Affordable Housing Initiative

As part of President Ryan’s Great and Good Strategic Plan, UVA has committed to supporting the development of 1,000 – 1,500 affordable housing units on land in Charlottesville and Albemarle County using land owned by UVA or the UVA Foundation. The SIF award will cover consultant engagement, development and asset management advisory services, and legal and land transfer fees.  Affordable Housing website: https://prescouncil.president.virginia.edu/affordable-housing

The University of Virginia’s Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) continues to progress towards affordable and sustainable housing solutions in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. Eight milestones within the pre-construction phase are complete for two of the three initial sites for development. These milestones include: 1) convening of the Advisory Group; 2) site review and due diligence; 3) listening tour 4) endorsement and announcement of sites; 5) solicitation of community input on sites; 6) initial financial analysis and massing studies; 7) a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) process; and 8) selection of development partners for two of the three initial sites for development (see Figure 1 below).

This work included significant benchmarking; establishment of a model for development; creation of foundational, community-driven development principles; a formal selection process for development partners; and substantial negotiation and analysis of legal agreements to guide the project going forward and ensure that the units remain affordable and high-quality for the long-term.

The University of Virginia’s Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) continues to advance affordable and sustainable housing solutions in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. There are three sites identified for affordable housing development, which are all unique and on their own timelines. Total programmatic progress achieved to date includes: 

• Planning and strategy: Establishment of a model for development.
• Sites review and selection: A comprehensive analysis of all University and University Foundation (UVAF) land holdings, consideration of expert guidance on the site selection, and official announcement of sites.
• Community engagement: A robust “phase one” community engagement effort that included socialization of the sites and resulted in the articulation of development principles; developer-led, “phase two” community engagement activities.
• Developer selection: A formal selection process for development teams at the Piedmont and Wertland &10th St sites with Advisory Group endorsement of the selection; initiation of the selection process for North Fork.
• Pre-development activities: substantial negotiation and analysis of legal agreements; significant work to advance entitlements, design, financing, additional sites due diligence, and community engagement.