In recent years, Albemarle County has increased the amount of emphasis placed on economic development as a way to diversify the county’s resources. That includes four staff members who work on the topic, as well as a seven member Economic Development Authority that has some financial power.
At their meeting on January 20, 2026, the EDA approved the spending of half a million dollars on an infrastructure project and agreed to two incentives for an industrial building the firm Southern Development wants to build on U.S. 29 by the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport.
Before they got started, a former member of the body wanted to reflect on his term. Jeffrey Morrill had represented the Samuel Miller District and was serving last October when AstraZeneca announced the investment of $4.5 billion at the county’s Rivanna Futures project…