North Fork Discovery Park, but this phase anticipates up to 600 new places to live. Image via UVA Foundation.

When the University of Virginia Foundation purchased hundreds of acres of land by the Charlottesville Regional Airport in 1986, the intent at the time was to create a research park to support business and commerce. 

Decades later, the foundation is prepared to turn a section of the 562-acre site into a place where hundreds of people can live, and has issued a request for interested developers to submit their qualifications. Earlier this year, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning allowing for homes to be built there.

“The residential program’s updated Master Plan will create housing for those working in North Fork, adjacent properties, and the broader community,” reads the request for qualifications.

In all, up to 1,400 homes can be built at North Fork, but this particular phase would involve up to 600 units. The RFQ calls for a mixture of market-rate, workforce housing, and affordable units, with the latter defined as being at prices at 80 percent of the area median income. 

“The goal is to offer mixed-income housing opportunities that support live/work/play environments at North Fork, while addressing the area’s housing needs,” says Fred Missel, the foundation’s director of development. 

North Fork is one of three locations where both UVA and the Foundation seek to provide income-restricted housing as part of an initiative called for by a committee UVA President Jim Ryan formed soon after he took office in 2018. 

An exact breakdown of income levels for the 600 units is not required in the RFQ, but the document does say “an optimal number of affordable units guided by best practices for successful mixed-income communities that support community and economic development initiatives.”

Missel says the Foundation hopes to identify a developer who would build something unique to Albemarle. 

“Qualified development teams will be expected to present a vision that incorporates elements of sustainability, resilience, superior community design, economic development, and affordability, tailored to create a unique community that stands out in the area,” Missel says. 

North Fork is in the Hollymead neighborhood as classified by Albemarle County, and the 1,400 units allowed under the recent rezoning are among the 5,221 approved but not yet built, according to the county’s development dashboard. Just over 1,000 units are under review in this area, including an additional 655 at North Pointe. 

While there is no date for construction in the RFQ, UVA’s website on the affordable housing initiative estimates it will happen in the spring of 2027.

Missel says there is no specific date at this time, but the zoning is now in place and the Foundation has made investments to prepare for the additional residents. To support the county’s infrastructure, the Foundation spent $6 million in 2020 to connect Lewis and Clark Drive to Airport Road. Eventually, that roadway will connect with Berkmar Drive, creating a parallel road to U.S. 29. That’s a core principle of the Places29 Master Plan adopted by county supervisors in February 2011. 

UVA has previously selected a nonprofit entity called Preservation of Affordable Housing to develop a two-acre site at 10th and Wertland streets, and that project is listed as going to construction in the summer of 2026. The Piedmont Housing Alliance was selected to develop a 12-acre Fontaine Avenue site, expected to move dirt sometime in 2027.

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Judge is ready to rule in Charlottesville zoning case, but opens door to more evidence

Judge Worrell, who has been on the bench since July 2013, issued the three-page ruling nearly five months after hearing arguments in the case. Supplied photo.

One month after City Council approved a new zoning code that allows more residential density across Charlottesville, a group of property owners filed a lawsuit arguing they would be harmed by the changes. 

Last week, Charlottesville Circuit Judge Claude Worrell dismissed two of the four counts in White v. Charlottesville but left room for further hearings on the other two. 

“Plaintiffs have provided a sufficient question of fact for the Court to hear evidence regarding the promulgation of the new zoning ordinance,” Worrell wrote in a three-page ruling dated November 12.

One of the open questions under Virginia law is whether the new development code was “drawn and applied with reasonable consideration for the existing use and character of property,” including a review of transportation requirements and other public services. 

So far, all of the legal proceedings have dealt with a motion from the city that states the plaintiffs have no merit and no standing to sue. Each owns a lot that now allows six or eight units rather than the one permitted under the old zoning. 

Worrell concluded the plaintiffs have the right to bring the case, and his invitation for evidence relates to the question of whether Charlottesville followed state regulations. 

In his ruling, Worrell also said if both parties are prepared to proceed without submitting new evidence, he would be ready to “rule as to the sufficiency of the suit as a matter of fact and law.”

The property owners want their day in court. 

“The plaintiffs expect to present evidence regarding the promulgation of the new zoning ordinance at a trial on this matter,” said Mike Derdeyn, the plaintiffs’ attorney.

When asked if it would submit anything new, Afton Schneider, Charlottesville’s director of communications and public engagement, said the city does not comment on pending litigation. 

In late September, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge David Schell ruled against a provision added to Arlington County’s land use regulations that had the same intent as Charlottesville’s development code—to increase the number of places people can live. Schell, a retired judge, was assigned to the case after Arlington judges recused themselves because they are homeowners. Worrell, a property owner in Charlottesville, did not recuse himself.

Part of Schell’s ruling against Arlington’s Expanded Housing Option program hinges on the same section of state code that has kept the Charlottesville case alive. Arlington County has indicated it will appeal the ruling. 

According to the website ARLNow.com, Schell’s ruling will permit several dozen units being built under the EHO program to proceed, but he warned they may one day need to be torn down depending on how the appeals process works out. 

A handful of “major development plans” have been filed with the City of Charlottesville, including the conversion of 303 Alderman Rd. from a single-family house to six townhomes and a by-right request to build 24 units at 2030 Barracks Rd.

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Neighbors oppose private school in Albemarle’s rural area

One of the arguments made by the Dudley Mountain Road Neighbors in the petition is that the proposed Forest School is too close to the roadway. Another is that the roadway can’t handle additional traffic. Image via Line and Grade.

The Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia projects that Albemarle’s population will grow from around 116,000 now to more than 155,000 people in 2050, generating the need for services in a county where growth and development is only allowed on 5 percent of the land mass. 

One service is day care, a function often provided by private schools. Congregation Beth Israel Forest School has recently filed an application for a special use permit to build a 25,000-square-foot facility on Dudley Mountain Road in Albemarle’s rural area. 

“The Forest School helps to serve a huge need for children in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area, especially for the 18-month to kindergarten age range,” reads a narrative written by Kendra Moon of the firm Line and Grade Civil Engineering. “The location of this property so close to the center of Albemarle is critical to its accessibility.” 

The undeveloped property, owned by Julie and Jeffrey Morrill since August 2023, is about a mile and a half away from the edge of Albemarle’s growth area. 

CBI started the Forest School in the spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools as a way of allowing children to continue gathering in an outdoor environment. Now it wants a permanent home.

The overall property is 156 acres and the permit proposes using 15 of them for the school, and putting the remaining land under conservation easement. The plans call for space for 140 students in what is described as a basecamp. This would include an 11,100-square-foot multipurpose building and three cabins no larger than 3,000 square feet each. 

However, an online petition has been created by a group called the Dudley Mountain Road Neighbors calling on the Planning Commission to recommend against the special use permit.

“This would be the first non-residential/agricultural use along this scenic roadway, setting a precedent for future development,” reads the petition. “The narrow, winding roadway would be subject to twice-daily traffic surges—causing further decay of the already worn roadway and making it unsafe for existing residential traffic and bikes.”

Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan sets aside 5 percent of the county’s 726 square miles for development, but allows for new uses that support the rural area. One criteria is that a proposed use should “relate directly to the rural area and need a rural area location in order to be successful.” However, another requirement is that they “be suitable for existing rural roads and result in little discernible difference in traffic patterns.” 

The application states that there will be 109 vehicle trips to the location during peak periods. An engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation has looked at the plans and found them “generally acceptable.” 

Scott Clark, a rural area planner for Albemarle, has reviewed the application and offered this interpretation in an October 31 letter: “While limiting the extent of development on the property is helpful, the creation of a school use in the Rural Area is not directly supportive of the Rural Area goals established in the 2015 plan,” Clark wrote. 

The final decision will be made by the Board of Supervisors after a recommendation from the Planning Commission. There’s no date yet for public hearings, but the first opportunity to hear about the development from the applicant will come at a November 19 community meeting at Walton Middle School at 6pm. 

Albemarle is continuing work on a Comprehensive Plan update and soon the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors will take up sections of the AC44 draft that may revisit those criteria.

On November 12, the Albemarle Planning Commission was scheduled to hold a public hearing on whether to grant a special use permit for an automotive repair facility on Route 20 in Keene. While there’s no petition, dozens of people provided written comments in advance.

“There are only 149 residents of Keene and only another 591 in close by Esmont,” wrote Paula and Jerome Beazley. “These residents are not in need of these services.”

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Another mixed-use project hopes to build more homes, less space for business 

The area highlighted in purple is where the additional 300 units would be built in Albemarle County’s Brookhill development. Photo via Riverbend Development.

When Albemarle supervisors approved a rezoning of 277 acres north of Polo Grounds Road in November 2016, Riverbend Development got the green light to build up to 1,550 residential units and develop 130,000 square feet of commercial space.  

Eight years later, Riverbend has asked Albemarle for permission to build 300 more homes as part of a plan that will likely result in significantly less non-residential space. 

“This request is made in recognition of the ongoing housing crisis in our region and the need to construct more units at a variety of price points and especially more units that are affordable to households in the area,” reads a narrative filed earlier this month. 

This application follows another one made last year by Great Eastern Management Company to allow for an increase in the number of units there from 893 to 1,548. Public hearings for that change have not yet been scheduled. The developers of the Albemarle Business Campus on Fifth Street Extended are also seeking to trade out commercial space for more residential. 

All are responses to a housing policy Albemarle supervisors approved in July 2021 that calls for ways to “increase the supply of housing to meet the diverse housing needs of current and future Albemarle County residents.” 

The amendment to Brookhill’s previous rezoning requires a new traffic study, which describes the changes to the commercial space. According to that document, the new plan halves the proposed amount of retail to 50,000 square feet and office space is no longer proposed. 

So far, Riverbend has completed 595 of the 1,550 units allowed according to Abbey Stumpf, the county’s director of communications and public engagement. 

The new units will be built in what had been billed as a town center during the rezoning. At one point there was a proposal to build an ice rink but that project never materialized, despite an active fundraising effort. 

The binding “code of development” for the project requires a minimum of 50,000 square feet of non-residential to be constructed in the town center. The new study indicates a 20,000 square feet brewery tap room is planned. 

The study indicates the mix of residential units will be changing as well. The original rezoning anticipated 550 single family homes but the new study only anticipates 120. There would be 700 townhomes instead of 200 and 960 apartments instead of 600. The new study reflects that a congregate care facility has already been built.  

At some point, Riverbend will be required to hold a community meeting for the public to learn about the plan before it goes to the Planning Commission. That has not yet been scheduled. 

The amendments also come at a time when work has resumed on a Comprehensive Plan that is being updated to guide the county to accommodate projections from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service that Albemarle will have over 155,000 people living there by 2050. 

Many residents of the Village of Rivanna growth area have protested the idea that residential density be more than one acre per unit, prompting some members of the Board of Supervisors to explore swapping out the land with other places in the county.

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Five-unit Venable apartment building to be replaced with nine-dwelling structure 

The proposed apartment building at 1609 Gordon Ave. will include nine units. Image via Design Develop.

The future of land use in Charlottesville will be determined parcel by parcel as property owners make decisions about whether they will build units that are required to be sold or rented at levels below the market value. 

The relatively new owners of 1609 Gordon Ave., an LLC who bought the property in December 2021 for $600,000, have decided not to pursue affordability when replacing a two-story 1963 apartment building with a three-story structure with nine units. 

That is one unit less than would trigger the city’s mandate that 10 percent of units in non-residential neighborhoods comply with affordability requirements. This is known as inclusionary zoning. 

“Rents for affordable homes are set relative to the Area Median Income (AMI), the household income for the median household in a region,” reads a portion of the Affordable Housing Plan adopted by Charlottesville City Council in March 2021. 

The maximum monthly rents are established in the city’s affordable dwelling unit manual and must be reserved for households with incomes below 60 percent of AMI. At that level, the current monthly caps are $1,416 for a two-bedroom, $1,582 for a three-bedroom, and $1,732 for a four-bedroom. Developers must submit a form showing how they will comply with the rules, but the Gordon Avenue project is exempt and does not have to provide any information about projected rents. 

Located in the Venable neighborhood, 1609 Gordon Ave. has the RX-5 designation that allows for as much density as can fit within a seven-story structure, as long as 10 percent of units are affordable or the developer contributes to a city fund. The new rules increased these amounts substantially to $368,303 for a two-bedroom unit and $547,339 for a three-bedroom unit. 

The new zoning eliminates the role City Council plays in such developments, but the Board of Architectural Review still has to sign off on the design. It had an initial review on Tuesday, October 15, a discussion that had nothing to do with affordability but everything to do with how the new structure will fit in with the surrounding architectural design control district.  

That district has been changing with certificates of appropriateness, having recently been approved for a new four-story apartment building at 1532 Virginia Ave., a three-story sorority house at 503 Rugby Rd., and a three-story apartment building at 605 Preston Ave.

But one remaining question is whether anyone will take advantage of the higher densities allowed and submit to the inclusionary zoning. Charlottesville’s Housing Advisory Committee will discuss potential proposals on Wednesday, October 16. These include measures to provide tax rebates to subsidize the cost to the developer. 

Meanwhile, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority continues to proceed with a plan to purchase more units across the city and use federal housing vouchers to subsidize their cost. In September, the CRHA Board agreed to spend $2.8 million to purchase three more properties, comprising more than a dozen units, around the city. 

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Albemarle County biotech company to add 200 jobs at expanded facility

The conceptual rendering above is of Afton Scientific’s expanded manufacturing operations in Albemarle County. Founded in 1991, the company makes technology that can safely create small batches of pharmaceuticals for clinical trials. Image via Scott Collins, Collins Engineering.

Albemarle County’s campaign to grow the biotechnology industry showed a major sign of progress earlier this month when one company announced plans to invest $200 million into an expansion project.  

“We want to expand our manufacturing to make sterile medicines, put in clean rooms, and create really, really great jobs,” said Afton Scientific’s Tom Thorpe during an announcement at the county’s headquarters off Avon Street Extended.

Thorpe founded Afton Scientific in 1991 to make technology that can safely create small batches of pharmaceuticals for clinical trials. In late August, Afton Scientific paid $4.25 million to a subsidiary of Coran Capshaw’s Riverbend Development for the 6.78 acres in the same industrial park for the expansion. The property is just to the south of the Charlottesville border and overlooks Moores Creek. 

According to the trade organization Cville­BioHub, there are at least 75 companies in the area related to the biotech industry, with more than 1,950 employees. Afton Scientific is pledging to add 200 more jobs and will use resources from the Virginia Partnership for Economic Development to find skilled workers.

Albemarle first identified the biotechnology field as one of its targeted sectors in a 2012 study that also prioritized defense, information technology, and financial services. 

“Afton Scientific started in our community 30 years ago and we couldn’t be more proud of this business, of this industry being in our community today,” said County Executive Jeff Richardson. 

One of Afton Scientific’s neighbors is Lighthouse Instruments, another industry representative. Its website describes the company as “the leading global provider of optical-based, non-destructive headspace analysis systems and analytical services.” That means they’re also involved in the pursuit of making medicines safer. 

Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade was on hand for the announcement and said the Charlottesville area is becoming known as a hub for the industry.

“In Charlottesville, just in the last year, we had more than $400 million of federal research grants,” said Caren Merrick. “We’ve also had more than 90 million in equity investments in our startups.”

But are there enough people in the area who can provide the labor? To answer that question and prepare for the future, CvilleBioHub is seeking state funding for a study of what workforce programs are needed. In addition to private sector jobs, there will be a need for people who can work in the many laboratories that will serve the Manning Institute of Biotechnology that’s currently under construction at the University of Virginia’s Fontaine Research Park. 

“What do we need to be preparing our workforce for now so that we can serve the growth that’s anticipated as a result of the things that are happening?” said Nikki Hastings, CEO of CvilleBioHub at a recent meeting of the Albemarle Economic Development Authority.

The EDA helped negotiate some of the details of the Afton Scientific expansion, including access to the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund. The secret deal went by the code name Project Olympian. 

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A hotel seems more likely at Artful Lodger shopping center

If the project proceeds, the hotel at 218 W. Market St. would replace a shopping center that includes The Artful Lodger, The Livery Stable, and several other businesses. Photo by Eze Amos.

A New York-based developer who had planned to build a nine-story apartment tower on the site of a downtown Charlottesville shopping center has sold the property for $5.75 million. 

Jeffrey Levien’s company Heirloom Development bought 218 W. Market St. in June 2020 for $4 million, but sold the property in mid-September to Cavalier Hospitality LLC. That entity is based out of Glen Allen, Virginia, and has not yet filed new plans for the property. 

However, Levien says he will still be involved in the development of a hotel as a partner. 

“I just couldn’t make the economics work for residential under the new zoning code,” Levien says. 

Under the inclusionary zoning rules in the city’s new Development Code, one of every 10 units in any new development in non-residential areas must be guaranteed to be rented or sold to households below specific incomes. No such requirement would be necessary for a hotel, something that is an allowed use under the zoning that went into effect this past February. 

Levien pursued the residential project at 218 W. Market under the older rules, which required a special use permit for additional height and density. City Council approved a permit in September 2020 despite concerns from former mayor Nikuyah Walker that the project did not address the need for affordable housing. 

In August 2023, council agreed to a permit amendment to allow for a modification of the building’s massing. As part of that approval, Levien agreed to build a minimum of eight affordable units on-site or off-site with two units to be reserved for households making less than 50 percent of the area median income. That was above the minimum requirement but not enough to satisfy the concerns of City Councilor Michael Payne. 

This spring, Levien brought a preliminary design to the Board of Architectural Review for a hotel with a design from Richmond-based NBJ Architecture. That body looked favorably on the concept, but it did not receive an official submission. No plans have been filed since. 

So far there have only been a handful of new projects filed under the new zoning, which is intended to make it easier to build more housing units across the city and to eliminate the role of City Council in making decisions about what gets built. 

One of these new projects, at 1609 Gordon Ave., would see an existing house razed to build a new structure with nine units. A 10th unit would need to be affordable.

Another new development at 2030 Barracks Rd. would see 12 affordable units built alongside 12 market-rate units. 

Levien’s first development in Charlottesville was a luxury 56-unit apartment building that also redeveloped the buildings that contain Blue Moon Diner and a former convenience store. That project broke ground in 2018, nearly two years after council granted approval. 

Another project that has not yet moved forward is the replacement of the University Tire building next door, at 612 W. Main, with another apartment building. Levien says he still plans to proceed with that project, which was approved by council on a 4-1 vote in October 2019. A final site plan has been approved but no building permit has been authorized. 

If it proceeds, the new hotel would replace a shopping center that includes The Artful Lodger, The Livery Stable, and several other businesses. The BAR has approved a permit for demolition pending the issuance of a building permit.

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UVA Board of Visitors to meet this week over two private development projects

The 12-story Verve is one of two large student apartment buildings planned for construction within close proximity to the University of Virginia. Photo via ESG Architecture and Design.

The governing body of the area’s largest landowner will meet this week with five new members, at least one of whom has significant experience in real estate. Governor Glenn Youngkin’s latest appointees to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors begin their terms at a time when two private, recently approved student developments are moving toward construction and while UVA seeks to provide more housing for students.  

“UVA has committed to expanding its current first-year residency requirement to require all first- and second-year students to live on-Grounds while enrolled at UVA to better support students in their transition to University life, and as residents of the broader Charlottesville community,” reads a May 2024 solicitation for firms to partner to build the housing. 

At the same time, two large private developments near UVA continue to make their way through the finer details of the city’s permitting process. 

On Tuesday, the Charlottesville Planning Commission formally approved a site plan for the Verve, a 12-story student apartment building to be constructed in the heart of central Grounds. Several dozen apartments at the intersection of Jefferson Park Avenue and Emmet Street will soon be demolished to make way for the new building, which will have 442 units, according to the site plan.

City Council approved a rezoning in January for the Verve despite opposition from UVA officials, who argued the tall building would diminish UVA’s architectural character. The plans were submitted in time to qualify under the city’s old zoning rules, which required significantly fewer units to be designated as affordable. In this case, the developer will contribute $6.8 million to the city’s affordable housing fund rather than build units that are price-controlled. 

Earlier this month, the Charlottesville City Council granted approval of another technical step for a 10-story student apartment building at 2117 Ivy Rd. that was approved under the old rules. That project comes with a $3.25 million contribution to the city’s affordable housing fund and required council action to waive a requirement to build sidewalks on all road fronts.

“The waiver request is only for the easternmost portion of the property’s frontage on Copeley Road,” said Dannan O’Connell, a city planner. He added that they will build sidewalks on Ivy Road and a portion of Copeley Road. 

Meanwhile, UVA is planning to build up to 2,000 bedrooms for undergraduate students at both the former University Gardens as well as on Ivy Road. The Afghan Kabob restaurant will be demolished to make way for what UVA calls the Emmet North site. 

Because UVA owns those parcels of land, the city will not collect property tax revenue but they will for both the Verve and 2117 Ivy Rd. UVA officials want the first units to come online for the fall of 2027. 

One of the new members of the Board of Visitors is David F. Webb of Virginia Beach, whose day job is vice chair of development firm CBRE’s Capital Markets Group. Webb is now a member of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, which will meet on Thursday. One item on their agenda is a discussion of student housing. 

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Closing arguments filed in challenge to city’s new zoning code

The developer of 303 Alderman Rd. will be among the first to take advantage of the new zoning, if and when this single family house is demolished to make way for six townhomes. Photo by Sean Tubbs.

The waiting game continues for a lawsuit filed earlier this year that seeks to nullify Charlottesville’s new zoning code. 

A group of residents filed suit against Charlottesville in January alleging that city officials failed to follow state guidelines to study the impacts higher residential density allowed in the Development Code would have on transportation infrastructure. The land-use rules were rewritten shortly after City Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan on November 21 that called for more housing across the entire city. 

“A comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance must be submitted to [the Virginia Department of Transportation] for review when [they] will ‘substantially affect’ transportation on state-controlled highways,” wrote attorneys with the firm Flora Pettit in a filing with Charlottesville Circuit Court in late August. 

This spring, Charlottesville responded with a motion seeking to dismiss the case arguing that the plaintiffs do not have the right to sue, and added they cannot prove they will be harmed by the new rules. 

After a 90-minute hearing in late June, both sides filed written closing statements to inform Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell’s eventual opinion. Lawyers with the firm Gentry Locke argue the suit should not proceed to trial.

“Plaintiffs do not like the policy choices in the new zoning ordinance,” the Gentry Locke attorneys wrote in their recent filing. “The City followed the process in enacting the NZO. The Plaintiffs, therefore, rely on strained legal theories and ignore facts in their effort.” 

Attorneys for the city also argue that Charlottesville followed the rules when submitting the mobility chapter of the Comprehensive Plan to VDOT, a key claim made by the defendants. 

“Plaintiffs cannot now—more than two years after the fact—fault the City for failing to double-check VDOT’s work product,” the closing argument continues. 

Flora Pettit attorney Michael Derdeyn represents those plaintiffs, as well an anonymous group that previously sought to overturn the Comprehensive Plan based on many of the same arguments. He argues that VDOT review should have been based on the theoretical maximum of new housing units that could be built under the new code. 

“There can be no question that the City failed to comply with its obligation,” Derdeyn wrote.

That will be up to Judge Worrell to decide, and a ruling will be issued at some point in the near future. 

Meanwhile, developers have slowly begun taking advantage of the provisions in the new code that allow more density without asking City Council for permission. That includes six units planned to be built at 303 Alderman Rd., a property that had been zoned for single-family residential but is now in the Residential B district. 

Another plan, submitted for land behind the Meadowbrook Shopping Center, will be the first to take advantage of bonus rules if units meet the city’s affordability guidelines. 

A firm called Greenshire Holdings has filed a major development plan to build 24 units on what is now an 0.83-acre lot at 2030 Barracks Rd. The materials sent to the city include a request to subdivide the property into two lots with 12 units to be built on each. 

No traffic management plan would be required because the total amount of construction is under the 50,000 square-foot threshold that would trigger one.