At the January 24 meeting of the Pantops Community Advisory Committee, members learned about a site plan for a new project at the intersection of Town and Country Lane and Olympia Drive. Rachel Falkenstein is a planning manager with Albemarle. (watch the meeting)
“The proposal there is for a five-story 119-room hotel and parking,” Falkenstein said.
That use is consistent with the zoning, but the final design will need to get a certificate of appropriateness of the Albemarle Architectural Review board.
“It’s right behind Guadalajara and Marco’s Pizza,” said Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley. “You’ll see some of it from U.S. 250.”
The developer is HMP Properties LLC. They own several properties in the Williamsburg area and other parts of eastern Virginia.
This is not to be confused with another hotel under development right across the street. That’s got the working title of Overlook Hotel. The Planning Commission recommended approval of a technical rezoning for that project in January. The Board of Supervisors will make a final decision at some point, but the meeting has not yet been scheduled yet.
There’s also a new Holiday Inn Express that’s opened on Pantops Corner Way.
One member of the Pantops CAC asked a question that’s on many people’s minds.
“Is there really a need for another hotel?” asked Stephanie Lowenhaupt. “Has there been documentation or some type of data that would show why we need a third hotel in that very close area?”
Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley said that’s not a decision that’s up to the local government, but the county does try to promote other uses where it can.
“On properties we know that are vacant we try to elicit let’s say high-tech, light manufacturing, high-paying jobs,” LaPisto-Kirtley said. “On other sites like this, whoever owns it, they can do what they want. Presumably they’ve done their homework.”
Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the February 3, 2022 edition of the program. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.
