More than two years have passed since the Albemarle Board of Supervisors gave permission for staff to move forward with the biggest economic development project in county history.
Supervisors agreed in May 2023 to proceed with the $58 million purchase of more than 462 acres of land around the Rivanna Station military base for a project called Rivanna Futures. Since then, a portion of the land has been rezoned to allow for development of a defense and intelligence campus.
In addition to qualifying for state grants, county staff has to get the various land use permits approved by county staff. An initial site plan was filed in mid-May for a section known as Land Bay 30 to allow for development by taking down trees and vegetation.
“This work is being performed in line with the expectations expressed by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP)—specifically the Virginia Business Ready Sites program—which deviates slightly from traditional development trajectories,” reads the site plan.
In most cases, development occurs when there is a builder who has a tenant or client in mind when going through the permitting process. In this case, the county will leave it up to the state to find a partner.
“VEDP can help match partners who need land with owners who have land available,” the site plan continues. “Such is the intent of this project—to have land available for development partners.”
Land Bay 30 is a 34-acre section just to the north of the National Ground Intelligence Center. This site plan is for grading the land, preparing basins to collect stormwater generated by all of the new asphalt and impervious surface, and laying down utilities.
The goal is to get the land to what the VEDP classifies as Tier 4 readiness.
“Tier 4 readiness is a site characterization that includes a cleared and graded site, with utilities extended in such a way that the site could support building construction within 12 to 18 months,” says Abbey Stumpf, Albemarle’s director of communications and public engagement.
Stumpf says the county is hoping to break ground on clearing the land by mid-November. She added that Albemarle County’s site plan would be reviewed like that of a private developer.
Part of the funding for the site preparation work comes from a $613,570 grant from the GO Virginia Region 9 Council awarded to the county earlier this year.
An initial comment letter for the project was issued on time, according to the county’s Civic Access portal. One planner recommends a buffer because the proposed grading is close to a cemetery belonging to the Pritchett family, and the cemetery may be larger than originally believed.
“Although this cemetery appears to be compact and rigidly organized, this area should be treated with caution,” reads a portion of a historic survey conducted by the firm Cultural Resources Inc.
That work was done in advance of the rezoning, shortly after the county took possession of the land.
The site that will be graded for the Rivanna Futures project is marked in gray. This is just phase one of the overall project if all goes according to Economic Development’s plans. Photo: Albemarle County/Line and Grade.
