After allocating approximately $120,000 last spring for a new, high-level position to oversee long-range urban plans and engage with neighborhood leaders and property developers, the Charlottesville City Council and City Manager Maurice Jones continue to discuss what they want out of the position.   Councilor Kathy Galvin proposed the position ...

The Charlottesville City Council has agreed to move forward with a $31 million upgrade to West Main Street by breaking the project into multiple phases in order to help secure financing from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Every other year, VDOT takes applications for programs through its revenue-sharing program. “It ...

Extends loan for Dogwood Housing The Charlottesville City Council was briefed Monday on a $900,000-a-year rental assistance program but asked for some loose ends to be tied up before a vote is taken later this month. “All of us want this voucher program,” said City Councilor Kathy Galvin. “But ...

A planned public sculpture that would commemorate Charlottesville’s Vinegar Hill neighborhood has thus far failed to raise the private funding needed for its construction. Major funding from city taxpayers also appears unlikely after a discussion by Charlottesville City Council last week failed to reach a verdict on a contribution ...

Plans are in motion to secure funds for a study of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall to evaluate its historic value and maintenance efforts and to suggest ways to better care for it. The PLACE Design Task Force, an advisory body for the Planning Commission and City Council, decided at a ...

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and the Virginia Department of Transportation hosted a neighborhood meeting Wednesday night on the Hydraulic-29 Small Area Plan. Chip Boyles, TJPDC’s executive director, presented updated plans for the intersection and surrounding area before community members weighed in with their thoughts and concerns about ...

Do people need more places to sit freely on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall? What stake do businesses on the mall have in the locations of benches? How can seating decisions make the mall more inclusive? These questions are being asked and answered by local government and business leaders. Amid conflicting ...

The Charlottesville City Council soon may have more ways to increase the number of homes that are affordable for people with low and moderate incomes. The city’s planning director briefed councilors on Monday about how land banks, zoning changes and new community organizations could be used to help reach ...

The Charlottesville City Council has upheld a decision to deny a request for a wireless antenna on a historic building on the Corner, but members want city staff to find a way to accommodate future requests. “I want to find a solution here that addresses our growing technology needs,” said ...

Charlottesville City Schools soon will need additional classroom space to accommodate the city’s growing population, according to a new study. “We are growing, and we’re growing quickly,” said Juandiego Wade, chairman of the Charlottesville School Board. “We have to decide what we are going to do with this ...

A long-anticipated mediation session between the city and the Charlottesville Parking Center last week failed to produce an immediate settlement in their ongoing dispute over rates and ownership of the Water Street Parking Garage. The City Council discussed the dispute and a settlement offer in a closed session Monday. Councilor ...

As more businesses take root on Harris Street, walkability concerns grow As more firms seek to open offices on Harris Street in Charlottesville, owners of existing businesses want city officials to pay attention to what they say are unsafe conditions for pedestrians. “Frankly it’s dangerous,” said Martin Chapman, president ...

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau is exploring the possibility of bringing a conference or convention center to the region. The CACVB’s board in January approved up to $30,000 in funding for a feasibility study to be completed in fiscal year 2018. A request for proposals was issued ...

The University of Virginia is hoping to relocate its orthopedic services from the Fontaine Research Park as part of its redevelopment of an area along Ivy Road, east of the U.S. 29 and U.S. 250 intersection. UVa officials presented plans to Charlottesville and Albemarle County leaders at the ...

A team of urban and environmental planning master’s degree students is proposing numerous ways to improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between Charlottesville and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The group of University of Virginia graduate students presented their planning study — entitled “Charlottesville to Monticello & Beyond” — to community stakeholders at CitySpace ...

As new technology companies continue to percolate in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, the University of Virginia wants to know if its graduates can help provide more of the talent. “Every May, we have over 3,500 students largely leaving this area and going elsewhere in the country,” said Pat Hogan ...

As Charlottesville continues to experience a building and redevelopment boom, some officials are hoping increased public participation in the Comprehensive Plan update can help ensure that the city grows in a manner that benefits all its residents. “We keep getting the message that we are not getting all the different ...

As Charlottesville embarks on the latest update of its Comprehensive Plan, City Council wants to find new ways of getting more residents involved in a process to help shape future development. “We’re a fast-changing city and there is a lot of fear and concern about change and displacement particularly ...

A panel of elected officials, business owners and citizens met for the first time Thursday to begin planning for the future of the intersection of U.S. 29 and Hydraulic Road. They were told at the outset the outcome may not be the same as at Rio Road. “We’re ...

The Piedmont Council of the Arts adopted a cultural plan in September 2013 intended in part to foster additional government support for the region’s arts community, but the city of Charlottesville is wrestling with its role three and a half years later. “There has been a concern in the ...

The Charlottesville City Council has reacted favorably to suggestions made in a $101,250 efficiency study, but members want direction from City Manager Maurice Jones before implementing any of the 83 recommendations.   “I think it’s important for the public to see we are not bloated with excess staff or ...

Virginia’s secretary of transportation was in Charlottesville on Thursday to celebrate completion of one major project on U.S. 29 and to announce that planning soon will begin for a future one. “At your request, we are kicking off a study of Hydraulic Road and the Route 29 intersection ...

Charlottesville staff has been asked to perform a preliminary investigation of whether the city should have an official architect or a staff person who assists the arts community. Mayor Mike Signer asked fellow councilors at the end of their meeting earlier this week whether the city could play a bigger ...

The western end of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall has been officially designated as Vinegar Hill Park. Charlottesville’s Historic Resources Committee has spent much of the last four years planning a new park to memorialize Vinegar Hill, a predominantly African-American neighborhood and business district that the city razed in 1964 ...

Charlottesville City Council on Monday approved a resolution directing City Manager Maurice Jones and his staff to find ways to funnel local workers to jobs associated with the Belmont Bridge replacement project. The measure passed, 5-0, as part of the council’s consent agenda, a list of measures that do ...