City transit to build new bus complex

By Seth Rosen

Published: May 14, 2008

Construction will begin this summer on a new, $15.6 million complex for the Charlottesville Transit Service just south of the city.

The bus system has become too big for its 30-year-old facility in the city’s public works yard off Fourth Street, and more room is needed to store and service the fleet of buses.

“We are outgrowing our current facility and saw an opportunity to consolidate to save some money in the longer term,” Ric Barrick, the city spokesman, said.

Most of the money for the project — $14.3 million — will come from the state and federal governments. The city will chip in the remaining $1.3 million, with most of that in the current budget. Albemarle County, which serves as a customer of the bus system, will not provide any funding.

The design of the project is completed and the city will begin soliciting bids from companies this week. Construction should wrap up by September 2009, said Scott Hendrix, the project manager for Charlottesville.

The city has purchased 6 acres on Avon Street Extended in Albemarle for $2.25 million to build the complex. One vacant building sits on the site and it will be retrofitted into CTS’ administrative offices.

Three other buildings will be used to repair, wash and refuel the buses, and there will be parking space for the 40-bus fleet.

The city is striving to have the complex meet stringent environmental standards. By using “green” building materials and a geothermal heating and cooling system, officials estimate they will be able to cut energy costs by an average of 33 percent in three of the buildings.

Charlottesville uses a tremendous amount of water every year to clean buses. One of the new buildings will have a 60-gallon cistern underneath it, which will allow the city to collect and recycle rainwater.

Officials estimate the system will save the city nearly $15,000 a year in water costs.

“It is unusual for an industrial facility to be built to these standards,” Hendrix said. “This will translate into taxpayer savings over the years because the energy use will be down and the water use will be down.”