Albemarle and Charlottesville economic groups to learn more about CVPED’s Innovation Corridor

If you want to understand where the community will be in ten years, you want to pay attention to the story of economic development.

Both Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville have recently adopted strategic plans for economic development. These documents list action steps that should be taken and metrics be measured to determine success.

Last year, the Economic Development Authority for each locality held a joint meeting that I previewed but did not write about in detail. The two bodies will meet again at 4 p.m. in Room 241 of Albemarle County’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info)

The second and third items are presentations on each strategic plan and the fourth is a small group discussion of the plans to be led by Emily Kilroy, Albemarle’s Economic Development Director.

But the first item is perhaps the most important. In addition to localities, there is the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development. The CVPED a nonprofit, public-private partnership formed in 1995 and is now co-mingled with the group GO Virginia Region 9.

“Our service territory includes the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson and Orange Counties,” reads the CVPED website. “We serve as regional liaison for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.”

GO Virginia Region 9 extends to Culpeper, Fauquier, and Rappahannock counties. Both entities are planning for an Innovation Corridor that would cover all of the localities.

“Momentum is growing in Central Virginia to build upon recent innovation-driven, technology-based public and private sector investments in biotech, digital technologies, and national security,” reads the website for a strategic plan for this corridor.

That momentum may be heading into lightspeed with the news last week that AstraZeneca will invest $4.5 billion in two pharmaceutical plans in Albemarle County at the Rivanna Futures site.

Are all localities on board with this approach? Will people who come to Albemarle County for new jobs be able to find homes? In which direction will they seek them? Can Greene, Orange, Madison, and other localities to the north handle residential growth? Do people who live there want that?

For that matter, do people who live here want growth? Do they have a choice?

This is why I cover economic development and encourage my colleagues in journalism to do so as well.

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 October 13, 2025 edition of the program. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.