August 13, 2024: UVA Foundation buys land at Airport Road / Lewis & Clark intersection
Plus: Louisa County’s airport to get $448K in federal funds for new taxiway
“The shipbuilding industry accounts for a tremendous $5.5 billion economic impact in Virginia,” reads Senate Joint Resolution #272 from the 2019 General Assembly, recognizing August 13 as Shipbuilders Day in Virginia. That’s because Collis Huntington, the founder of Newport News Shipbuilding died on that day in 1900. The company was founded in 1886 and as of 2019 employed over 23,000 people in the Commonwealth.
I’m Sean Tubbs, the only employee of Charlottesville Community Engagement which makes it quite difficult to take time off.
In today’s installment:
The Louisa County Airport is getting federal help with a project to construct a new taxiway
The University of Virginia Foundation buys another acre of land along the way to the North Fork Discovery Park
The Fluvanna County Fair begins on Thursday at Pleasant Grove Park
The Albemarle Economic Development Authority gets ready for tomorrow’s joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors
First-shout out: Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library
In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: The rolling topography of the Charlottesville area keeps some people away from choosing cycling as an option to get around. Perhaps an e-bike is in order?
That’s where Charlottesville’s eBike Lending Library comes in! E-bikes are a great way to get around the community but there are many brands and styles to choose from. Because many e-bikes are sold online, it can be a challenge to try an e-bike before buying one.
The Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library is a free, not-for-profit service working to expand access to e-bikes in the area. They have a small collection of e-bikes that they lend out to community members for up to a week, for free. You can experience your daily commute, go grocery shopping, or even bike your kids to school, and decide whether e-bikes are right for you. Check out this service at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org!
Louisa Airport to receive $448K in federal funds
Freeman Field in Louisa County is one of four airports in Virginia to receive federal funding in the latest round of distributions from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The county-owned facility is about two miles southeast of the Town of Louisa and will receive $448,000 to construct a new taxiway.
“The airport covers an area of 171 acres at an elevation of 493 feet above mean sea level,” reads a description on the website for Freeman Field. “It has one asphalt runway designated 9/27 measuring 4,301 by 100 feet.”
Since FY22, the Federal Aviation Administration has provided $2.89 billion a year for various improvements to airports. Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO) was awarded $2,419,537 in FY22 to reconstruct runway and taxiway lighting as well as airfield guidance.
The funding for the new taxiway at Freeman Field is spread across all three years.
“We’re helping ensure traveler safety by upgrading every part of airfield operations, from better runway and taxiway configuration to vivid signage, better lighting, and improved pavement markings," said FAA Associate Administrator for Airports, Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E.in a press release sent out this morning by the United States Department of Transportation.
Other Virginia airports receiving funds in this announcement:
Danville Regional Airport will receive $881,000 to construct and expand a hangar
Mecklenburg-Brunswick Regional will receive $301,003 to construct and expand a hangar
Culpeper Regional Airport will get $179,631 for a project to mark, light, and remove obstructions
UVA Foundation purchases one acre lot on Airport Road
The University of Virginia Foundation has purchased an additional acre of land on Airport Road, immediately to the east of the southern stem of the North Fork Discovery Park.
On August 7, the Foundation paid $850,000 for 1761 Airport Road which contains a three bedroom house built in 1964 on 1.05 acres of property. The Albemarle County Assessor’s office considers this an invalid sale which means it will not be counted in calculations of the 2025 reassessment. Still, this transaction is 152.53 percent above the 2024 assessment of $336,600. (this paragraph was updated on August 16, 2024 with the correct figure for the 2024 assessment)
The seller is Airport Auto Investments Phase 3, an entity that still owns several adjacent parcels.
The land is adjacent to a 467.523 acre parcel owned by the Foundation that includes the entirety of frontage for the eastern side of Lewis and Clark Drive. In 2020, the foundation completed a $6 million extension of the roadway to Airport Road. Lewis and Clark Drive will eventually connect to Berkmar Drive Extended after a 0.4 mile extension is completed.
That project has a cost estimate of $19,157,000 according to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Six-Year Improvement Program. VDOT has provided $11,569,987 from three specific sources and the balance will come from Albemarle County’s transportation leveraging program. The project is in design according to Albemarle County’s transportation dashboard.
Here are some other transactions from August 2024 so far:
A single family detached house on Heather Court in the Briarwood neighborhood sold for $295,500. That’s 26.07 percent above the 2024 assessment of $234,400 and 52.79 percent above the 2021 assessment of $193,400. (Rivanna District, 0.09 acres, August 2, 2024)
A four bedroom house on Locke Lane built in 1990 in Forest Lakes sold for $453,000. That’s 5.84 percent above the 2024 assessment of $428,000 and 33.12 percent above the 2021 assessment of $340,300. (Rivanna District, 0.21 acres, August 5, 2024)
A four bedroom house built in 1905 on Mill Grove Lane in North Garden sold for $1.25 million. That’s 27.2 percent above the 2024 assessment of $982,700. (Samuel Miller District, 5.36 acres, August 6, 2024)
A newly-built townhouse on Sweetbay Street in Southwood sold for $462,250. This three bedroom unit was constructed by Atlantic Builders Limited. That’s 9.2 percent above the 2024 assessment of $423,300. (Samuel Miller District, 0.03 acres, August 6, 2024)
A newly-built four bedroom house built by Evergreen Home Builders on Arrowhead Valley Road sold for $993,857. (Samuel Miller District, 6.39 acres, August 6, 2024)
A four bedroom townhouse on Lake Forest Drive built in 1974 sold for $345,000. That’s 29.75 percent below the 2024 assessment of $491,100. The 2021 assessment is $375,700. This is recorded as a valid sale. (Rio District, N/A, August 7, 2024)
A three bedroom house built in 1994 on Brownsville Road sold for $750,000. That’s 28.67 percent above the 2024 assessment of $582,900. (Samuel Miller District, 2.17 acres, August 7, 2024)
Southern Property purchased six lots scattered across the North Pointe development for $1,086,977. (Rivanna District, 0.96 acres, August 7, 2024)
A four bedroom house built in 1989 on Amberfield Court in Forest Lakes sold for $566,500. That’s 15.59 percent above the 2024 assessment of $490,100 and 41.73 percent above the 2021 assessment of $399,700. (Rivanna District, 0.44 acres, August 8, 2024)
A three bedroom house built in 1987 and remodeled in 2023 on Cove Garden Lane sold for $339,750. That’s 42.27 percent above the 2024 assessment of $238,800 and 79.86 percent above the 2021 assessment of $188,900. (Samuel Miller District, 2.12 acres, August 8, 2024)
One note on these transactions. There are many more property transfers in Albemarle than Charlottesville and I am not able to be complete with the county summaries. Yet. I want to do my best anyway and appreciate your support.
Second-shout out: Design Develop
In today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out, architectural firm Design Develop is offering a new service aimed at the development community that the rest of us might want to know about , too — 3D point cloud scanning! This technique uses specialized equipment, such as 3D scanner systems, to gather a large amount of data points that represent the surface of the scanned object or scene. This really comes in handy when working with historic structures, as the firm knows from its experience in Baltimore and Charlottesville. Read their blog post for more information!
The applications of 3D point cloud scanning are extensive and cover various fields, including architecture, construction, cultural heritage preservation, virtual reality, industrial design, manufacturing, and more. These applications require accurate 3D spatial information, and Design Develop’s workflow provides precise and comprehensive results, all while being more cost-effective than traditional methods.
Design Develop has expertise in this workflow for their own needs and now has a dedicated team offering this service in the Charlottesville and Albemarle Area. If you're involved in the real estate, design, or construction industry, contact them for more information or a free quote.
Visit their website for an introductory video that captures the 3D point cloud scanning of the Downtown Transit Center and a booklet that will explain more!
Fluvanna County Fair begins Wednesday with a carnival
We are now in the season in Virginia when agricultural achievements are celebrated at large festivals, and Albemarle County and Madison County have had their turn.
Tomorrow the Fluvanna County Fair will begin at Pleasant Grove Park with a carnival and the other events will begin on Thursday.
“In recent years, local county fairs across the country have been in a state of decline,” reads a press release sent out on July 19. “But in the heart of Virginia, one rural community is bucking that trend by creating a dynamic and fun agricultural experience that continues to draw more visitors each year.”
This iteration of Fluvanna’s county fair is in its 10th anniversary as a previous group that folded. Both the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Fluvanna County Parks and Recreation Department are involved in the event.
The carnival will start Wednesday at 6 p.m. and the fair gates open at 5 p.m. on Thursday with a $5 admission fee. That gives you access to the Axe Women show and the 4-H Poultry Show. Rides in a monster truck will cost you $10
On Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. there is Special Needs Day with a special presentation from the Axe Women. On Saturday’s there’s a rodeo at 6 p.m. and that also has an extra fee. Take a look here for the full schedule.
“From the thrilling rides and games to the farm animals and exhibits, there is something for everyone at the Fair,” said Wade Parrish, the president of the Fair Board.
If you want to learn more, take a look at the Fair Guide.
As for agriculture in Fluvanna County, the 2022 Census of Agriculture recorded 289 farms in Fluvanna with a total of 49,499 acres with an average size of 171 acres. In 2017, there were 273 farms. The full Census of Agriculture is available for review on the United States Department of Agriculture’s website.
Albemarle Economic Development Authority to meet with Supervisors Wednesday
Tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m., the six members of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will get together with the seven members of the Albemarle County for a special meeting.
“There’s three major topics there,” said Emily Kilroy, the county’s interim director of economic development. “One is the Rivanna Futures, one is the strategic plan update, and the final one is the [Memorandum of Understanding] between the Board the EDA.”
Kilroy briefed members of the EDA at their meeting on July 16 to make sure they knew the basics on all three.
Project Enable is the name of the county’s strategic plan approved in late 2018 with seven broad goals.
“The plan was originally envisioned to be effective from 2019 to 2022 but the update in 2022 did not occur and staff has continued really working within the framework of the plan even though the plan horizon has passed,” Kilroy said.
Kilroy said the world has changed since 2019 and a new plan will help staff focus in new areas with a focus on the defense sector and the biotechnology sector. The county is seeking a consultant to work on the plan update with an expected adoption next summer.
There will also be an update on the Rivanna Futures project. That’s a plan to build an intelligence and defense sector complex near Rivanna Station on land owned by the county.
“What we’ll do at the joint meeting is share some conceptual engineering work that we’ve been working on also with a consultant over the past several months which is exciting in that it helps provide a road map for how we might think about infrastructure needs out there, site readiness needs out there,” Kilroy said.
That complex has the working title of “Intelligence and National Security Innovation Acceleration Campus.”
Albemarle County has been managing the property since December and receives rent from parking. More on Rivanna Futures later this week with coverage of the joint meeting.
Reading material for #717
Climate change is making harmful algae bloom events more frequent, experts say, Will Walkey and Aman Azhar, Inside Climate News, August 12, 2024
Louisa-based Bio-Cat's new digestive enzyme blend clears clinical trial, Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), August 12, 2024
Congress could ease rules for small cities seeking transportation money, experts say, Daniel C. Vock, Route 50, August 12, 2024
Olympic Domination: UVA Sets School Medal Record in Paris, Andrew Ramspacher, UVA Today, August 12, 2024
UVA Center For Politics says Virginia is not in play in the 2024 presidential election, Kate Nuechterlein, 29NBC WVIR, August 12, 2024
#717 goes out to Elizabeth Tayloe!
There wasn’t going to be an edition today, but here we are. I even posted a Note on Substack saying this but here we are. In a perfect world, there will be one of these every single day. I’m not in that world yet, but I am imagining it. Also, August 13 is my friend’s birthday as mentioned above.
And hello to some of the dozens of new readers from this month! These are fairly lengthy newsletters and you can find archive versions of them on Information Charlottesville. If I can, I update each story before the time you get through Substack and by the time it goes to the Wordpress site.
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A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
I think Sean meant to give the original assessment price of the acre of land UVA bought in the sentence: “Still, this transaction is 152.53 percent above the 2024 assessment of $850,000.” As the figure is equal to the sale price, not 152.53% above the sale price.