NDS denies first submissions for seven-story building in Rose Hill neighborhood, five story building on Cherry Avenue

A major purpose of Town Crier Productions is to keep people informed about new developments that are in the planning stages. Charlottesville City Council adopted a new Development Code in December 2023 and the public deserves a glimpse into what’s happening behind the scenes.

In May, Woodard Properties filed a development plan for a seven-story building at 601 Albemarle with 100 apartment units. This would be the first project to have to go through the Core Neighborhood Overlay District process under the city’s Development Code.

“Charlottesville’s Core Neighborhoods have special significance to the City as historic neighborhoods that provide workforce housing serving important job centers of Charlottesville’s Downtown and the University of Virginia,” reads section 2.9.6 of the Development Code. “These racially diverse and affordable neighborhoods historically met their day-to-day needs on adjacent corridors.”

I went into more detail in a May 20 article for C-Ville Weekly and can now report that staff in the city’s Neighborhood Development Services issued a letter of denial on June 2. This is a routine part of the process that gives the developer feedback on “deficiencies” in the application.

In this case:

• The city requires a Traffic Demand Management Plan as well and also a community meeting to discuss that permit. This approval is up to staff. The developer pays an additional $200 fee.
• City Council will have to approve a special exception permit for the additional bonus height. This will be a separate application in the permit portal. This will also require a community meeting where requests can be made of the developer.
• NDS staff have denied an exception from streetscape requirements on Dale Avenue.
• The project will also need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Entrance Corridor Review Board which is actually the Planning Commission.

Woodard Properties has also filed a development for 801 Cherry Avenue for a five-story mixed-use building with 83 apartment units. While this is also in the Core Neighborhood Overlay District, the company is not seeking additional building height and does not need a special exception permit. The property is zoned Corridor Mixed Use 3 and allows five stories if enough of the units qualify as affordable.

NDS issued a denial letter on June 11. Reasons include a lack of a Traffic Demand Management Plan and a denial of a request for changes to streetscape standards.

I wrote a C-Ville Weekly article for that one with more detail if you want to take a look.

Before you go: 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. Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the June 15, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.