A quick update on the UVA Housing Initiative

The second goal of the University of Virginia’s Good and Great Strategic Plan from August 2019 has the title “Cultivate the Most Vibrant Community in Higher Education” and the introduction calls for UVA to play a role in strengthening surrounding localities.

“We will reach our potential as a university only if we partner with our neighbors to ensure that the Charlottesville region is an attractive and equitable place to live,” reads the plan. “At the same time, as an anchor institution we must take seriously our responsibility to be a good neighbor and employer.”

As part of that effort, UVA officials made a pledge to contribute to the construction of 1,000 and 1,500 affordable housing units in the community. A progress report on the plan lists this under the Good Neighbor category.

Former UVA President Jim Ryan announced the initiative on March 10, 2020, just before the World Health Organization declared a global emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As an anchor institution, we feel a responsibility to be a good neighbor. One of the most pressing needs in our region is affordable housing, and we are looking forward to doing our part to help increase the supply,” Ryan is quoted in a UVA Today article.

The idea was for UVA or the UVA Foundation to provide three locations but the effort was delayed by the pandemic. In April 2021, UVA announced the hiring of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures to review the property portfolio for both entities.

Three locations were announced in December of that year.

• The low-density Piedmont housing site on Fontaine Avenue
• The corner of Wertland and 10th Street
• Properties at the North Fork Research Park

All are at various stages of the development process but none are close to being shovel ready.

1000 Wertland Street

UVA selected an out-of-town nonprofit called Preservation of Affordable Housing to proceed with development of a two acre site at the intersection of 10th Street NW and Wertland Street. They filed a major development plan for a six-story building with 180 units to be reserved for households at 60 percent or below of the area median income.

While the Charlottesville Department of Neighborhood Development Services granted a preliminary approval and the Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance, the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review had concerns about the design and a request for a Certificate of Appropriateness was deferred at a meeting in February 2025.

Last year, Preservation of Affordable Housing answered a request from the city from developers seeking capital funds for their projects and asked for $3 million. While they did not submit a new plan to the city, they reduced the unit count to 170.

In January, Council directed city staff to negotiate with UVA to see if they would contribute financially to the project. There was no funding for Preservation of Affordable Housing by the time Council adopted a budget in April 2026.

The project is still moving ahead according to the website of the Presidential Council on UVA-Community Partnerships.

“Based on conversations with the developers, the earliest start date for construction is 2028 at the Wertland & 10th St site,” reads a March 2026 update.

Charlottesville will soon open up the application window for nonprofit developers to see capital funding.

Piedmont Housing Alliance developing the Piedmont site

One of the most prolific nonprofit developers in the community is the Piedmont Housing Alliance.

In addition to the ongoing conversion of Friendship Court into Kindlewood, PHA is also developing two sites on Park Street and is involved with the future of the Carlton Mobile Home Park alongside Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. There’s also 501 Cherry Avenue.

UVA selected PHA to be the developer of the 12.734 acre Piedmont tract off of Fontaine Avenue owned by the University of Virginia just across the border into Albemarle County. PHA filed for a rezoning in December 2025 for 375 units.

“The applicant proposes to develop the property with up to 375 residential units and to realize this proposal respecƞully requests a rezoning of the property from R-1 Residential to Planned Residential Development (PRD),” reads the narrative dated December 15, 2025.

In March, PHA requested an indefinite deferral to allow them to respond to an initial round of comments.

The March 2026 update on the UVA Presidential Council site states that construction may not take place until 2031 “pending completion of rezoning and project funding (estimated).”

North Fork Research Park

According to the March 2026 update, UVA has selected Bluestone Land LLC as development partner for North Fork.

“North Fork is a very different site from the initial two properties in terms of size, scale, project phasing, and affordability mix,” reads the update. “We anticipate market rate and workforce/middle-income housing in addition to affordable units at this site.”

The North Fork property is right within an area likely to change rapidly in the next few years as Astra-Zeneca builds a pair of manufacturing plants at Albemarle County’s Rivanna Futures campus.

The Albemarle Board of Supervisors approved the University of Virginia Foundation’s request for a rezoning of a portion of the North Fork Discovery Park to have up to 1,400 residential units.

“The earliest start date for construction is 2028,” the update continues.

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Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the July 24, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution. While the date on this story is July 24, it was posted to this website on September 27, 2026.