Albemarle Architectural Review Board to review guidelines for solar installations

There are many moving parts in the area Albemarle classifies as the Place29-North growth area as county staff work on the Rivanna Futures business park and as the University of Virginia Foundation continues to expand. 

The Albemarle Architectural Review Board will review one future building that will be constructed at the intersection of Airport Road and Timberwood Boulevard. That’s the first item on the agenda of their April 20, 2026 meeting beginning at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info)

Six Star Associates and the United Land Company have filed plans for a self-storage building at the entrance to a planned industrial park on Timberwood Boulevard. 

“The proposed building measures 215’ long on its Entrance Corridor side and 160’ along

Timberwood Blvd,” reads a portion of the staff report. “As viewed from the Entrance Corridor, the mass of the building is broken down into three main parts defined primarily by changes

in metal panel type, siding colors, and rooflines, but this does not establish human scale in the design.” 

Planning staff are also reviewing revisions to an application for the “flex office development” to be constructed along the rest of Timberwood Drive. That could mean employment locations for people who live in Hollymead. What does the Places29 Master Plan say about this area? 

Then there will be a work session on design criteria for rooftop solar installations. The ARB previously had a work session in December at which they got to ask questions such as how solar canopies above parking lots would be treated. 

“A proposal to add solar panels to an existing parking canopy could be handled the same as panels on buildings with pitched or flat roofs,” reads the staff report. “For new solar parking canopies – structures specifically engineered to shelter vehicles and generate solar energy – it is anticipated that the solar panels would be fully integrated into the form and structure for the most efficient operation.”

The ARB next meets on April 27, 2026, also in Lane Auditorium. 

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