When the Board of Supervisors approved Greystar Development’s request to rezone 36 acres of land just to the west of the University of Virginia’s North Grounds, there was no mention of what the area would be called after 525 new units were built. At some point between March 2023 and now, marketing officials came up […]
In the very near future, new residential units will come online near the University of Virginia, including 463 units at the 12-story Verve and 550 units on Old Ivy Road in an area Greystar Development and Construction has dubbed Spring Valley. There is also new life planned for existing buildings such as the Holiday Inn […]
One of the goals of the extension of Hillsdale Drive from Greenbrier Drive to Hydraulic Road was to help encourage redevelopment of shopping centers designed for the 20th century. “The new street alignment will begin to break down the block structure east of U.S. Route 29 and shape future development parcels in the area toward […]
Shortly before the pandemic in March 2020, former University of Virginia president Jim Ryan announced an initiative to contribute land for the development of up to 1,500 affordable housing units in Albemarle County and Charlottesville. While none have yet been built, UVA officials remain committed to moving forward at three sites. Each is at a […]
If people from 2016 Charlottesville time traveled to Ivy Road, they would probably be incredibly shocked that an entire city block has been replaced with a new generation of buildings built for the University of Virginia. A similar sensation might be felt by one of us if we suddenly found ourselves on Arlington Boulevard 10 […]
A group of churches in Louisa have been seeking a change to the county’s Land Development Regulations to allow them to offer overnight shelter for those without a home. In August 2025, the Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend a change that would allow churches and nonprofit groups to operate a “humanitarian shelter” if they obtain […]
The median home price in Albemarle County this May was $554,000 and the median rent is around $2,200. Either is out of reach of many in the community—especially those on government salaries. “Police officers start at $60,798, firefighters at $59,825,” said Kaki Dimock, Albemarle’s chief of human services, at a June 17 Board of Supervisors […]
One of the tasks awaiting Charlottesville’s next director of Neighborhood Development Services is how to respond to ongoing calls to amend the city’s 2023 zoning code to hinder the construction of tall buildings in some areas. “There are a lot of unintended consequences because of some of the decisions that were made in the ordinance,” […]
When Katharine DeGeorge and Jeremy Kent bought a house on 7.86 acres in May 2022, previous owner David A. Powell signed an affidavit stating he knew of no violations of county ordinance nor any issues related to securing permission to build on the property. That turned out not to be true, and the couple is […]
For the second time in a few weeks, Woodard Properties has filed a development plan with the City of Charlottesville for a building in what the new zoning code refers to as a Core Neighborhood Overlay District. According to the Development Code, the district is intended “to implement the Comprehensive Plan goals of encouraging construction […]
The tension between Charlottesville’s permissive new zoning code and public housing advocates continued to be on display when the Board of Architectural Review took a preliminary look at a revised proposal for another student housing building on West Main Street during its May 19 meeting. “Ultimately something’s going to get built here,” said BAR Chairman […]