More zoning

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 […]

A tale of two developments

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 […]

Keep it low

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 […]

Zoning can wait

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 […]

Straddling borders

Population growth and the impact of a more congested community is not limited to one political jurisdiction. But how well is this place set up to build transportation infrastructure that straddles borders between Albemarle, Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia? A recent letter from the Fry’s Spring Neighborhood Association asked the City of Charlottesville to […]

More, more, more

This week, Charlottesville is expected to release the second of three sections of a new zoning code that is intended to increase residential density across the entire city and make it easier for developers to build with fewer government hurdles.    The first section established the basic rules for what can be built where. At […]

Once and future

As the third month of the third year of the third decade gets underway, Charlottesville is poised for a new future. All over the city, landowners will have more space to build under the adopted Comprehensive Plan and the new zoning rules that are being written this spring.   Some of the places where more […]

Building boom

Many of the development firms that build new spaces to live in the Charlottesville area are homegrown with a close-up view of this dynamic market. Names like Southern Development, Riverbend Development, Stony Point Development Group, and Great Eastern Management Company come up a lot when new projects become public.   But in the last several […]

Sold!

A look through real estate sales in Charlottesville for the first month of the year shows a market with signs of a cooler 2023, while also revealing hints that there is money to be made in the future. Sales volumes are down from January 2022, while inventories are beginning to increase.   “January saw fewer transactions […]

Zoning in

The draft zoning map for Charlottesville points the way to a dense future for the city, all in the name of providing affordable housing. But the existing zoning still provides opportunities for additional residential density for those who can pay for it. Sometimes that means removing houses.   For example, a house built in 1893 […]