The first rezoning application of 2025 has been filed with Albemarle’s Community Development Department on 3.2 acres in the Places29-Rio section of the county’s growth area.
A company with the name Piedmont Realty Holdings III is seeking to rezone four lots at 600 Rio Road from Commercial Office to Neighborhood Model District.
“The applicant intends to construct several new multi-family and two family buildings, and preserve the existing five townhomes on the property while enabling the possibility for those units to be redeveloped at some point in the future, for a maximum of 153 units on the property,” reads a description on Albemarle’s land use application portal.
Piedmont Realty Holdings is a company run by Drew Holzwarth. The civil engineering firm for this project is Shimp Engineering.
The Neighborhood Model District was created in the early 2000’s to provide a way to add additional density within Albemarle’s designated growth area. Places rezoned to this category have a “code of development” that lays out what will happen. In this case, the developer is seeking 48 unit per acre.
The application and associated documents are not immediately available to the public under the new Civic Access system. The interface tells anyone looking that payment has been made and the application has been judged to be complete.
The project is within the Rio Road Form Based Code Overlay and the narrative for the project states it could technically be built under those rules.
“However, there are several key [hindrances] within the Form Based Code that make this property difficult to develop under those regulations including the streetscape requirements, dedication of amenity space requirements, and road improvement requirements,” reads the narrative dated February 17, 2025.
A total of $3,153.40 has been paid so far with $2,960 of that going to the fee to have a zoning map amendment processed. There’s another $75 surcharge for Fire Rescue to review the document, as well as a four percent technology surcharge.
Piedmont Realty Holdings LLC owns three of the four parcels according to county property records. An company registered in Ithaca, New York, bought the property where Rio Station Apartments exist from Piedmont Realty Holdings LLC in August 29, 2022.
Preliminary comments from staff to the applicant are due on April 18, 2025. A notice sent out to interested parties indicates the Planning Commission has until June 3, 2025 to take action.
The land is within what Albemarle County calls Neighborhood 1. There are two pending land use applications according to the latest iteration of the county’s Development Dashboard published on January 1, 2025.
One is a rezoning of 3.62 acres at 2175 Woodburn Road for a project called Berkmar Flats. Civic Access states this project is in review. Unlike the project above, this one does have attachments viewable in the portal. That includes a letter to the applicant indicating that the Planning Commission voted unanimously at their January 28, 2025 meeting to recommend approval. You may need to log in to see them at this link. The Board of Supervisors will need to take action.
The other is for a special use permit to allow residential use on a one acre property zoned commercial at 615 Woodbrook Drive allowing for 15 residential units. Civic Access indicates this project was approved on November 6, 2024. I wrote about this back in November.
The development dashboard also states that there are 1,039 units in Neighborhood 1 that have been approved but not yet built.
Before you go: This story about land use in Albemarle County was posted first in the March 11, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. The usual idea is to wait about a day before posting it here, but things are not always usual.
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