City to sell Ridge properties

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: October 7, 2008

The Charlottesville City Council voted 4-1 late during its Monday night meeting to sell two pieces of land on Ridge Street to the local Southern Development Group.

The public hearing Monday was the second the City Council held regarding the potential sale of 521 and 529 Ridge St., which the city acquired from the Virginia Department of Transporta-tion in 1976 and have since remained undeveloped. Southern Development hoped to buy the two parcels, which total one-third of an acre and are collectively worth $61,000, and use land it already owns to build a mixed-use development.

Councilors said Monday that selling the land would result in a better project. The development would require a rezoning from the city, giving public officials more oversight.

“It’s not a perfect development, but it’s a better development,” if Southern Development acquired the city land, said Mayor Dave Norris. Councilor Holly Edwards was the only one to vote against the deal, which required a supermajority (at least four favorable votes) to be approved.

Some residents who live on and near Ridge Street have voiced vehement opposition about Southern Development’s project and the sale of the undeveloped acres. In the past three years, the development firm has come up with a multitude of plans for the site. The latest estimates that the mixed-use development would measure around 80,000 square feet, and information presented to councilors in September suggested the project would have about 40,000 square feet of commercial space and 40 residential units.