New suit filed against Stonefield developer

Only days after The Shops at Stonefield developer and Charlottesville City Council came to an agreement that ended a long legal dispute over stormwater management, a new lawsuit has been filed in the Albemarle County Circuit Court that may halt construction of the shopping center’s second phase. According to a press release from Monday, March […]

HUD report criticizes foundering, divided housing authority

The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA) got a thrashing last week with the release of a highly critical report on its operations by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and since then, parties on all sides of the debate over how to fix public housing in the city have been leveraging […]

What will it take for Dominion to bury power lines?

Before the end of the winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in central Virginia and put the Commonwealth into a state of emergency last week, 233,000 Dominion Power customers around the state were without electricity in freezing temperatures, including tens of thousands in Charlottesville and Albemarle.  At 10am Wednesday—the morning after […]

Should VDOT reroute the Bypass around graves of slave descendants?

Jesse Scott Sammons was born a free black man in 1853, eight years before the Civil War and 10 years before Emancipation. A descendant of Monticello slave Mary Hemings—sister of Sally—Sammons attended what is now Charlottesville’s Jefferson School. He went on to become the first principal of the first high school for African-American students in Albemarle […]

What’s in a comprehensive plan?

Few local government topics are as mired in planning jargon—or more likely to cause eyes to glaze over at public meetings—than the revision of a comprehensive plan, the massive guidance document that lays out broad ground rules for a municipality’s growth and development. “It’s sort of this giant cloud that hangs over the community for […]

City makes Section 3 position permanent with eye to moving redevelopment forward

City Council voted unanimously last week to permanently fund its Section 3 coordinator, a previously temporary position that bridges the gap between the city and the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Despite differing opinions on where the money should come from, city officials agree that the position—currently held by Tierra Howard—is essential for the Housing […]

Judge clears way for Biscuit Run suit to go to trial

The original purchasers of the 1,200-acre Biscuit Run tract just south of I-64 have been battling Virginia’s Department of Taxation for years over a $20 million tax credit claim, and on Tuesday, a county judge denied a challenge from the state, clearing the way for a spring trial date. “It’s wonderful news,” said Craig D. […]

Site prep for future Wegmans shopping center scrutinized

Plans for a shopping center with a Wegmans grocery store just south of Charlottesville are marching forward, despite recommendations of caution from staff and the qualms of some neighbors. Last week, the Albemarle County Planning Commission gave its stamp of approval to a special use permit allowing developers to fill in parts of the site […]

Martha Jefferson site to welcome new tenant: C’ville biotech firm HemoShear

The former Martha Jefferson Hospital campus stands to get another shot in the arm in the coming weeks. HemoShear, a Charlottesville biotech company that helps drug manufacturers more accurately simulate human environments, said January 22 it plans to become the site’s next tenant. The announcement comes on the heels of the CFA Institute beginning construction […]