Affordable Housing

J.J. Davis, Advisory Group Chair, UVA Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Jim Murray, Rector, UVA BOV; Founder, Presidential Precinct; Managing Partner, Court Square Ventures
Kevin Fay, Chair, UVAF Board of Directors; Vice Chairman & CEO, Alcalde & Fay
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
Lou Haddad, Member, UVA BOV; CEO/President, Armada Hoffler Properties
Jen Jacobs, Executive Director, Albemarle Housing Improvement Program
Joy Johnson, Chair, Public Housing Association of Residents Board of Directors
Brenda Kelley, Redevelopment Manager, City of Charlottesville
Louis Nelson, Vice Provost for Academic Outreach
Stacy Pethia, Principal Planner for Housing, Albemarle County
John Sales, Executive Director, Charlottesville Redevelopment & Housing Authority
Tim Rose, Chief Executive Officer, UVAF

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: 

1. 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.
2. 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. 
3. 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.

Gina Merritt of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV) is providing strategic planning and project support services for the University’s affordable housing initiative. Dr. Merritt and her team bring both technical expertise and significant experience engaging local communities throughout the development process.

June 24, 2021

• On April 29, we held a community engagement virtual kickoff session. A video of the event is posted below. The response was positive, with 90% of attendees supportive of UVA developing affordable housing on University property.

• Project consultant Gina Merritt is now conducting a listening tour, meeting with a variety of individuals and groups to expand our knowledge on this subject. These meetings will continue through the summer. Our goal is to learn more about how people see UVA’s role in addressing the need for affordable housing in Charlottesville/Albemarle and how UVA can complement the work of others.

• The project consulting team is continuing due diligence work on UVA- and UVA Foundation-owned land holdings in both Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Sites will be made public following internal review.

Please contact the Staff Work Team at [email protected] with questions.