Albemarle Supervisors take action on Boulders Road project

Albemarle County’s investment in economic development efforts paid off last October when the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca announced they would invest $4.5 billion in a new factory at the Rivanna Futures property.

Not announced at the time was that county staff agreed to build a second entrance onto U.S. 29 just to the north that would extend Boulders Road to Austin Drive.

In mid-November, the Economic Development Authority had been expected to commit $500,000 to the project. The agenda for the Board of Supervisors meeting on November 19 had included an item with the title “Resolution to Participate in VDOT Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund (TPOF) Boulders Road Extension.”

I reported in the November 19, 2025 edition of C-Ville Weekly that both items had been removed, but the project moved forward.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board learned on December 9 that Albemarle staff had requested $20 million from the state toward a $42 million project that includes a 2,300 foot roadway, a roundabout, and stream-crossings.

AstraZeneca is to pay $12 million toward the project. Albemarle has agreed to commit $10 million toward the road project. The EDA committed $500,000 toward the effort at their meeting on January 20.

The first time the Albemarle Supervisors discussed the matter in public was after a closed session on February 18 when they were asked to formally adopt a resolution by Economic Development Director Emily Kilroy.

“The resolution before the board this evening would authorize the County Executive to sign agreements related to AstraZeneca incentives and the Boulders Road extension within defined parameters,” Kilroy said.

According to the resolution, AstraZeneca is projected to generate $709.6 million in tax revenue over a 25-year period.

The resolution also states that Albemarle will provide up to nearly $95.6 million in financial incentives over a 25-year period and that AstraZeneca will take over ownership of up to 82 acres of land.

“For this business, it’s a combination of the real property tax, which is based on the land value and the improvements value, the machinery and tools, which is based on the equipment that they’re operating, and then the business personal property tax,” Kilroy said.

Rio District Supervisor Ned Gallaway noted that there are three more land bays left waiting for prospective tenants at Rivanna Futures.

“This one project justifies the land purchase, [but] we haven’t used up all the acreage that we purchased for this economic development strategy,” Gallaway said. “So it will be even further when other projects start to fall into place, not to mention what happens off site, because this will likely have other dominoes falling from it.”

The Boulders Road extension is included in Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson’s recommended capital budget for FY27. Details in Charlottesville Community Engagement and eventually on this website.

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