A construction boom is underway in Charlottesville with three large apartment buildings going up close to the University of Virginia as national firms continue the trend of building high-end complexes to student housing.
There are plans filed for other projects heading to the north up Emmet Street in both Albemarle and Charlottesville as well as recently opened projects such as the Maximilian at Stonefield.
One particular area of note is the 1100 block of Seminole Trail which contains the border between city and county. On either side of the line is the location of a plan to convert century commercial space built in the 20th century to more apartments to accommodate a growing regional population.
Time running out for Hibachi Grill and Cville Oriental?
1185 Seminole Trail is in the City of Charlottesville and is one of several projects still being processed under the 2003 zoning code. The site is currently home of the Hibachi Grill restaurant, but a final site plan for a 267-unit apartment complex was approved by city staff in late August 2025. (PL-24-0056)
The Charlottesville Planning Commission, acting as the city’s Entrance Corridor Review Board, granted a certificate of appropriateness for the 4 acre project on July 8, 2025 as you can see in the minutes from that meeting. (HST25-0093)
Since then, Spy Rock Real Estate has submitted several modifications drawn up by a different architect then the one that secured the certificate. They sent a letter to the city on July 22 asking if these were in compliance. Staff confirmed in a letter on July 30 that they were.
Just to the north and across the city/county line is a project that used to be associated with 1193 Seminole Trail, the former site of several small businesses and still the home of Cville Oriental, an Asian foods grocery store. The Albemarle County Planning Commission took a look at a preliminary plan for up to 275 units from the project from Up Campus Properties.
However, when the rezoning application was filed in 2024, the project was reduced to 165 units and up to 10,000 square feet of commercial space. The Planning Commission recommended approval in July 2024 but also asked for consideration of additional units to help the county achieve its goal of housing more people within the development area.
The Board of Supervisors was to have heard the item in October 2024 but developers asked for a deferral to retool the project. Now they’ve resubmitted the same concept but with a different layout.
“The prior application was deemed withdrawn for a procedural reason under the County’s ordinance after being indefinitely deferred just prior to Board of Supervisors’ action,” reads a narrative for what is now classified as ZMA-2026-00006.
As of publication time, Albemarle’s permit portal (Civic Access) only has the older materials available. Charlottesville Community Engagement obtained them through the developer. You can view those here.
The project also now has the address of 1195 Seminole Trail because two rear structures on the property have been demolished including what had been 1193. While the narrative has also been updated to reflect the presence of a new Wawa convenience store to the north, there is no mention of the redevelopment planned to the south in the city.
The request is to rezone the property from Commercial-1 to the Neighborhood Model Development for a project that would be divided into two blocks. Block A would front U.S. 29 with a commercial building to be between 4,000 and 10,000 square feet. Block be would be a multifamily apartment building with 165 units. That would be 51 units per acre.
Access would be to U.S. 29.
“The Application Plan also identifies a potential optional future vehicular and/or bicycle and pedestrian connection to Hillsdale Drive,” reads the narrative.
“The Project would offer needed housing options for County residents and employees of nearby business and employment centers that is close to public transit and community amenities and would significantly contribute to the urban redevelopment of the surrounding area as envisioned by the Rio29 Small Area Plan,” the narrative continues.
Since the original application, the Virginia Department of Transportation has installed a mini-roundabout at the intersection of Greenbrier Drive and Hillsdale Drive as well as a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29. The narrative states these improvements will help contribute to better conditions for all modes of travel.
“In addition to these recently completed off-site transportation improvements, the Project proposes to improve the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure along the frontage of the Property by replacing the existing standard concrete sidewalk with a 10-foot-wide multi-use asphalt path,” the narrative continues. “This new path will be further supported by a grass strip between the curb and the path with a minimum width of 6 feet, providing a materially improved pedestrian and bicycling experience as compared to the existing narrow concrete sidewalk located immediately adjacent to the curb.”
On September 2, 2026, staff in Albemarle County’s Department of Community Development sent a comment letter seeking revisions For one, they want more details on that future road connection to Hillsdale Drive. Albemarle has also updated Civic Access in such a way that makes it impossible to link directly to files but you can see them all here.
“The application should be revised so that a combined pedestrian and vehicular connection is made to the City property to the south, or the VIA parking lot property to the east in order to provide an interconnected transportation network,” reads the first comment.
County planners have looked at the plans for 1185 Seminole and note it does have a vehicular connection to Hillsdale Drive.
“Tying into it would greatly improve safe access to the proposed development as it is another opportunity to not have to mix local with regional traffic on Route 29,” the letter continues.
Staff also want a pedestrian connection to the Wawa to the north. The housing division pointed out that the dedication of 15 percent of the units as affordable for ten years is not consistent with the rules in place when the plan was submitted in July 2026. At least 20 percent need to be designated as available for rent at affordable levels for 30 years.
Previous coverage of the U.S. 29 corridor
- Several hundred new apartments expected on Route 29, C-Ville Weekly, February 28, 2024
- Planning Commission will look at plans for five-story Seminole Trail apartment building, C-Ville Weekly, June 25, 2025
- Charlottesville Planning Commission reviews design for apartment building on Seminole Trail, July 25, 2025
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