Other than Charlotte Humphris Park off of Whitewood Road, Albemarle County’s urban area lacks formal spaces for people to gather, play, sit on benches, and do the things one associates with a park.
That may soon be changing as the county begins work to create a pocket park out of a stormwater management facility on Hillsdale Drive.
“The location on Hillsdale Drive makes this site accessible by sidewalks, bike lanes, and public transit,” reads the project page on Engage Albemarle. “This area hosts a relatively dense population in the County’s urban ring surrounding Charlottesville. New enhancements here will provide valuable access to open space and recreation opportunities close to home.
According to the new Comprehensive Plan, pocket parks are between a quarter-acre and half-acre “with hardscape, landscaping, and a combination of passive recreational amenities (such as benches, picnic tables, and pavilions or shade shelters) and smaller active recreational amenities (such as exercise stations or playground equipment.”
Albemarle held a community meeting on November 17 in the Parish Hall of the Church of the Incarnation to explain the project and get feedback. There were 33 attendees according to Abbey Stumpf, the county’s director of communications and public engagement. More details on a story I wrote for C-Ville Weekly.
While park amenities will be part of the project, the stormwater management components must remain.
The budget for the project is $420,000 and comes out of a $1.65 million fund set aside by the Board of Supervisors in the FY26 budget for pocket parks.
A second community meeting will be held in the future.
Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the November 17, 2025 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 is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things.
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