In recent years, Charlottesville City Council has agreed to spend millions of dollars to purchase land in order to advance their priorities.
That trend is set to continue this fall as city officials have negotiated the purchase of an office building and 3.8 acres of land at 2000 Holiday Dr. for $6.2 million for potential renovation into a low-barrier shelter for people without a place to live.
“Given the building’s current configuration, it will require renovation to be suitable for overnight shelter purposes,” reads the staff report for Council’s October 6 meeting.
On September 15, City Manager Sam Sanders briefed the City Council on efforts to address the unhoused population and said the first priority is the establishment of a low-barrier shelter. At the time, he said city officials had toured a location but negotiations were not underway. A sales agreement included in the meeting packet is dated September 25.
“At this point, plans have not been developed, and costs are unknown at this time,” the staff report continues. “The proposed Purchase Agreement provides a short study period until October 30 to more fully identify any issues that would significantly prevent transition to a shelter use.”
During that time, city staff will reach out to various service providers who would be interested in running a shelter. The budget for the current fiscal year includes $500,000 toward an operating subsidy.
Council voted unanimously on October 6 to authorize Sanders to move forward with the purchase pending an evaluation of the property. A public hearing on the funding will be held on October 20.
The current building and the 1.574-acre property is assessed at $6.44 million, according to city property records. The 27,094-square-foot building was constructed in 1964. The location is eight hundred feet away from a Charlottesville Area Transit stop on Emmet Street.
The funding for the purchase will come from surpluses from previous years that at one point totaled $22.4 million. In June, Council agreed to spend $8.69 million of that on a series of initiatives, including $1.2 million to hire a company called Block by Block to clean the Downtown Mall and $280,000 was to be spent toward a long-term solution for a public restroom for the Mall.
Another $425,000 was set aside to hire two employees to provide outreach to the unhoused. Those positions had not been filled as of early September and the city was working with the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless to identify how they could best be utilized.
If this purchase goes forward, closing is set for November 20.
In recent years, Council has agreed to spend $8.67 million to allow two housing nonprofits to buy the Carlton Mobile Home Park, $5.9 million to purchase 20 acres of floodplain land on East High Street, and $4 million to purchase 405 Levy Ave. from the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
The intent of the latter purchase was for potential use as the low-barrier shelter, but that project did not move forward. The Levy site had also been considered at one point for a “single room occupancy” facility similar to the Crossings at Fourth and Preston and the Vista29 project under construction on U.S. 29 in Albemarle County.
In 2023, Council also contributed $5 million to the CRHA’s purchase of dozens of homes throughout Charlottesville that are known as the Dogwood portfolio.
