Sales leaving as director of Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority

The government entity that owns and operates hundreds of residential units across the City of Charlottesville will soon have a new person in charge.

After six years, John Sales has announced he will be leaving as executive director of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority with no date specified in an information release sent out by the CRHA Board of Commissioners.

Sales has been in the position since August 2020 after having served as housing coordinator for the City of Charlottesville.

“Serving CRHA residents has been one of the great honors of my professional life. I am optimistic about the future of CRHA,” Sales is quoted in the information release.

Who will take over has yet to be determined as Sales will stay employed at CRHA “to spearhead a collaborative initiative to identify the future of CRHA’s leadership.” That will involve multiple stakeholders including City Council, CRHA residents, the Board of Commissioners, and the greater public.

The release also states a formal search for a new executive director will be launched.

Current Chair Brigid O’Rourke said in the release that Sales accomplished a lot during his time in the role.

“Sales was vital to advancing redevelopment initiatives at all public housing sites, identifying strategic opportunities to increase affordable housing, and expanding Housing Choice Voucher utilization,” O’Rourke said.

Construction is underway at both the second phase of new units at South First Street as well as Sixth Street. When completed, these will not be new public housing units but instead will be subsidized through a combination of sources including vouchers.

Planning is well underway on the redevelopment of Westhaven, the first public housing site built by the CRHA in 1964 after the razing of Vinegar Hill as an urban renewal project led by the agency.

In October 2025, CRHA filed a site plan for 264 units at Westhaven as I reported for C-Ville Weekly. This past February, Sales told City Council that the project will be built in two phases and the $15 million Council has agreed to spend only covers the first.

In March, the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services approved a major development plan for the first phase as I reported in this newsletter.

“As we continue to implement resident-led redevelopment, including the planned resident-led redevelopment of Westhaven, CRHA will remain a national leader in valuing resident input and delivering high-quality, world-class public housing,” Sales said in the information release.

The August 24, 2026 meeting of the CRHA Board of Commissioners was not broadcast on the city’s streaming service. There are two vacancies on the Board including one spot for a CRHA resident and another for a member at-large.

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