The landscape of downtown Charlottesville’s northwestern edge is forever changed after demolition crews removed a commercial shopping center at 218 W. Market St. to make way for a 156-room hotel to serve the area’s booming tourism trade.
There is also a new future for 206 W. Market St., a property that until recently housed Common House, a private social club. That venture suddenly went out of business in April after a dispute between club operators and the building’s owner.
Using an entity called 206 West Market LLC, the new owner paid $2.15 million for the property, which is about 8 percent below the 2026 assessment. The previous owner, Biarritz LLC, paid $930,000 in January 2014. A request for comment was not returned by press time.
John Pritzlaff, executive vice president of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, confirmed in an email that the new owner does not have a previous connection to Common House. At one point Common House operated similar social clubs in Richmond, New Orleans, and Chattanooga, but all three are now under new management.
The structure at 206 W. Market is a 1913 two-story commercial building with a rooftop deck, and was for a time known as the Mentor Lodge, which was an important social venue in the Vinegar Hill community. The original founders of Common House convinced City Council in early 2016 to approve a special use permit for the club.
Under the city’s new zoning, the 0.1-acre lot is in the Downtown Mixed Use zoning district, allowing for up to 13 stories if there is enough affordable housing in the project to qualify for additional height. However, the Board of Architectural Review would have to approve demolition and would also play some role in establishing the maximum height if the property were to be redeveloped.
For the immediate future, the new owner of 206 is moving ahead with renovations, estimated at $300,000, to convert the second floor of the building for a commercial office tenant. According to the building permit applications, no changes will be made to the first floor or the roof deck. The BAR will need to approve a new front entrance and window replacements.
The BAR has twice granted a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of 210 W. Market, which housed Brown’s Lock & Safe for decades until the business ceased operations earlier this year. Cavalier Hospitality LLC, the developer of the future hotel, purchased 210 W. Market in January for just over $1 million and the property is currently being used for parking.
Meanwhile, the remaining assets of Common House are being sold at an online auction this month with pickup in Fredericksburg. Top-dollar Items include a high-end espresso machine, a larger Chesterfield sectional sofa, and a Baldwin upright piano.
At least one of the displaced businesses of the shopping center at 218 W. Market St. has relocated. The Artful Lodger opened its doors this past July in a repurposed auto parts showroom on Richmond Road in Fluvanna County. Others, like the Livery Stable, join Common House as part of Charlottesville’s past.
