The Charlottesville Planning Commission denied an application August 14 to rezone property at the corner of W. Main Street and McIntire Road for which a nine-story building is planned, citing the project’s lack of affordable housing. The proposed high-rise would contain 79 condo units and four retail establishments with more than 180 parking spaces on the lower level.
 The much-discussed site at the corner of W. Main Street and McIntire Road won’t see 79 condo units, says the Charlottesville Planning Commission—though more chapters in this story are almost certainly forthcoming |
The Richmond-based developer behind the plan, however, only designated two of those 79 residential units as affordable housing. At less than 3 percent of the building’s residential units, the project’s number of affordable units is significantly below the Commission’s normal goal of 15 percent per development.
"If we were to provide 15 percent as affordable in this location, we could not afford to do the deal," said Robert Englander, president of the Cathford Group, at the meeting. "We have given what we feel comfortable with, and it is the maximum we can do."
Englander argued that planned streetscape improvements adjacent to the property, plans for limited vehicular access to the development and a $200,000 donation to the Piedmont Housing Alliance for the purchase of the affordable-housing units were enough to make up for the project’s small percentage of said units on the heavily trafficked corner. Even though most of the commissioners expressed hope for the project, a 4-2 vote stalled the nine-story building.
There is still hope for Englander. At a June 25 meeting, the Downtown Development Committee recommended that the zoning regulations for the Downtown and W. Main Street corridors be changed. According to Neighborhood Planner Ebony Walden, if these changes are made, then the development’s planned density of 87 dwelling units per acre would be allowed by-right. A special-use permit, however, would still be needed for the building to reach its proposed height of 101′. In a written statement, Ebony says these recommendations will likely come before the Planning Commission and City Council near the end of 2007 or the beginning of 2008.
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