Charlottesville walk series to cover North Grounds this Sunday

Every month, the Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee holds a walk around one of this community’s neighborhoods. This time around contains an area where some of the properties are not within the city at all.

“This time it will be the University of Virginia North Grounds area meeting at 10 a.m. on Sunday at the [John Paul Jones] arena bike rack,” said City Councilor Natalie Oschrin.

UVA North Grounds is not an official city neighborhood and is actually within Albemarle County. Future land use decisions are made by the UVA Board of Visitors based on the guidance of the 2023 Grounds Framework Plan.

“North Grounds comprises clearly defined areas of activity—the Professional Schools and the Park in the north, the Athletics District in the south, and the student neighborhoods of Ivy Gardens and Copeley Hill in between, along with the Miller Center and the Center for Politics,” reads page 24 of the plan. “In time, redevelopment of the residential neighborhoods will increase the population of North Grounds and support more amenities.”

The Grounds Framework Plan also calls for a mixed-use node at the intersection of Copeley Road and Massie Road. Further details are available on page 29.

“The dated Copeley Hill Residences can potentially be redeveloped with denser forms of housing that respect the area’s natural features,” reads a description under North Node. “Mixed-use facilities planned along the active frontages could address the two streets and frame a new plaza at the corner to provide a focal point for the Node.”

A map on this page shows a “primary active transportation connection” that would extend Copeley Road to Millmont Street across land currently owned by the University of Virginia Foundation. In March, the UVA Board of Visitors agreed to add a $100,000 design for the connection as I reported for C-Ville Weekly.

The Ground Framework also calls for a transportation hub in North Grounds and construction is underway on a six-story parking garage with 1,030 spaces.

“In addition to providing parking, the garage will serve multiple University Transit Service (UTS) routes, bus patrons, and commuters with a multi-modal transit hub that supports micromobility,” reads a portion of the UVA Facilities Management website. “The garage will sit back from Massie Road to allow for a dynamic landscape that will serve pedestrians, bus patrons, JPJ, and Athletic events.”

In 2018, the Board of Visitors endorsed a North Grounds Athletics Master Plan that led to new resources such as an Olympic sports facility and a new training facility for football.

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