Category Archives: Land Use – University of Virginia

UVA building report on Fontaine, Center for Politics: Does Area B still exist?

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The rest of today’s newsletter uses the March 14 meeting of the Charlottesville Planning Commission as its primary source material. There’s a lot to go through.

The Commission got an update from Bill Palmer, their non-voting representative from the Office of the University of Virginia Architect. The terms of the 1986 three-party agreement on planning state that this position is to exist. (read the document)

“We have a number of large projects going on,” Palmer said.

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UVa Buildings and Grounds Committee reviews new buildings at Fontaine Research Center

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The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors is meeting this week for one of their quarterly meetings. Members of the Buildings and Grounds Committee were shown design concepts for several future developments. 

“The first three concept site design guidelines coming to you for your approval are at Fontaine Park and in support of the Manning Institute for Biotechnology,” said Alice Raucher, the University of Virginia Architect. 

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Nonprofits have been asked to work on UVA housing projects

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The University of Virginia has asked a total of five entities to respond to requests for proposals to develop two sites for housing units that will be rented or sold to households with qualified incomes. 

“After careful evaluation of each respondent on the criteria outlined in the [Request for Qualifications], which included qualifications and experience, project approach, and financial/transaction approach, the review committee recommended inviting three teams be invited to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for each of the two initial sites,” reads the website for the President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships.

The two sites are a two-acre site on Wertland Street. The other is a 12-acre site on Mimosa Drive known currently as Piedmont that is off of Fontaine Avenue. 

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UVA Health rolls out new strategic plan

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The University of Virginia Health System is one of the major drivers of the Charlottesville economy. Now the entity has released its first-ever 10-year strategic plan to guide its activities and physical growth. (view the plan) 

Dr. Craig Kent is the Chief Executive Officer of UVA Health and he begins with a question.

“Why does UVA Health exist?” Kent asked. “It’s to take care of our community. We have 16,000 people that are part of UVA Health and we have one focus in mind which is to take wonderful care of the patients and the people that need our help.” 

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Buildings and Grounds Committee debate lack of brick in proposed Karsh Institute of Democracy

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Future Darden Hotel gets two names

The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the University of Virginia’s governing body met last week and considered several items of business. The first was to approve the suggested name of the new hotel that is under construction at the Darden School of Business. Or rather, two names. 

“The proposed formal name is Frank M. Sands Sr. Hotel at Darden and Conference Center for Lifelong Learning,” said Alice Raucher, the University of Virginia Architect. “There will also be a proposed marketing name which is the Forum Hotel which will be used in partnership with Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants which has been selected as the hotel operator.” 

Sands died in 2021 and had made a $66 million gift to Darden in May 2019, the largest in school history to date. His son, Frank Sands Jr., is on the Darden School Foundation’s Board of Trustees and is currently vice chair. 

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New name for Darden hotel; Committee to review designs for Olympic center, Karsh Institute of Democracy

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The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors is in town this week and begin committee meetings today . That includes the Buildings and Grounds Committee, which has a few items of note on the agenda tomorrow. 

First, the new hotel at the Darden School of Business is to be named after Frank Sands, a 1963 Darden Graduate. 

“Mr. Sands, who passed away in 2021, served as a leader in his field and his community, and spent countless hours offering counsel and guidance as a member of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees,” reads the staff report in the packet.

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Council approves changes to transient lodging tax ordinance

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Tax relief changes deferred until November 7

The Charlottesville City Council voted on October 17, 2022 to update the city’s transient lodging tax ordinance to reflect recent changes in Virginia law.

“The General Assembly for the last two years has made some significant changes to provision of sales tax and local transient occupancy tax to try to address various issues raised by online travel agencies and online travel platforms like AirBnB and others,” Divers said. 

Divers said Council made some changes last year, but the 2022 legislation forces the city to make new ones related to how the taxes are collected and reported. The new law allows the taxation on the total charge for a stay, such as cleaning fees.

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Ground-breaking held for new University of Virginia hotel

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The University of Virginia’s transformation of Ivy Road into a high-profile corridor off of Charlottesville’s tax rolls continues as work has begun on the construction of a new hotel and conference center. UVA Today reports that shovels overturned dirt on October 6 for the project which has a $130.5 million budget. 

“This will be a crossroads for the University – and the University’s front door,” UVA President Jim Ryan is quoted in the story. “The hotel and conference center will play an important role as a place where people can gather and stay – prospective students and their parents; data scientists, faculty from the Law School can meet there with members of the Medical School faculty. This will be a bridge that makes the community stronger, bring worlds together in ways that are predictable and unpredictable.”

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UVA Public Safety report published

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The University of Virginia has published an annual report that takes a look at crime on Central Grounds as well as its satellite locations across the Commonwealth. The 2022 Annual Fire Safety and Security Report covers the activities and statistics compiled by the UVA Department of Safety and Security, which includes the UVA Police Department with its 170 employees.

“UPD participates in a mutual aid agreement with other local departments and a cooperative patrol agreement with the City of Charlottesville, which gives University officers jurisdiction in much of the city area surrounding the University,” reads a description on page 11 of the report. (review the report)

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New Darden “vision plan” includes student housing

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A presentation on potential changes to the master plan for the Darden School of Business prompted a conversation among members of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors about whether enough space has been reserved for future housing units there. 

At least, that’s one takeaway from listening to the September 15 meeting of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. That group recommends positions on land use decisions at UVA. (agenda) (presentation)

University of Virginia Architect Alice Raucher showed a slide which depicted how the Darden School fits in with the Emmet Ivy Corridor as well as the athletic precinct. Central Grounds is a halfway point between North Grounds and the Downtown Mall.

“And it’s so important that all the work we’re doing at the Emmet Ivy Corridor and Athletics Grounds as well as the [Darden] master plan that we’ll be presenting, it really starts to break down this perceived distance with these pulses of activity.” 

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