University of Virginia considering leasing Oak Lawn property to Charlottesville

The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors comes to town this week and tucked away in the agenda of the Finance Committee is a proposal to lease a 5.2 acre in Fifeville to Charlottesville City of Schools.

“The Charlottesville City Schools seek additional property within the City to expand their administrative offices and offer additional services to their students, and the University has an interest in protecting the historic nature of the Oak Lawn property while also using the property for educational purposes,” reads the staff report for a resolution to proceed.

The University of Virginia paid $3.5 million for Oak Lawn in October 2023 with the idea that it would be used for a child care facility. A planning study wrapped up in June and culminated in a conceptual plan that showed such a place on 9th Street Southwest. The land is zoned Residential-C under the city’s new development code.

Now UVA proposes a long-term lease and possible ownership transfer with restrictive covenants to protect the historic house and other features. The move comes after an incident this spring when both UVA and Charlottesville City Schools submitted applications to obtain the former Federal Executive Institute.

President Donald Trump shuttered the Federal Executive Institute in February as part of his purge of the federal bureaucracy.

Charlottesville City Schools sought to use the property for its pre-K center rather than proceed with a plan to transform Walker Upper Elementary Center for that use. They also planned to use the 14.5 acre site for an alternative middle and high school.

Charlottesville was initially selected for that purpose in late April, but the U.S. Department of Education changed their mind and handed it over to UVA for use as the site for continuing studies.

Charlottesville Superintendent Royal Gurley said in a release that now city schools can move forward with the plans.

“Although we are in the initial stages of exploring possibilities for this site, I believe that this property would enable Cville Schools to achieve many of the benefits for students that we initially envisioned in our proposal to acquire the Federal Executive Institute this spring,” Gurley is quoted in a release that went out at 10:17 a.m. “That includes expansion of programs such as early childhood education, alternative learning, and career and technical education.”

The Finance Committee meets Thursday afternoon at the Rotunda and the full board convenes on Friday afternoon.

The University of Virginia also owns several properties to the north on Roosevelt Brown Boulevard just south of the UVA Medical Center. A planning study under the name Grove Street Community Project had been underway for that area but was paused in February.

Other stories on this topic:

• UVA purchases Oak Lawn property, October 18, 2023 (Information Charlottesville)
• UVA to begin planning process for Oak Lawn, February 5, 2024 (Information Charlottesville)
• Open house scheduled Saturday for UVA’s plans for Oak Lawn, April 11, 2025 (Information Charlottesville)
• UVA Health unveils concept plan for Oak Lawn, June 23, 2025 (C-Ville Weekly)

Before you go: The time to write and conduct research for this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the September 9, 2025 edition of the program. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.