Charlottesville Community Walk this Sunday in Venable neighborhood

The City of Charlottesville has been hosting a series of monthly neighborhood walks to get people to see how the various parts of the community fit together.

“This is an opportunity for all of us to get to know our city better, learn from our neighbors and see where there are places to build a better, more connected Charlottesville,” reads a flier distributed by the city earlier this year.

This Sunday is the next one and it is scheduled for the Venable neighborhood. This will begin at 1 p.m. at Trailblazer Elementary School according to City Councilor Natalie Oschrin.

“It’s an easy two-ish mile walk around the neighborhood,” Oschrin said at the November 3 meeting of City Council. “If you live there, please come join. If you don’t live there, please come join and maybe explore a neighborhood you’re not quite as familiar with.”

According to a fact sheet produced by the Department of Neighborhood Development Services, the Venable neighborhood is the one in the city with the second-highest rate of renter-occupied units at 86 percent. It is the most populous and second-densest in the city with an average rent of $2,088 a month.

The fact-sheet also lists several proposed development projects coming up. These include:

• A nine-unit building will replace a five-unit development at 1609 Gordon Avenue. A final site plan is making its way through NDS review with a denial letter issued on September 2. A new version of the plan has not yet been submitted.
• Neighborhood Investments has plans to add additional units onto an apartment complex at 1300 Wertland Street. NDS approved a final site plan on October 7.
• In September, Charlottesville City Council denied a plan to demolish 1301 Wertland in favor of new construction. Seven Development has an approved site plan under the 2003 zoning to add extra space to the buildings which was approved in early 2024.
• A group called Preservation of Affordable Housing is seeking to develop a six-story apartment building at 1000 Wertland Street. The Board of Architectural Review sought additional design changes in February and an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness is deferred. The project failed to secure a cash contribution from the City of Charlottesville and low-income housing tax credits from Virginia Housing. This is one of three projects to be built on property to be gifted from the University of Virginia or its foundation.
• A major development plan to build 24 units at 2030 Barracks Road has been approved but the project needs special exceptions which are currently deferred.
• Management Services Corporation is building a new 16 unit apartment building at 1117 Preston Avenue under the 2003 zoning.

Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the November 6, 2025 edition edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack, make a monthly contribution through Patreon, or consider becoming a sponsor. The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what’s happening in local, regional, state, and federal government. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things.