UVA planning road connection from North Grounds to Barracks Road via Millmont Street

The University of Virginia will soon begin formal planning for another vehicular route to John Paul Jones Arena and other destinations in the North Grounds.

The next edition of the Major Capital Plan for UVA includes $100,000 for planning and design of a project called the Copeley Connector Road.

“Previous master plan studies have recommended a connector road from Copeley Road north to the Millmont Road/Arlington Boulevard intersection because North Grounds has relatively few vehicular outlets,” reads a description of the project in the meeting packet for the Buildings and Grounds Committee.

The report explains that events at JPJ and other venues can often strain the road network, requiring the need for traffic event management. A traffic study has found that the roadway would provide relief.

“Construction of the road would require acquisition of a [University of Virginia Foundation]-owned Arlington Boulevard property, which was purchased for this purpose,” the description continues.

But which one?

In December 2019, the foundation paid $10 million for Arlington Park Townhomes and its 2.12 acres. In June 2020, the foundation paid $10 million for an apartment building just to the south.

The UVA Foundation is a result of an agreement signed in 1986 between Albemarle, Charlottesville, and UVA to set expectations about how each would approach growth. The foundation pays real property taxes to the city, but that stops when the Board of Visitors formally takes ownership.

The roadway would also require removal of two apartment buildings in the Copeley community. Eight were previously demolished to make way for the North Grounds Parking Garage.

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