MEDIA ADVISORY


THE NORTH FORK BUSINESS PARK IS GOING FORWARD,
THE QUESTION IS, HOW WILL IT LOOK?

	On June 5, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will
decide whether to approve a rezoning request from the University of
Virginia Foundation regarding its North Fork Business Park.  The
foundation has asked that the northern 300 acres of its 525-acre
property be rezoned, from agricultural to light industrial.  This
would allow the business park to use the foundation's entire
property, all of it within the county's designated growth area,
rather than limiting future construction to the southern 225 acres,
already zoned light industrial.
	The supervisors' vote, to a large extent, will determine the
nature of the business park -- whether it can retain a more rural,
spacious feel, or whether it will be more crowded and city-like in
character. The foundation already has the right to develop the
southern half of the property and if necessary, will build all of
its allowed office space on the southern half alone.  The choice
here is not between growth and no growth; it is about the nature of
that growth.
	The U.Va. foundation would prefer to build an attractive,
environmentally sensitive business park in keeping with the values
of the Albemarle community.  Given the upcoming vote, a review of
the foundation's North Fork Business Park proposal is timely.
	Tim Rose, chief operating officer of the foundation, will be
available for media interviews through Tuesday, June 4.  He can be
reached at work at (804) 982-4848 or at home at (804) 977-3940.
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May 30, 1996
	Television reporters should contact our TV News Office at
(804) 924-7550.




BACKGROUND

PURPOSE -- The purpose of the North Fork Business Park is to attract
clean industries to the Charlottesville-Albemarle County area that
will profit from collaborating with University of Virginia
researchers and scientists. Such cooperation will help university
scientists stay abreast of the latest commercial needs, while
bringing the fruits of their research to the marketplace. The
business park is not conceived as a money-making investment; rather
it is seen as a break-even venture to foster cooperation between the
university and the private sector.


UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION -- The foundation is a
not-for-profit organization controlled by a board that includes
U.Va.'s rector, president, two members of the Board of Visitors and
three university vice presidents. The foundation's mission is
three-fold: to provide administrative support to other
university-related foundations; to support the capital campaign; and
to manage the university's real estate, which includes the two
research parks - Fontaine Avenue Research Park and the North Fork
Business Park.


DENSITY OF DEVELOPMENT -- By law, the University of Virginia
Foundation currently is allowed to build nearly 7.0 million square
feet of office space on the southern 225 acres of its North Fork
Business Park property. But the foundation does not want to do that.
Instead, in keeping with the rural character of Albemarle County,
the foundation would like to scatter less than half of that total --
3.0 million square feet -- of building space over its 525-acre
property in a low-density development that would enable builders to
work with the natural contours of the land.

	A vote by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors to
permit rezoning of the northern 300 acres of the planned North Fork
Business Park, from agricultural to light industrial, would enable
the foundation to make use of the entire 525-acre property, keeping
200 acres -- nearly 40 percent of the total -- as open space, while
releasing $3.5 million in proffers to the county.

	A vote by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors against
rezoning would force the foundation to put 2.5 million to 3.5
million square feet of buildings entirely on the southern 225 acres
of the business park. This would mean creating a high-density,
commercial real estate development with buildings, parking lots and
possibly parking garages closely juxtaposed. Little green space
would be left. And the $3.5 million in proffers would not be
activated.

	By voting for the rezoning, Albemarle County supervisors
would hold the foundation to a 3.0 million square-foot cap on office
space over the entire site. This is 500,000 square feet more than
the minimum of 2.5 million the foundation now can build on the
southern half alone, but at least 500,000 square feet less than the
3.5 million square feet of office space that could be built on the
southern half if parking decks, rather than parking lots, were
included in the plans.


PROFFERS -- Over the past two years, the foundation has responded to
the concerns of Albemarle County residents and government officials
by offering a $3.5 million package of proffers to minimize the
impact of its development. No other real estate developer in this
area has offered such a generous set of proffers as those proposed
by the U.Va. foundation in connection with the North Fork Business
Park project, if the entire site is approved. The proffers address: 

	¥ Environment - The foundation has agreed to create a master
storm-water management system to ensure that businesses do not
pollute local streams and rivers; and has set a water-use limit of
no more than 125,000 gallons per user per day;

	¥ Traffic - The foundation has agreed to fund improvements
to Rt. 29 and the Rt. 649 interchange that the Virginia Department
of Transportation estimates are worth $2 million;
	¥ Safety - The foundation has agreed to set aside land for a
fire station; and train Albemarle County fire and emergency
personnel in the handling and disposal of hazardous materials;

	¥ Green Space - The foundation has agreed to surround the
business park with a buffer zone to screen the park from its
neighbors; dedicate a 100-foot-wide greenbelt along the North Fork
of the Rivanna River; set aside land for recreation areas for
Albemarle County residents; and keep 200 acres as open space;

	¥ Pace of Development - The foundation has agreed to limit
density on the 525 acres to 3.0 million square feet; to pace annual
construction so the development will take no fewer than 14 years to
build out. If completed as expected in the year 2020, the business
park should be home to 30 to 40 buildings, divided roughly equally
between the northern and southern sectors of the property.


BENEFITS -- Albemarle County will benefit from this project in a
number of ways.  The new businesses coming into the park will be
clean, high-tech companies that will need well-trained employees,
many of whom will be hired locally.

	The businesses will need to buy supplies and services from
local companies.

	The businesses -- and their employees -- will pay state and
local taxes, again supporting the local economy.

	The foundation's proffers likewise should improve the
quality of life of business park neighbors by providing land for a
fire station and recreational areas that do not now exist.


GOOD FAITH -- Despite professional advice to the contrary, the
foundation has drawn up unprecedented proffers to ease concerns over
the business park's impact -- on traffic, the environment, and the
handling of hazardous materials, among other issues.

	Indeed, everything the U.Va. foundation has done in
connection with the North Fork Business Park over the past two years
demonstrates its good faith and willingness to work toward a win-win
development for the university and for the surrounding community.

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