As part of the redevelopment, several three- and four-bedroom units will be converted to multifamily units. Photo: Albemarle County.
Albemarle County has one of the highest median incomes in Virginia, with $125,800 for a family of four, which is an important statistic that makes the provision of affordable housing much more difficult.
In July 2021, the Board of Supervisors passed a new housing policy intended to encourage more units, but a program to help developers make the finances work was not adopted until a few years later.
“What staff has done over [the] years is really put the pieces in place that once this incentive was approved we could start moving forward,” said Stacy Pethia, Albemarle’s Chief of Housing.
The real estate firm Bonaventure is the first to try out the Rental Housing Incentive Program, which provides a grant based on a 15 percent property tax rebate if a developer makes 20 percent of the total units on a site affordable to households at 60 percent of the area median income or below.
Bonaventure purchased the former Cavalier Crossings apartment complex on Fifth Street in May 2024 with more units. The property was first developed as student housing with 144 units and a total of 660 parking spaces. Now Bonaventure hopes to expand the development. A public hearing on a rezoning was held on October 28.
“The applicant’s proposing for an additional 165 multifamily units on site, which would be dispersed between five new buildings,” said Syd Shoaf, a planner with Albemarle County. “There would be a maximum of 309 units for a gross density of 21 dwelling units per acre on the property.”
Shoaf said that under the terms of Albemarle’s incentive program, 62 units would need to be set aside as affordable for a 30-year period. Approval for the grant program comes from a different process than the rezoning.
As part of the redevelopment, several three- and four-bedroom units are going to be converted to multifamily units. Previously, tenants rented by the bedroom and there were 528 bedrooms available. “They’re converting all of those student suites that were three- and four-student suite bedroom units to two- and three-bedroom units,” said Valerie Long, an attorney with Williams Mullen representing Bonaventure. “Much more appropriate for families and non-students.”
Long said when the second phase is complete, there will be a total of 634 bedrooms.
The application for the incentive program has not yet been made, as two separate investment groups have to sign off on the financing. Some planning commissioners wanted to know what would happen if the grant application were not successful.
“The applicant obviously has to make certain that the commitment is financially viable,” Long said. “But it’s hard to know. So we’re hopeful that the grant program will work out so we can bring the full 20 percent to that blend.”
Staff had no concerns with the rezoning request and recommended approval.
At the public hearing, Michael Monaco, a representative from Livable Cville expressed the group’s support for the redevelopment. Monaco also acknowledged that Bonaventure’s restructure was disruptive for many tenants.
“We hope that this represents a chance to create more affordable housing in this spot and really make something positive out of the site where Cavalier Crossing was,” Monaco said.
Planning Commissioner Luis Carrazana encouraged Bonaventure to think bigger.
“I would definitely advocate for you to look at higher density and even more infill here,” Carrazana said. “It’s a perfect location for it.”
The Planning Commission recommended approval and the next stop is the Board of Supervisors. That public hearing has not yet been scheduled.
