In their first item of 2024, the Albemarle County Architectural Review Board had a preliminary review for the redevelopment of an office building on Old Ivy Road into a new fitness facility. That use requires legislative action by the Board of Supervisors.
“The climbing gym use requires a special use permit for an indoor athletic facility,” said Margaret Maliszewski, a planning manager with Albemarle County.
The climbing gym will feature 30 foot walls, as well as a yoga studio, strength and conditioning areas, and a meeting room.
“A focus of the gym will be on introducing the sport [of] rock climbing to children, youth, and at-risk youth,” reads the narrative for the pre-application. “The benefits of rock climbing include physical fitness, mental strength, stress reduction, improved confidence, fun and enjoyment, social interaction, and outdoor adventure.”
The gym use itself is not up for the ARB to consider, but the property is within the viewshed of the county’s entrance corridor guidelines for Ivy Road, which the ARB took a general look at in March 2021. That means any external renovations visible from the entrance corridor have to be reviewed by the ARB. (review the materials)
“In early meetings with the applicant about the project, we discussed visibility and we learned that the addition was planned to have a very contemporary design so we recommended that the applicant get to the ARB early so you call could take a look at the architecture to identify if there were any potential big issues,” Maliszewski said.
The building cannot currently be seen from Ivy Road, but Maliszewski said the proposal is to add 15 feet of height to accommodate the new use. She recommended the ARB make a finding of no objection for the preliminary submission.
Architect Robert Nichols of Formwork appeared before the ARB to make the presentation.
“The function is highly utilitarian in a way,” Nichols said. “Volume is needed. Daylight is not.”
Nichols noted that the design of the addition responds to the University of Virginia’s baseball stadium, which is right across the street but not accessible via Old Ivy Road.
The ARB approved a motion recommending no objection but with several comments including one that the existing screening would continue to be in place.
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