A final site plan for The Mark, a seven-story student housing building on Seventh Street SW, is under review.
S
ince the summer of 2025, Fifeville resident Frank Bechter has been one of the most vocal opponents of The Mark, a student housing building planned for undeveloped land on Seventh Street SW.
The seven-story building is allowed without City Council approval because the new zoning code adopted in December 2023 designated that land as the high-volume Residential-Mixed Use 5 district.
“Decisions and things on paper were decided and made, but at a certain point the rubber hits the road and then one can see a little bit more clearly what those decisions entail,” Bechter said to Council at its November 2 meeting, where he called for major reform.
Earlier that afternoon, councilors had been briefed on a second set of minor reforms of the new rules to address technical issues and not the overarching question of what can be done in each district.
Council approved a first set of changes in February that went into effect in March. A second round of changes goes to a joint public hearing with City Council on December 8 with approval, so those amendments are implemented on schedule.
“We’ve been aiming for these cleanups to be on a March-to-March effective date so that the development community, the public are aware of the new code,” said Matt Alfele, development planning manager for the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services.
Alfele said the second round of changes is derived from a running list with input from the Planning Commission, as well as comments from developers.
City Councilor Michael Payne has advocated for addressing some of those larger issues as soon as possible, such as allowing more commercial uses in residential areas. Another is a provision in the code that allows for “student housing” projects within a half-mile radius of the edge of the University of Virginia’s Central Grounds.
“Is there any existing timeline for when any of those issues would at least be discussed and a decision would be made whether to take any action around them or not?” Payne asked.
Mike Goddard, the interim NDS director, said that work will likely happen as part of the five-year review of the Comprehensive Plan. The version of that document that Council adopted in November 2021 set the stage for the current zoning code by calling for more development rights across the city.
Goddard offered no timeline for the review. Council approved a scope of work on October 19, but there are no dates in the presentation. Payne said many members of the public feel this is not fast enough.
“These are policy decisions, City Council decisions,” Payne said. “There has been over a year at this point of conversations in the community about these issues. I don’t think that is matching what the community is expecting or wanting to hear.”
Mayor Juandiego Wade said City Manager Sam Sanders has been briefing councilors about potential changes to the scope.
“Sam has been talking to us about what those look like and will that timeline change,” Wade said. “We hope to be able to talk with the public about that soon.”
A final site plan for The Mark is currently under review.
