Charlottesville EDA to review Kindlewood agreement, S&P Global lease

The Board of Directors of the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority will meet at 4 p.m. in CitySpace. These meetings are not recorded or televised. (agenda packet)

From the minutes of the February 13, 2024 meeting, we learn that the city has extended a lease with the owner of York Place for the rental of restroom space. This arrangement began in the fall of 2022 as I reported at the time. We also learn that the EDA will manage the lease that the Rivanna River Company has to operate on floodplain land that is now owned by the City of Charlottesville.  

There are four items during new business. The first is a review of the city’s new economic development strategic plan and mainly Goal 5. There was a discussion of Goal 3 at the February 13 meeting but the minutes don’t contain a description of what was said. (view the new plan)

Goal 5 is about marketing Charlottesville as a place where companies would want to invest.

“With a strong brand, people become aware of and are drawn to what makes a region unique,” reads the plan. “This increases talent in the region and also increases local attachment and retention through a strong sense of place.”

Strategies under Goal 5 are:

• 5.1 — Develop a competitive identity for economic development
• 5.2 — Update promotional materials (website, investor pitch, and target profiles) to grow economic development brand and investment opportunities
• 5.3 — Invest in technology and data infrastructure that supports business development and marketing.
• 5.4 — Develop a communication and marketing plan to share success and wins with Charlottesville policymakers, businesses, and residents.

It should be noted that the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is also creating an economic development strategic plan for the region. (visit their website)

The second item is a review of the performance agreement between the EDA, the City of Charlottesville, and Piedmont Housing Alliance for the second phase of the redevelopment of Friendship Court into Kindlewood which has an estimated cost of $55 million. In exchange for a grant, Piedmont Housing Alliance is to deliver 100 affordable units for specific income groups:

• Ten units will be restricted to households below 30 percent of the Area Median Income
• Fifty-eight units will be restricted to households below 50 percent of AMI
• Nine units would be reserved for households below 60 percent of AMI
• Twenty-three units would be restricted to 80 percent of the AMI

The third item is the approval of the EDA’s budget. This document is not in the packet. 

The fourth is an update on the EDA’s lease of a building to S&P Global. This document is not in the packet. I wrote about this in June 2022 if you want to go back in time just a bit.

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