Board defers review of 6‑story affordable housing project at 1000 Wortland Street

The Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review on March 1 accepted a request from the project team to defer final action on a Certificate of Appropriateness for a proposed six‑story, 180‑unit affordable housing building at 1000 Wortland Street.

The decision gives the developer time to refine the Wortland (Wirtland) Street façade, street trees and landscaping, and to clarify financing constraints related to a “twin” Virginia Housing structure required by tax‑credit underwriting.

Why it matters: The project is one of a small number of large, publicly subsidized affordable housing projects proposed in Charlottesville this cycle. The BAR’s review focuses on how the building’s massing, materials and streetscape treatments will meet the city’s design guidelines while the developer pursues tax‑credit and Virginia Housing approvals required to close financing.

City planning staff and the development team described the proposal as a six‑story, passive‑house‑targeted residential building with ground‑floor retail and a child‑care space. JT Englehart of the National Housing Trust, part of the development team, said, “this is a proposed affordable housing. We’re at the beginning of our financing path,” and that the project is one of two parcels UVA has committed for affordable housing development.

Architect Liz Chapman of Grama Parker Architects presented streetscape and landscape concepts and said the team had reduced the height from a possible 11 stories to the proposed six to match funding and parking constraints. Chapman said the team plans “a combination of colored concrete and concrete pavers” and retail bays with covered canopies. She also said the project is targeting PHIUS (Passivhaus) performance and will use high‑performance windows.

Board members pressed the team on several details. Members asked for clearer design responses where the zoning administrator and Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) have granted exceptions — in particular, a long, relatively blank Wortland Street wall where the BZA allowed a deviation from code‑required entrances. Members also pressed for more robust street trees along Tenth Street, noting Virginia Housing’s clearance requirements may limit species choice.

The team said construction will be financed as a two‑part “twin” deal required by Virginia Housing underwriting; that structure forces two separate construction contracts even though the developer intends to operate the buildings as one. The team told the BAR that while the twin structure complicates design and construction, it was necessary to assemble enough financing, including 9% Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit allocations, to make the project feasible.

Action: The applicant requested a deferral to return with revised facade and landscape details and additional documentation about financing constraints. The BAR accepted the deferral request; the motion to delay formal action was seconded and the BAR voted in favor.

What’s next: The applicant will revise plans and return to a future BAR meeting. Staff advised the applicant to coordinate closely with city planners and Virginia Housing on allowable materials, tree species, and the implications of the twin financing structure.