Charlottesville BAR approval needed for higher density project on Valley Road

For the most part, the Development Code adopted by Charlottesville City Council in December 2023 eliminated the role that Charlottesville City Council plays in determining where residential density goes.

However, the appointed Board of Architectural Review continues to play a role in influencing the future of the built environment with power over a key requirement to moving forward in the city’s historic preservation districts.

For instance, the BAR has not yet approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for a six-story apartment building at 1000 Wertland Street. The property owned by the University of Virginia Foundation is within the Wertland Street Historic District. At the February 2025 meeting, representatives from the group Preservation of Affordable Housing requested the item be deferred when it was clear the BAR was not ready to sign off. That’s one of several reasons why the project has been delayed.

In December 2025, the BAR voted 6-1 to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness for a seven-story building called The Mark in Fifeville. The project as presented by the firm LCD Acquisitions incorporates two individually protected properties on 7th Street SW, the only reason the BAR’s approval was needed. City Council overturned the vote on a 3-2 vote in May as I reported for C-Ville Weekly.

The BAR will also have to grant a CoA for a project at 528 Valley Road which is in the Oakhurst-Gildersleeve Neighborhood Historic District.

An entity called AVP 528 Valley Road LLC purchased the 0.47 acre site In September 2023 for $868,000. The property is zoned Residential-B which can have a total of twelve units if half meet the city’s affordability guidelines. The company also bought 526 Valley Road in November 2022 for $805,000.

In May 2025, the company filed for a development plan that would see nine additional units on both properties while retaining an original structure built in 1937 that has six bedrooms.

Pre-application meetings were held on September 18, 2024 and October 30, 2024 according to the city’s permit portal. An initial denial was made on July 11, 2025 and a second submission was made in October 2025.

This met with a second denial on November 10 of last year and a third version was submitted on June 16 after a deadline had been extended at the applicant’s request. A response to city comments indicated that many of them would be addressed at the final site plan stage.

On July 14, the city’s housing staff noted that an Affordable Dwelling Unit certification had to be submitted. NDS issued a third denial on July 15 but this letter is not currently in the permit portal.

The BAR took up the matter on May 18, 2026. Capacity issues have prevented me from writing this up, but I wanted to at least present the display of the minutes to give you a sense of the power the BAR has going forward.

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