Fry’s Spring apartment complex with 28 units moving closer to construction

There are dozens of development projects approved under the 2003 zoning that are still waiting to be constructed. One of them is a 28-unit apartment complex to be constructed at the end of Valley Road Extended in the city’s Fifeville neighborhood.

Council voted 4 to 1 in April 2022 to approve a rezoning, special use permit, and critical slopes waiver at 1613 Grove Street Extended. The 0.65 acre property abuts an embankment upon which the Norfolk Southern railway spans.

Lorven Investments of Herndon filed for a commercial building permit in August for a project designed by dBF Associates, Architects of Charlottesville.

One of the city’s building inspectors responded with a message on August 14.

“Because there are apartment units that exceed three stories the architect must stamp the drawings in accordance with §54.1-402 of the Code of Virginia,” reads part of an email from Francis Vineyard that also sought other clarifications.

The new document was submitted within the month and on Thursday, Vineyard notified the applicants that the city would create three more building permits for each of the four buildings that make up the complex.

“We are going to issue three more permits for this project to help track inspections and have the ability to issue [Certificates of Occupancy] individually,” Vineyard wrote. “The permits will be issued for each building addressed as Bldg. A, B, C & D. We will provide the new permit numbers as soon as possible.”

The architect on the project called the idea “wonderful” and thanked NDS staff for taking that step. All four are still under review.

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 October 23, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.