The rising prices of housing in Charlottesville recently prompted the University to join a city task force that is seeking ways to make housing more affordable for area residents.
The University, as the largest employer in the Charlottesville area, needs to be a part of the task force to decide how to solve the problem for Charlottesville residents, said Dave Phillips, CEO of the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS.
"I don't know what the task force will decide on, but it is great to see the University at the table, taking the first step," Phillips said.
The current housing affordability issue stems from increasing taxes, according to Phillips, resulting in a situation where residents are having difficulty finding and affording a home.
One option the University is considering is to buy some of the housing around the University and sell it to University employees, Phillips said.
"The task force has a multitude of different options to solve the problem, from essentially subsidizing housing to awarding grants," Phillips said. "It's just a question of what the final picture will look like."
Yet the University plays a dual role in the area housing market, acting as both the largest area employer and the source of thousands of students who opt to move off Grounds during their time in Charlottesville.
Many in the community point to University students as a group that is creating a high demand for housing close to Grounds, driving housing prices even higher.
Dean of Students Penny Rue said the University actually prefers students to live on Grounds, emphasizing the higher levels of security and better safety on-Grounds. Still, many students migrate to live off Grounds each year, a phenomenon which the University Housing Division has been working hard to combat, Associate Chief Housing Officer Marshall Hunt said.
"We are just trying to keep abreast in the local community so that we can keep our competition up there," Hunt added.
"We are trying as best we can to put a lot of dollars into repair and renovations including an ambitious project in Lambeth where we are trying to put off-Ground amenities in on-Grounds housing."
According to Hunt, a major attraction of off-Grounds housing is "location, location, location."
The rush to sign leases for off-Grounds housing early in the year is another important factor in the situation and one Rue called, "fascinating." Yet she also pointed out that signing leases early in the fall is unnecessary.
"Landlords understand the advantage they have owning the housing closest to the University and pressure students living there to stay another year." Rue said.
The responsibility to change the annual off-Grounds feeding frenzy depends on the students themselves, Rue said.
"If students could come together and decide not to sign leases so early and remembered that second years are guaranteed housing on Grounds, it would be a lot better," she added.
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