A proposal for a new student housing apartment complex on Jefferson Park Avenue has received both praise and concern — positive feedback for its potential to mitigate the pressure of University students on the Charlottesville housing market but concern from some students and community members who are worried about the project’s impact on the affordable housing market and traffic in the JPA corridor.
The complex is located at 1709 Jefferson Park Ave, will be 8 stories tall and offer 27 units. The development will replace the 8 unit multi-family apartment complex that currently stands on the property. Charlottesville City Council recently granted the developers of the complex a special use permit in a 3-2 vote.
Construction of student housing complexes often reduce student-related housing pressures in other parts of the city — local housing and environmental advocacy group Livable Cville published a letter in support of a similar development near the JPA area.
“Student housing is a major part of the Charlottesville market, and concentrating that housing in the JPA corridor makes it easier for non-students to access housing elsewhere in Charlottesville,” co-chair Matthew Gillikin said.
The number of University students seeking off-Grounds residences has risen over the years, which has exacerbated Charlottesville’s long-standing shortage of affordable housing. The University itself has also taken steps to address the issue, in some ways through the 2030 Plan, one pillar of which is requiring that all second-year students live on Grounds.
Some students living in the area, however, have criticized the proposal of a new apartment complex. Fourth-year College student Hanna Sun has lived on JPA for over three years and said the JPA corridor already has issues with speeding and parking availability — the addition of a new apartment complex would worsen the situation, according to Sun.
“I think putting another huge complex there is going to exacerbate the issue,” Sun said. “[The complex will] cause unnecessary harm to the students and other pedestrians.”
While she does not live on JPA, fourth-year College student Grace Webb, a resident of Bond House, said building more student-centered housing is a good plan to combat gentrification in the Charlottesville area.
Webb also noted that expensive leases remain a barrier for students looking to live on JPA. The prices of units in the complex have not yet been listed. Nearby, a four bed, two bathroom apartment at 2101 Jefferson Park Apartments is priced at $3,650 per month, and a two bed, 1 bath at The Californian is priced at $1,475 per month.
“The key word here is accessible,” Webb said. “For the student housing to be accessible, it needs to be affordable, and that’s a really critical issue here.”
Per Virginia law, all developers must either build a certain number of on-site affordable housing units or contribute to the area’s affordable housing fund — the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund was created in 2007 to fund the construction of low-cost housing around the city and support local nonprofits working to address the issue.
Donations or on-site units are dependent on the total number of units in the development. City Councilor Michael Payne said developers almost always choose to pay into the CAHF because it is the cheaper of the two options — the developers of this complex have said they will contribute just over $100,000 to the fund.
The development proposal comes after Charlottesville City Council released the most recent draft of its upcoming zoning ordinance, which plans to increase the number of multi-use properties in the city. Some Charlottesville residents have voiced concerns that the ordinance, which will also increase the city’s residential density, will worsen gentrification and resident displacement.
Liveable Cville co-signed a letter of support for the draft zoning ordinance in July. Some of the projects that may benefit from the money include the affordable housing project at 501 Cherry Avenue and a public housing redevelopment at West Haven. The redevelopment in West Haven is expected to require at least $15 million in funding.
Although the developers have obtained the special-use permit for forthcoming complex, the proposal must undergo further review from the city and hire contractors for the project, with Payne estimating that construction may not begin for one to two years.
Charlottesville City Council discussed the project further at a Planning Commission meeting Tuesday, although no voting occurred.
Ella Scandura contributed to this article.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the development at 1709 Jefferson Park Avenue as The Verve. The two developments are separate. The article has been updated to reflect this change. A correction will appear in our next print edition.
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