Architectural Review Board Meeting   7/15/2024

Yes, I can.

All right.

Thanks a lot.

Today's meeting is a hybrid meeting.

The public may access and participate in the meeting electronically.

Instructions for doing so are posted on the Albemarle County website at the Albemarle County calendar.

The public has real time audio visual access to this meeting over Zoom and real time audio access over telephone.

Both is provided in the lawfully posted meeting notice.

This meeting is being recorded and will be made available on the county's website.

This meeting is a public record and subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

All speakers, when it is your turn to speak, please first state your name for the record.

Applicants who are making presentations, know that your presentation is limited to a total of 15 minutes, which you can divide among your team members.

Staff will let us know when the 15 minutes are up.

If applicants in the meeting room have team members attending virtually who will need to present, please make that known when you come to the podium.

Everyone who is participating virtually, please mute your microphone until it is your turn to speak.

We'll move on to disclosures.

No.

No.

All right.

Sounds like no disclosures.

All right, great.

In that case, we do not have any consent agenda items today.

We do not have any work sessions.

So we will move to our one and only regular review item, which is ARB 2024-43 UVA Community Credit Union new headquarters.

Chris, do you have your presentation?

The application you're reviewing today is a review of architecture and site plan to construct the headquarters for UVA Commuting Credit Union in addition to associated site improvements.

Site is at 1201 5th Street, which is north of I-64 and west of 5th Street.

ARB reviewed an initial site plan involving building and site renovations to accommodate the same tenant in May of last year.

The plan under review today replaces that plan.

The existing building and the cell tower on site will be demolished to accommodate the proposed building.

To summarize the staff report, there are minor comments on the architecture and site plan that need to be addressed.

Building elevations are composed of regularly spaced bays with slight projections and recesses.

The projecting bays are clad with brick and topped with a pediment gable on the entry bay and a parapet with cast stone coping and an aluminum cornice on the window bays.

The recess bays are clad with metal panels and have a short cast stone base.

All bays have regularly spaced windows and the aluminum panels separating the first and second floors.

The forms detailing materials provide a strong connection to the historic architecture of the county.

The changes to the site maintain an organized development plan, and the landscape plan shows new trees along the portion of the frontage that is adjacent to the project area.

These trees meet size and spacing requirements, but are shown very close to the existing trees that are to remain.

Adjusting and spacing the proposed trees to accommodate the existing trees would be appropriate.

That staff recommends approval initial site plan without conditions and recommends the changes listed in the staff report be addressed with the final site plan submittal.

All right.

Thanks for that presentation.

Thank you for the presentation.

Tara?

No, thank you.

No, I don't have any questions.

Thanks, Chris.

I'm sorry, Chris.

I don't have any questions either.

Good afternoon, Mr.

Chair, members of the board.

My name is Andrew Moore with Glaube & Holmes Architecture, Richmond, and we're the architect record for the project.

I don't think I have too much more to add to what the staff has already presented so thank you for that.

Just a few images here that may overlap with what you've already seen or may not.

This is a site plan that shows a little more detail of the landscape and how the building fits into the landscape.

Its adjacency to 5th Street and the really adjacency to the off-ramp from 64 as you can see it there.

The floor plan, it's an office building that is organized with internal closed spaces and largely external open office, so lots of opportunity to connect the inside to the outside through the generous window openings.

The elevations that were included with the packet, black and white here, but show the ordering of the exterior, the nod to traditional and classical architecture, but interpreted with a more contemporary and modern approach and materials.

Here's the rendering that was also included with the package, just showing the general character and feel of the building, the series of pavilions that are interconnected with the metal panel.

Here's a site section that shows the elevation on the right of Fifth Street and then the dashed line representing the grade that is current and then where it will be when the project is complete, or more or less,

lowering the grade to be consistent with the lowest current level of the existing building.

So the entire building is now out at the ground instead of partially recessed.

And then here's the illustration of the pallet of materials.

Simple pallet with two brick colors that have corresponding cast stone detailing and then metal panel.

and then the cast stone coping top of the parable wall.

Here are a couple of images that show before and after simulating what the building will look like in context.

So this is the intersection there at 5th Street and 64.

This is the current building as you see it here.

And then this is a simulation of where the building will be when it's complete.

And that's all I have.

All right.

Thanks a lot for your presentation.

Start with Tara.

No, I don't have any questions.

I don't have any questions.

It's a little hard to tell in this image, so I'll go back to the three-quarter view.

So we're looking at it from Fifth Street.

If you could see the building from Fifth Street, this is how it would appear.

So the gable is positioned in a way that it draws to the main entrance.

Thank you.

And the gable form stops at the wall that's behind it.

Is that correct?

That's correct.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right.

I don't have any questions, but thanks for your presentation.

All right, great.

We do not have any in-person members of the public.

So the ARB will now go into discussion.

We'll start with Taro.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate the presentation as presented by the applicant.

I think it's consistent with a lot of the guidelines that we lay out in the ARB and that

Thanks.

I agree with Taro.

I think it's a nice application.

I think given the distance from the corridor and kind of the

Awkwardness of how you view it.

I don't think it'll have that much of an impact on the corridor specifically.

Unfortunately, I think it'd be really nice if this was a building that was prominent on one of our corridors.

I think it's really nice.

I think it's a nice use or kind of retrofit for the site and reusing some of the, what appear to be reusing some of the parking lots or at least kind of staying within that footprint.

So I appreciate that.

I think it's a really nice application.

Sure, I'll add to the course of my colleagues and just say I think it's a very nice application and a nice proposal that I think relates well to the architectural precedents in our guidelines and appears to use some very appropriate and hit some materials.

So excited to see it.

I appreciate your observation.

Yeah all right thanks and yeah I hate to sound like we're the fan club but I agree also and I think it's a well done and will be a great addition to the entrance corridor.

This is an initial site plan and a preliminary review of the architectural design and I need to... that.

Our recommendation for the motion is to move just forward the comments listed in the staff report to the agent for the site review committee.

Included in those comments are comments for the final site plan, assuming you want to see it all back again.

Sure you could make the motion we just talked about and then also just note that

We recommend approval of the final architectural design with these conditions.

I think that would be fine.

That'd be great.

I think Dade has to see if I can state it correctly.

I'll second.

All right.

All right, thanks a lot.

So we'll move on to other business.

Approval of the July 1 minutes.

Anybody want to?

So moved.

Okay, Mr. Van Der Werf?

Mr. Van Der Werf?

Aye.

Mr. Hancock?

Aye.

All right, thanks a lot.

Do any board members or staff have any other items to discuss?

No.

Great.

All right.

In that case, the next ARB meeting is scheduled for August 5th, 2024.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to attend that one.

I will also be away.

I will also be away.

Clearly, we're missing out on some things.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right.

So in that case, the meeting is adjourned until our next meeting at a yet to be specified time.

But we are adjourning now at 1 17.

Yeah.

Thanks a lot.