As the third month of the third year of the third decade gets underway, Charlottesville is poised for a new future. All over the city, landowners will have more space to build under the adopted Comprehensive Plan and the new zoning rules that are being written this spring.
Some of the places where more density will be allowed have not had the benefit of a plan to suggest what the future could be. Other areas do have at least rough sketches, such as the eastern portion of Cherry Avenue, which has a small area plan.
While there’s no such formal document for the area around the Belmont Bridge, new pedestrian infrastructure built alongside and around the roadway will make it easier to get around on foot. When construction ends next year, there will be sidewalks on both sides of the bridge as well as a new pedestrian underpass.
At least two major properties on the northern end of the bridge have sold in the past year. In February, a person associated with the Great Eastern Resort Company bought 0.384 acres in the 400 block of Avon Street for $1.4 million. This land contains a building constructed in 1961 that was the home of the now closed Fox’s Cafe.
The property is within the new Corridor Mixed-Use 3 district under the draft zoning. That means a base height of three stories with the option to go to five if bonus criteria are met. Those rules will be released later this month.
Last year, the owners of Lampo bought the building at 205 Monticello Rd., as well as 209 Monticello for $800,000. The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative used to be in the latter buildings but has recently moved to East Main Street. The properties share the same CX-3 district and were built in 1945 and 1950, respectively.
In between the two is another commercial block from the mid-20th century with two existing businesses. One of them is Quality Pie, which took over the old Spudnuts’ space in 2017. That structure, as well as the one at 300 Avon St., was built in 1962, the same year the original Belmont Bridge opened to traffic.
Land right across from the 300 block on Avon Street is slated as Node Mixed-Use 10, which will allow up to 10 stories as a base, and 12 if bonus conditions are met.
Construction of the bridge began in July 2021, and the owner of Quality Pie has reported disruptions to business. He wants the city to provide assistance to keep his operations afloat.
“It has housed a local business for over 50 years, and yet the city has managed to cripple and encumber us in just three years,” said Tomas Rahal, who does not own the property.
Two blocks away, the Fitzgerald’s Tire Building at 408 Monticello Rd. is on the market for $1.2 million.
