Project Details

Trax West Main Development Proposal

12 weeks

Building a community involves some public investment and a lot of private investment. How do developers see their role and the decisions that they make? How do they decide what to include in a project and how do they plan to market and sell a project? These are some of the questions that planners need to know if they are working with developers or are negotiating with and  approving developments for the public sector. To deal with the private sector planners need to understand that sector. 

Land Development Workshop PLAC 5430 serves as an introduction to the fundamentals of the urban land development process. Interdisciplinary student teams from across the School of Architecture and the university’s Darden School of Business simulate a real estate consulting company, and are challenged to construct an informed development proposal for a development site in Charlottesville for their ‘client’ – the actual owner/developer of the site. The example above depict the designs for a site that is currently underutilized as a car storage lot and automotive shop on West Main Street, a “mid- town” revitalization area within walking distance of the University and the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. 

The proposed strategy proposed for this site is to make improvements that will serve as an anchor for revitalization of the wider “midtown” area. Uses that were identified as priorities for the team’s conceptual design include: plaza flex space, tiered office space, and residential live-work and multi- family structures. The team also identified phasing as a priority where simple renovations and leasing of the existing building on the site will yield immediate cash flow to the owner and positive impacts to the neighborhood.  When the market is favorable and the owner’s situation is ripe, then the mixed usephase can begin.  City of Charlottesville plans for the full West Main Street corridor can be found at http://www.charlottesville.org/index.aspx?page=2814 .