After 18 months of legal procedures over the city’s new zoning code, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell has granted a default judgment throwing out the new rules. A group of Charlottesville property owners filed suit against the city in January 2024 arguing that it had not done enough to study the potential impacts additional […]
After 18 months of legal procedures over the city’s new zoning code, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell has granted a default judgment throwing out the new rules. A group of Charlottesville property owners filed suit against the city in January 2024 arguing that it had not done enough to study the potential impacts additional […]
Charlottesville’s new development code is intended to encourage the construction of new places to live across the city. However, there are still a few remaining large-scale residential projects being reviewed under the old rules. For instance, plans are moving forward to build 267 units on U.S. 29 at the site of the Hibachi Grill under […]
Three apartment buildings marketed to University of Virginia students sprung up on West Main Street in the 2010s, taking advantage of a zoning code from 2003 that encouraged residential density along major corridors. On June 17, Charlottesville’s Board of Architectural Review had a first look at a proposal that would utilize a new zoning code […]
More than two years have passed since the Albemarle Board of Supervisors gave permission for staff to move forward with the biggest economic development project in county history. Supervisors agreed in May 2023 to proceed with the $58 million purchase of more than 462 acres of land around the Rivanna Station military base for a […]
While not constrained by either Albemarle County or the City of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia is a public body governed by an appointed Board of Visitors. The group meets at the Boar’s Head Resort this week, and one item on the agenda is renewed scrutiny of future construction projects. “The first two quarters of […]
These are complicated times for anyone who’s tracking the details of how new housing gets constructed in Charlottesville. While planners and builders are still learning how the new development code works, staff in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services are hoping to adopt the first set of amendments by the end of the year. A […]
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit just over five years ago, child-care providers struggled to find ways to stay open amidst social distancing rules. Congregation Beth Israel “pivoted to a forest school model, embracing outdoor learning to keep our doors open for families,” said Jill Abbey-Clark, the director of what CBI calls its Forest School. To […]
Charlottesville has seen many periods of growth since its founding in 1762, and new development rules adopted in late 2023 point the way to a more dense future. Along the way, city leaders have made decisions about whether some buildings should be preserved, assigning the Board of Architectural Review—the governing body that makes such decisions—a […]
When an investment firm purchased the former Cavalier Crossing apartment complex on Fifth Street Extended last year, affordable housing advocates were horrified that the intent was to convert the 144 existing units to market rate. Now Bonaventure has filed plans with Albemarle to rezone the property to allow construction of 165 new units and comply […]
When City Council adopted a new zoning code in late 2023, the action granted property owners the ability to build many more houses and apartments than under the old rules. Charlottesville’s housing program manager said that has made property more valuable. “We have occurrences of rising land costs [and] speculative development that may happen within […]