As this very strange year in American history continues, the City of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia have both filed applications with the federal government to acquire a campus that suddenly closed when Donald Trump became president for a second time.
“Bureaucratic leadership over the past half-century has enlarged and entrenched Washington, D.C.’s managerial class, a bloated system far removed from the needs of American families,” reads an executive order signed by Donald Trump on February 10 ordering the closure of the Federal Executive Institute.
The Federal Executive Institute was created to train a workforce to run the country’s national government. All training ended on February 28. The website used to have this description.
“Built upon foundational public service values and competencies, our programs support federal leaders in understanding their role within the government’s constitutional framework. By encouraging introspection through small group work, participants build learning communities, where everyone is both a teacher and learner.”
The United States of America purchased a 14 acre tract at 1301 Emmet Street in 1982 for just under $2 million. The property is now assessed at just over $19.5 million and it is now considered surplus property.
Last week, both Charlottesville City Schools and the University of Virginia submitted applications to acquire the land. Both submitted applications on April 21 through the Federal Real Property Assistance Program. Town Crier Productions has access to the city’s application.
“If the division’s application is accepted, CCS would have the opportunity to acquire the property at a reduced or no cost through the Public Benefit Allowance discount for educational purposes,” reads an information release sent out on April 23, 2025.
If successful, the site might replace Walker Upper Elementary as the location for a long-desired pre-school program.
The release states a preliminary plan would be to use already allocated funds to pay for interior renovations. That would free up the Walker site to be used for other purposes such as a new home for the alternate middle school and high school.
“This single opportunity offers a cost-effective way to impact young people in Charlottesville from age 3 through graduation,” the release quotes Superintendent Dr. Royal Gurley. “From our preschool to a family welcome center to alternative learning programs, this acquisition would allow us to make powerful changes on an accelerated timeline.”
More details are in the application itself.
“The campus where we had planned to create the centralized preschool can become the home of our middle and high school alternative learning programs, eliminating student wait lists and enabling those students to easily access programs and activities at our nearby high school,” reads a narrative in the application. “In turn, space freed up by the current alternative program adjacent to Trailblazer Elementary becomes available for programming to support our younger students with special needs.”
The announcement comes a week after Charlottesville City Council adopted a budget for FY2026. Around $30 million has already been allocated for preschool consolidation according to CCS Community Relations Coordinator Amanda Korman.
The application includes a line that states CCS might partner with other groups to provide new uses for some of the FEI site.
“Dorm furnishings not needed for school use could be donated to UVA or local non-profit housing partners,” reads the application.
The release states that there is no timeline for when the federal government might make a decision but if the application is accepted the next step will be a more thorough evaluation of the property.
The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors will meet on August 29, 2025 to ratify UVA staff’s application for the same property. The staff report for the noon meeting states that a decision may be made as early as April 28.
For more on this story, read Emily Hemphill’s April 26 story in the Charlottesville Daily Progress. The BOV meeting will not be televised.
Before you go: This story originally went out in the April 23 edition of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter. This is a production of a Town Crier, as opposed to Town Criers, so it takes a bit to get to everything. If you want to increase the chance of plurality, support the info!
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