Non-voting UVA representative on Charlottesville Planning Commission provides a brief update on land use and construction

Meetings of the Charlottesville Planning Commission offer the chance for the public to hear about items happening at the University of Virginia as there is one non-voting representative on the body. 

Michael Joy has been serving in the position since the beginning of the year.

“We have an upcoming Board of Visitors meeting in September and it is a relatively light agenda in regards to the Buildings and Grounds Committee but there will be an update to our historic preservation report,” Joy said. 

Joy also had updates on construction including work to build a new parking garage at the Fontaine Research Park to support additional buildings such as the Manning Institute of Biotechnology. He said excavation and blasting work for the project is complete.

“That is all completed ahead of schedule and it is on track to be done in little over a year, so the fall of 2025 will be when that parking garage will be operational,” Joy said. 

In March, the Buildings and Grounds Committee approved the schematic design for another parking garage at North Grounds. Joy said the design has advanced and UVA will pursue the project as a design-build delivery project.

As for the three affordable housing projects being built as part an initiative at UVA, Joy said the work at Wertland Street is moving forward first with a second project on Fontaine Avenue at the Piedmont site following afterward.

“This was done in order to not have the two projects compete for the same associated tax credits,” Joy said. 

The Board of Architectural Review took a look at the Wertland site in late May as I reported at the time.

Joy also added that UVA’s work to plan for the future of both the Oak Lawn estate purchased last year and the Grove Street properties purchased in 2016 will both be handled by the UVA Health system. The Board of Visitors agreed in June to allocate money toward planning studies for both. 

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