Albemarle outlines Rivanna Futures plan as AstraZeneca commits to 82 acres; ARB forwards Land Bay 82 initial plan

Albemarle County staff on Jan. 20 briefed the Architectural Review Board on the county’s Rivanna Futures property and the early-stage plans tied to AstraZeneca’s proposed manufacturing campus, and the board voted to forward the Land Bay 82 initial site plan to the site-review agent with no modifications.

Emily Kilroy, identified in the meeting as the county’s director of economic development, said Rivanna Futures is the county-owned property adjacent to Rivanna Station and totals about 463 acres in county ownership, with a rezoned subset of approximately 172 acres for light industrial/office uses. Kilroy said AstraZeneca plans to acquire roughly 82 acres within that rezoned area for a two-facility manufacturing campus and that the company expects to employ about 600 people directly at the two specialized production facilities. Kilroy described the investment as a major economic development prospect for the county and noted a range of state and university partnerships that supported the site selection.

County staff emphasized the near-term focus on site-readiness work. Blake Aplenaup, program manager for Rivanna Futures, said the county received a $9.7 million Virginia Business Ready Sites Program grant to fund clearing, grading and utility extensions across portions of the property; staff reported more than $30 million in state grant funding to ready the site overall and said the county spent about $58 million to acquire the property. Blake said tree clearing is planned to start soon and that the county aims to complete grant-funded work within the next 12 months to meet grant conditions. He also said the county is sensitive to seasonal restrictions and expects tree clearing to be done before the March end of a bat moratorium that could limit tree work.

Blake explained planned transportation improvements tied to the project, including a Boulders Road extension to Route 29, and said the road and intersection work is estimated at about $42,000,000. He described the proposed cost share as Commonwealth $20,000,000, county $10,000,000 and AstraZeneca $12,000,000 and said the Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved a grant supporting the project. The county’s Board of Supervisors approved use of a design-build procurement approach for the road to accelerate early work, and staff said the 30% road design will be completed soon before being turned over to the design-build team for final design and permitting.

Margaret and other county staff presented the Land Bay 82 initial site plan (three parcels east of Route 29 north). The plan shows limits of disturbance and an intent to hold tree clearing approximately 300 feet back from the entrance-corridor roadway; staff recommended approval of the initial plan as presented, noting that subsequent, more detailed site plans and building designs will return to the ARB for review.

Board members asked about ownership and timing; Kilroy said AstraZeneca would assume ownership of the parcels it occupies, with final timing linked to the schedule for grant-funded clearing and grading. A motion to forward the staff recommendations to the agent for the site review committee, with no modifications, was made and passed on a roll-call vote with Ayes recorded for each member present.

County staff emphasized the compressed schedule: the grant-funded clearing, grading and utility work must be executed within the grant timeframe, and the road design/permitting and design-build procurement are on a parallel track to deliver access for AstraZeneca’s operations.

Next steps include completing 30% road design, finalizing design-build procurement, and returning future site- and building-level plans to the ARB for entrance-corridor review when they are ready.