Sean Tubbs

Should Albemarle County supervisors pay a single landowner $58 million for 462 acres of land to help preserve the future of the area’s growing intelligence community? That’s the question for a June 21 public hearing.   “We know this project is a generational investment in our community’s vibrancy,” says J.T. Newberry, Albemarle’s interim director of […]

Voting in this year’s Democratic primary has already begun, but the five candidates seeking three nominations for Charlottesville City Council will continue to answer questions at forums between now and primary day, June 20.   That was the case at a May 17 forum put on by the Greenbrier Neighborhood Association, which featured many questions […]

The City of Charlottesville is in the process of purchasing property to build a 1,700-foot shared-use path on Barracks Road from Emmet Street to Buckingham Road. That’s about halfway up the hill, and drew questions from one long-time observer of local government.   “What are we thinking?” says Rugby Road resident John Pfaltz. “It’s too […]

An organization that seeks to foster appreciation for older buildings in the hopes of preserving them for the future now owns a significant Woolen Mills landmark.     “The 1887 Woolen Mills chapel is one of the earliest still surviving historic houses of worship in the city,” says Genevieve Keller, president of Preservation Piedmont, which […]

There are many reasons why Charlottesville is amending its zoning code, but a major one is to provide protections to halt, or slow, displacement of Black residents. Yet some are concerned that a plan that increases density will not have the intended effect.    “If you’re saying you are wanting to help a group of […]

For several years, a burned-out husk of a 20th-century motel has remained standing at 140 Emmet St., near one of the main entrances to the University of Virginia. Now, the structure is set to come down.    After a May 2017 fire destroyed the Excel Inn, where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed during his 1963 […]

Our spring of zoning continues this month with more rollout of new rules that will determine what Charlottesville’s future looks like.    “At this point, we are proposing no minimum parking requirement in order to support reuse and redevelopment of sites within the city,” said James Freas, Charlottesville’s director of Neighborhood Development Services. “We fully […]

In the past few years, developers have filed proposals for some of the last vacant parcels in Charlottesville, pushing the limits of growth. This includes two projects a quarter-mile away from each other on the Rivanna River in an area where the city has never conducted a small-area plan for infrastructure.    Local firm Seven […]

The cost of housing continues to rise, but there is a large desire in the community for steps to be taken to preserve housing for those with lower incomes. That is translating into several large capital expenses throughout the area.    This week, Charlottesville City Council held the first reading of a plan to award […]

There has been a slight delay in the release of further details about how Charlottesville’s new zoning code will work, but at least two major projects are making their way through the system.    Earlier this month, City Council signaled it will likely allow a technical change to the existing zoning to consider a nine-story […]