January 15, 2026: City Council wants more information on Kindlewood Phase 4 before committing to additional funding
Plus: Two newcomers have been appointed to the Charlottesville Planning Commission
Today’s edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop
If somehow you fall into a time portal today and find yourself in London in 1559, please take into account that there’s a new queen and the ceremonies may affect traffic. The Elizabethan era is not mentioned a lot in the digital pages of Charlottesville Community Engagement, but this is one way of stating this is January 15, 2026. I’m Sean Tubbs, and I’d rather see the future.
In this edition:
Tammy Purcell reports that Amazon Web Services has purchased 1,900 acres for a potential data center
Two newcomers have joined the Charlottesville Planning Commission
There is a February 1 deadline to apply for boards and commissions in Charlottesville
The University of Virginia has announced who is building and working on construction of 780 beds of student housing on the Emmet - Ivy Corridor
Charlottesville City Council provides direction on a new set of requests for investments in affordable housing projects
First shout-out: Plant Virginia Natives
The year is now 2026 and time is running out for me to plan for what my yard could look like if I were to get it ready for spring! The invasive plants won again and I’ve got maybe a month until they begin to come back to life. Is this the year I get ahead of the creeper and vine that thrive in the humidity and the hot sun? What else could I plant instead?
One resource I could consult is Plant Virginia Natives to figure my way out of my predicament. Plant Virginia Natives is part of a partnership with ten regional campaigns for ten different ecosystems across Virginia, from the Northern Piedmont to the Eastern Shore. Take a look at the full map below for the campaign for native species where you are in the Commonwealth. For the Charlottesville area, download a free copy of the handbook: Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens.
Amazon Web Services acquires more than 1,900 acres in central Louisa County for $72.45 million
By Tammy Purcell, Engage Louisa
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has purchased about 1,925 acres in central Louisa County for $72.45 million, according to Louisa County land records. The deal—one of the most lucrative in county history—closed in early January.
The tech giant’s acquisition includes the roughly 1,445-acre Fisher Chewning tract, which sits on the northern end of the Northeast Creek Reservoir, mostly in the county’s Technology Overlay District (TOD). The TOD is a special zoning designation adopted by the board of supervisors two and a half years ago to attract data center development.
AWS last May applied for a conditional use permit [CUP} to build up to 7.2 million square feet of data center buildings on the property, but, amid strong opposition from neighbors, withdrew its application two months later.
For more on the story, visit Engage Louisa.
Council names two to Charlottesville Planning Commission
The Charlottesville Planning Commission is back at seven voting members after the City Council named two new people to the appointed body on January 11.
“I move that we appoint Josh Carp and Ross Harness to the Planning Commission,” said Councilor Natalie Oschrin at the end of a closed session.
Harness is a realtor with Long & Foster. He will occupy Seat 1 and his term will end on August 31 of this year. He replaces Philip d’Oronzio who resigned on January 6.
Wade thanked d’Oronzio for his service on the Planning Commission, the Housing Advisory Commission, and one of two positions representing the city on the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.
“He has almost a photographic memory and his commitment to the city and the community has just been amazing so I want to thank him for his long-term service to the community,” Wade said.
Carp sits in Seat 6 and that term expires on August 31, 2027. He replaces Rory Stolzenberg who resigned effective at the end of 2025. Carp is a software engineer who also runs the E-Bike Lending Library and ran for City Council in 2021.
“I want to thank the applicants for applying,” said Mayor Juandiego Wade. “It was really difficult. We are fortunate in this community to have great candidates to apply for our openings. For those who didn’t get it, please continue to apply.”
The deadline for the next batch of applications is February 1. The following boards have open positions. Click through for more information on what each does. You can even apply if one of the positions sounds interesting to you.
Community Development Block Grant & HOME Taskforce — four vacancies
Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority — one vacancy
Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee — three vacancies
Economic Development Authority — one term expires on March 31, 2026
Housing Advisory Committee — five vacancies
Human Rights Commission — one vacancy, two positions expire February 28, 2026
JABA Advisory Council on Aging — two positions expiring March 31, 2026
JABA Board of Directors — three positions expiring March 31, 2026
Local Building Code Board of Appeals — property manager position vacant
Minority Business Commission — one vacancy
Sister Cities Commission — two vacancies
Social Services Advisory Board - one vacancy
Towing Advisory Board — three vacancies
Tree Commission — two vacancies, five positions expire March 31, 2026
Vendor Appeals Board — two vavancies
Water Resources Protection Foundation — one vacancy and one expiring January 30
YMCA Board of Directors — one vacancy
Developer named for UVA student housing on Emmet / Ivy
The University of Virginia has selected a team to design and construct a new student housing complex to be built in the Emmet / Ivy Corridor. On January 8, UVA announced that Capstone Development Partners will partner with Elkus Manfredi Architects, Hoar Construction, and Hourigan on the project.
“It is our special privilege to design buildings and spaces on the Grounds conceived by Thomas Jefferson and known for its extraordinary sense of place,” a press release quotes David P. Manfredi, CEO and Founding Principal of Elkus Manfredi Architects.
Michael Joy, UVA’s non-voting representative on the Charlottesville Planning Commission, told his colleagues that construction continues on student housing projects at both the Darden School of Business and on 780 beds of undergraduate housing in the Emmet-Ivy Corridor.
“If you pass by on U.S. 250 for the Darden one or if you go by on Ivy Road, you can start to see sort of the extents of both those projects, moreso at Darden where you start to see the massing kind of coming to completion,” Joy said. “But then along Ivy they’ve come out of the ground so they’re no longer subgrade.”
Joy said there will be a lot of progress on both projects over the course of the year as they approach their topping-out. That’s when the tallest beam is put in place in a structure.
The undergraduate project will total 310,000 square feet and will include a 19,000 square foot dining and retail section. Local firm Waterstreet Studio worked on the landscape architectural design.
“The landscape surrounding the 780-bed student housing emphasizes accessibility and connectivity within the corridor and beyond,” reads a description on their website. “Two pedestrian promenades run through the corridor, linking to adjacent streets.”
This project is expected to be ready for the fall 2027 academic year.
At Darden there will be 218 units consisting of 350 beds. Learn more about that project here.
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There are only three slots left! Learn more and sign up at Denise Stewart’s studio website!
Charlottesville City Council gives direction on affordable housing spending
In March 2021, Charlottesville City Council adopted an affordable housing plan that called for a new Comprehensive Plan and a new zoning code to reduce barriers to new construction. The plan also called for a moral commitment to spending at least $10 million a year on housing for at least ten years.
Every budget passed since then has met or exceeded that commitment with pushes from at least one City Councilor that the city needs to spend even more. Every year, the city puts out a request for developers who may want to use municipal dollars to help subsidized rents or sales prices.
On January 5, 2026, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders briefed City Council on three submissions that came through in the latest cycle.
“They are submitting this information without any expectation of funding,” Sanders said. “They are invited to identify a request for funding so that we have some sense of what it is that they are looking for us to do.”
In general, the affordable housing plan also recommends city investments go toward helping households with incomes toward the lower end of the area median.
This year’s requests are:
Community Services Housing asked for $900,000 to renovate 40 existing units with half targeted between 40 percent and 50 percent of area median income (AMI) and 20 percent at 60 percent. Staff put the highest priority on this request.
Brick Lane Better Communities sought $1.75 million to assist with redevelopment of the Holiday Inn on Emmet Street into 192 units with 19 of them reserved for households below 60 percent of AMI. That amount is required anyway under the city’s inclusionary zoning rules. Staff put the medium priority on this request.
Preservation of Affordable Housing once again requested funds to help with the financing of construction of an 170 unit building at 1000 Wertland Street that would all be reserved for 60 percent of AMI. Staff put this as the lowest priority. This is one of three sites the University of Virginia has agreed to donate land for affordable housing projects. In this case, the land belongs to the University of Virginia Foundation. UVA has previously stated they will not contribute financially to the project.
Councilors all indicated support for the Community Services Housing funding, but had some debate over the other two.
Councilor Jen Fleisher said she would support some level of funding for 1000 Wertland because the location would mean someone could live there without a car.
“I’ve seen UVA raise a million over than they need in capital projects before,” Fleisher said. “So I have faith that they can maybe do that here if maybe we contributed.”
City Councilor Natalie Oschrin said the location for the 1000 Wertland project is ideal and suggested talks with UVA might lead to it moving forward.
“If there’s time, I mean, it’s worth negotiating,” Oschrin said, “Not necessarily if it’s going to be straight cash, but like what other alternate options do they have to make this process project better.”
Mayor Juandiego Wade said he would also support negotiations.
Fleisher said she could support the Brick Lane project as well given the wide range of incomes that would be served in the conversion.
City Councilor Michael Payne said he thought the Holiday Inn project might go forward even without city funding and that ten percent of units below 60 percent AMI would not be enough to get his vote.
“I don’t think it would be a good investment for the city at those AMI levels,” Payne said. “The 60 percent would be required no matter what.”
Payne said he would prefer the city purchase existing housing stock that is currently affordable rather than move into new construction. He suggested one place to look would be Hearthwood on Michie Drive which could lose affordability requirements in the near future when low-income housing tax credits expire.
“One thing I’m really thinking about is the fact that Hearthwood’s affordability period is going to be ending,” Payne said. “That’s 200 units, I think over 300 people who live there who are going to be at immediate risk of displacement.”
Sanders said that is on his mind as well and one potential is to use a contingency fund in the capital improvement program that comes from prior surpluses.
The next question Sanders had for Council regarded Kindlewood, the name for the multi-phase redevelopment of the old Friendship Court into new units. The overall agreement between the city and Piedmont Housing Alliance calls for there to be 425 places to live when the work is complete.
Phase 4 is being planned now and the city has already programmed $4.5 million for what was to have been 130 units. Sanders said there is a funding gap.
“Available funding today will allow for 85 to 95 units,” Sander said. “And if that happens, that means the delivery of units total 380 to 390, falling short of the original agreement.”
Piedmont Housing Alliance is seeking an additional $3 million, but Sanders said an alternative would be to lower the total amount. Deputy City Manager James Freas explained why the cost has increased.
“A component of that is that to get to the level of density, get basically that 130 units onto that portion of the remaining property, you pretty much have to go into structured parking,” Freas said.
Wade said he could live with the lower number.
“I’m not in the camp of the additional funds for that,” Wade said. “ I would rather put it towards another affordable housing project.”
Payne said he would like to see more information about phase 4 and reminded Council that the project was developed with input from residents. He said they still need to be involved.
“A huge part of the Kindlewood project is the approach of residents being directly involved in decisions and that flowing from one of the lessons of Vinegar Hill of involving community members directly rather than making decisions for them,” Payne said. “I think if information is given to residents, they’re smart enough to understand the trade-offs.”
Payne said he could support a fewer number of units given that the plans were made during the pandemic and construction costs have increased.
Sanders will reveal his recommended budget on March 2.
Articles by other journalists you are encouraged to read next:
Most of Virginia now under watch for drought, CBS19 News, January 13, 2026
Charlottesville’s economic development director addresses AI-powered parking, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, January 14, 2026
City Council majority wants further negotiation with UVA on housing project, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, January 14, 2026
Tenaska asks Planning Commission to defer permit action after joint session, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, January 15, 2026
Charlottesville and Staunton cancel license plate reading technology, Sandy Hausman, Radio IQ, January 15, 2026
Explorations of inefficiency concludes #984
I took off Tuesday and Wednesday to focus on a longer story for C-Ville Weekly. In doing that, I had to disconnect the way I put together this newsletter in order to do a different kind of reporting. So when Thursday rolled around, suddenly I found myself incapable of going back to work the same way.
I am happiest when I’m in the routine of getting this newsletter out. In order to be productive, I have to be prolific. There are over 800 of your paying for me to do this work, and I’m glad I’ve been able to do this work.
This newsletter is a mixture of a lot of different types, but I’m a broadcaster at the core. This is all supposed to be a radio show and a podcast, but there’s less audio production. Perhaps one day I’ll get the two forms connected.
For now, it’s time to get this one out so I can try to get another one out tomorrow. So much to get through and no time like now to starting for tomorrow!
Rush’s Permanent Wave turns 46 today, so here’s a song: