“Picture this,” the Blume on Ivy website reads. “You wake up in your penthouse balcony apartment, start the day with a sunrise yoga class … all before your first lecture. Cold brew in hand, you head out caffeinated and ready.”
The new, luxury 10-story student apartment building Blume on Ivy will open its doors to residents fall 2027, and leasing began spring 2026. The more than 20,000 square-foot building is located at 2117 Ivy Road, near the Ivy Corridor — about two blocks away from Grounds, according to the Chicago-based developer Up Campus Student Living’s website.
The development arrives amidst concern from City residents that the growing number of luxury student housing gentrifies the historic surrounding areas. Other luxury student housing options near the University, like the Flats at West Village, Lark on Main and Yugo Crestline, which are all located on West Main Street, replace pre-existing residential communities. Blume on Ivy is located approximately one mile away from the other luxury apartments on West Main Street, and is being developed on commercial land that was occupied by Truist Bank.
The Blume on Ivy website stated that the building will offer 640 beds and 231 units, with units offering studio, two-, three- and four-bedroom options. Amenities listed include a “high-performance fitness hub,” sauna, golf simulator, Pilates studio, yoga studio, heated rooftop pool, rooftop terrace and cafe. According to the website, all units are fully furnished and feature stainless steel appliances, 55-inch smart TVs and blackout roller shades. Units also have balcony and penthouse upgrade options.
Up Campus Student Living also invests in Lark on Main, another luxury student housing option near the Corner. Up Campus Student Living’s development, management and investment portfolio is composed of 25 luxury student housing properties near university campuses across the country. According to the website, Up Campus Student Living approaches property management by focusing on “customer experience” and turning “green, sustainable solutions into community assets.”
Up Campus Student Living did not respond to a request for comment on the average cost of rent at Blume on Ivy, construction costs or other construction details by the time of publication.
Regarding recent luxury apartments that have received approval, LV Collective is a developer from Texas that proposed an 11-story luxury student housing building on West Main Street. Since the proposal to the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review in August 2025, LV Collective continues to face backlash by the residents of Westhaven, the historically Black neighborhood that sits behind the building. LV Collective proposed a new eight-story version along West Main Street and a six-story version on the Westhaven side May 19, but development is still undergoing community discussion.
“The Mark at Charlottesville” is another recently proposed seven-story luxury student housing option to be built by LCD Acquisitions, LLC on 7th Street, SW and Delevan Street in Fifeville, a historically Black neighborhood. The Charlottesville City Council greenlighted Georgia-based developer LCD Acquisitions, LLC, to continue with construction plans — which were initially blocked by the BAR in December — in a 3-2 vote May 4.
In a statement to The Cavalier Daily, Charlottesville City Councilor Michael Payne wrote that the development of Blume on Ivy, compared to the LV Collective and The Mark projects, presents an “interesting case study” of the effect of the location of luxury student housing on community displacement.
“[Blume on Ivy] isn't adjacent to working class neighborhoods facing displacement risks. It’s a good example of a location where large new luxury student housing developments do make sense and should be targeted,” Payne wrote.
Payne provided other reasons for Blume on Ivy’s positive impact on the areas surrounding the University. According to Payne, Blume on Ivy caters to a segment of the student population that has little price sensitivity around rent because “[the] family will cover the cost,” which helps filter the local housing market and “potentially [increase] housing options in other areas.”
Additionally, Payne wrote that Blume on Ivy paying property taxes along with a one-time inclusionary zoning affordable housing payment to the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund will positively impact local communities. The one-time payment allows Blume on Ivy to pay a fee instead of offering the required 10 percent of units priced at or less than 60 percent of the area’s median income — for projects with more than 10 units — as outlined in Charlottesville’s affordable dwelling unit procedure.
Payne emphasized that these benefits are accomplished without “increasing displacement pressures at a local neighborhood level.”
The construction of Blume on Ivy also takes place across from the University’s ongoing Ivy Corridor project — the construction of two, six-story buildings expected to house 750-800 University students. This project is a part of the University’s goal to house all second-year undergraduate students on Grounds by 2030. The goal, along with other initiatives outlined in former University President Jim Ryan’s 2030 “Great and Good Plan,” aims to address community challenges such as housing and living costs.
The Ivy Corridor upperclassmen housing is expected to open for student living in the 2027-28 academic year, also the expected opening date for Blume on Ivy.
In November 2023, University spokespeople wrote a letter to the Charlottesville City Planning Commission and City Council raising concerns over Blume on Ivy creating a “mismatch with the corridor’s intended scale.” The letter received pushback from the Charlottesville community, with many members in support of the development. The City Planning Commission later unanimously approved the construction of Blume on Ivy.
Leasing information for Blume on Ivy can be found on its website.
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