CHARLOTTESVILLE (WINA) – Wednesday morning at 350 Park Street… a groundbreaking finally on the first phase of construction of the new joint Albemarle-Charlottesville courthouse. Albemarle Supervisors Chair Donna Price said this first phase that tears down the 1980s addition to the Levy Opera House, and incorporates the building into a new general district court building combines a lot of assets.

A who’s-who of city and county leadership were at this long-awaited event with ribbon cutting set for early 2025. Mayor Lloyd Snook said the county worked through the parking issues the city had promised initially, but couldn’t carry through. County Executive Jeff Richardson said a joint project like this takes a collaborative effort, and neither entity is going to get everything it wants.