Advisory Group Members & Charge

Advisory Group Members

J.J. Davis, Advisory Group Chair, UVA Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Jim Murray, Founder, Presidential Precinct; Managing Partner, Court Square Ventures
Carlos Brown, Vice Rector, UVA BOV; Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer, Dominion Energy
Danny Abramson, Member, UVAF Board of Directors; Principal, Abramson Properties
Robert Byron, Member, UVAF Board of Directors; Chairman & Co-Founder, Blue Vista Companies
Kevin Chavers, Member, UVAF Board of Directors
Harold Folley, Community Organizer, Legal Aid Justice Center; Liaison from President's Council on UVA-Community Partnerships
Eddie Howard, Executive Director, Abundant Life Ministries
Alex Ikefuna, Interim Director of the Office of Community Solutions, City of Charlottesville
Joy Johnson, Founder and Chair, Charlottesville Public Housing Association of Residents
Louis Nelson, Vice Provost for Academic Outreach
Stacy Pethia, Principal Planner for Housing, Albemarle County
Tim Rose, Chief Executive Officer, UVAF
Susi Yu, Principal, Head of Development, MAG Partners

Advisory Group Charge

The Affordable Housing Advisory Group (“Advisory Group”) will serve as a sounding board to help advance the affordable housing work, a priority that was identified in the UVA-Community Working Group’s 2019 report. The Advisory Group will provide guidance and expertise, and will review the recommendations of an internal staff work team and their consultants to then bring forward to the Executive Sponsor, President Jim Ryan, on the following: 

- Community Engagement: Work with the project consultant and internal staff work team to create effective communication with the local community, as well as with housing advocacy organizations, to ensure ample input and transparency.

- Target Population: Consider UVA’s role in addressing local housing needs in a way that is complementary to, and not duplicative of, the work of existing housing organizations. 

- Development Strategy: Review and recommend proposals for an approach to support the development of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 affordable housing units over the next ten years. Consider how to partner with public/private sector entities.

UVA has established a goal to support the development of 1,000 to 1,500 affordable housing units over a decade on land in Charlottesville and/or Albemarle County that is owned by UVA or the UVA Foundation.

Subject to change based on financing, entitlements, etc.

Initiation

Advisory Group Convenes

Site Review & Announcement

Preliminary Community Engagement

Preliminary Financial Analysis

Developer Engagement

Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposals

Negotiations & Legal Agreements

Pre-development Activities

Community Engagement

Entitlements

Design

Financing

Due Diligence for Sites

Final Agreements

Construction

 

May 2025

Piedmont and Wertland & 10th St:

• The first two affordable housing developments (Piedmont in Albemarle County and Wertland & 10th St in Charlottesville city) are moving steadily ahead.
• The developers, Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA), and Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) are working on financing applications and pre-construction activities such as site assessments, community engagement, early design concepts, and rezoning.
• There is an ambitious plan for affordability at these sites for affordability emphasis at 60%AMI and below.
• We are in close communication with our partners to navigate the federal landscape, which is creating funding challenges that impact affordable housing development.
• Each site is unique and continues to progress on its own timeline. The timing for construction depends on financing and entitlements. Based on conversations with the developers, the earliest start date for construction is 2027 at Wertland & 10^th St with Piedmont following by 1-2 years pending completion of rezoning (estimated).

Wertland & 10th St:

• POAH (developer) submitted their 9% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) application on 3/14.
• Extensive work on legal agreements is ongoing.

Piedmont:

• Significant site due diligence is ongoing including coordination of complex utility easements and historic resources.
• PHA (developer) is preparing to rezone the property to align with project expectations. Construction will occur in phases.
   

North Fork:

• North Fork is a very different site from the initial two properties in size and scale. Project phasing and affordability mix will look different at North Fork compared to Piedmont and Wertland & 10th St. Compared to the initial two properties, we anticipate more market rate and middle-income housing in addition to affordable at this site.
• The UVA Foundation (UVAF) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to shortlisted development teams on April 30, 2025 following distribution of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) earlier this year. UVAF anticipates selecting a development team this summer and to begin the planning process later in 2025.