Charlottesville City Council will vote Monday on whether to move ahead with proposed plans for condominium development on Preston Avenue.
Two local development companies, Stonehaus and the Folsom Group, have submitted development plans to Council for a triangle of land bordered by Preston Avenue, Grady Avenue and 10th Street, City Strategic Planner Satyendra Huja said.
The Council staff received the two proposals Monday and will review the development plans of each company Friday.
The lack of developer interest in the project is disappointing, Council member Blake Caravati said.
At a Council meeting Feb. 17, Council heard a motion to abandon the Preston development project and decided to vote on the issue at Monday's Council meeting.
The attempt to bring additional housing development to Preston began a year ago in response to the City's demand for more housing.
Council's first attempt to solicit proposals from local developers failed to attract any interest in the Preston project. Council renewed its efforts to find a developer and review proposals in December.
"There is limited housing available," Huja said. "The development would promote housing and homeownership."
The residential project would include 30 to 50 condominium housing units, Huja added.
"The development plan is an effort to encourage people to live downtown and is directed primarily toward younger and smaller families and the elderly," he said.
If the development plan is not abandoned by Council Monday, it still must overcome several obstacles before execution.
Since the City currently owns the potential development site, Council must decide to sell the land to a development company before development can actually begin.
The development plan also must go through a design and development process with the site's neighbors before construction starts, Huja said.
"The plan is very controversial," Huja said. "Some of the neighbors do not like the idea."
Council members are wary of endorsing a development plan residents do not support.
"The primary argument against the development plan is the community's aggressive stance against the project," Caravati said. "Some Council members do not want to spend City money on something that has not been fully supported by the community."
Nevertheless, supporters of the plans say the development could have a very positive effect on the City.
The development would promote small business, make the area more pedestrian-friendly, create more housing and bring more real-estate tax revenue into the City, Huja said.
Huja said the development would generate $70,000 to $75,000 in revenue taxes a year.
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