Local property owners just got their latest assessments, which, for the most part, reflected the slump in real estate value. Property values went up a mere 2.3 percent on average in the city and actually went down 2.6 percent in the county. The new assessments stand in stark contrast to 2006, when county values shot up 15 percent and the city’s rose 14 percent, and they underscore the reluctance to buy last year.
But not everyone shied away from putting down big money for property in 2008. The following spenders did their part to keep the economy right side up.
1. Courtyard Marriott: $20.6 million
Type: Commercial
Buyer: Apple Eight Hospitality Ownership Inc., part of an investment trust that owns Marriotts nationwide
Seller: Rivanna River Investment Association LLC
Location: Charlottesville, West Main Street
Acreage: 1.1
Improvements: 137-room hotel
Date of purchase: June 9
2. Merifields Farm: $18.4 million
Type: Residential
Buyers: Jaffray and Merrill Woodriff. Jaffray is CEO of the hedge fund Quantitative Investment Management
Sellers: Jane Steward Humiston; Stanley Watkins; Ather and Vivian Mirza; Merifields Farm LLC
Location: Northeastern Albemarle, Gordonsville Road (Route 22)
Acreage: 556
Improvements: Multiple houses, most notably a 14,500-square-foot mansion built in 2001.
Date of purchase: Main property bought in July; other parcels added in December.
3. Powell Creek Court Apartments: $15.1 million
Type: Commercial
Buyer: G&I VI Greens at Hollymead LLC, which is part of DRA Advisors LLC, a New York-based real estate investment firm
Seller: United Dominion Realty Trust Inc.
Location: Northern Albemarle, Hollymead
Acreage: 14.3
Improvements: 146 apartment units
Date of purchase: March 17
|
Though it went for $9 million, Oakencroft Vineyard and Winery was only the fourth largest sale of 2008. |
4. (tie) Oakencroft: $9 million
Type: Residential
Buyers: John and Amy Griffin. John runs Blue Ridge Capital, a hedge fund.
Seller: Felicia Warburg Rogan
Location: Western Albemarle, Garth Road
Acreage: 83.7
Improvements: 8,000-square-foot house, as well as numerous outbuildings from the winery days
Date of purchase: October 31
4. (tie) Tiverton Farm: $9 million
Type: Residential
Buyer: Tiverton Farm LLC, a.k.a. Coran Capshaw
Sellers: Mike Hughey; Imperial Oil Company Inc.
Location: Western Albemarle, Greenwood
Acreage: 463
Improvements: 18,500-square-foot house
Date of purchase: House bought in February, surrounding acreage purchased in October
6. Lone Oak Farm: $7.25 million
Type: Residential
Buyer: TCP II Lone Oak LLC, which has an Atlanta address
Seller: Murcielago LLC
Location: Southern Albemarle, James River Road. Originally part of a gift from John Kluge to UVA.
Acreage: 1,382
Improvements: 1,400-square-foot house
Date of purchase: August 11
7. 1010 Broomley Road: $7 million
Type: Residential
Buyer: West Wind Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Resource America Inc, a publicly traded asset management company based in Philadelphia
Seller: Irene Higgins Speiden Trust
Location: Western Albemarle, Broomley Road
Acreage: 40.3
Improvements: 2,000-square-foot house
Date of purchase: November 7
8. Branchlands Retirement Village: $6.2 million
Type: Commercial
Buyer: WHSB LLC, a subsidiary of Cambridge Healthcare Management, which is headed by Graham Adelman of Free Union
Seller: Sargent House LLC; Branchlands Third Land Trust; Holtrust LLC
Location: Northern Albemarle, off Rio Road
Acreage: 2.9
Improvements: 69 apartments
Date of purchase: January 22
9. Econo Lodge: $6 million
Type: Commercial
Buyer: Meadow Creek II Corporation, a pseudonym of the UVA Foundation (click here for details)
Seller: Cavalier Associates
Location: Charlottesville, Emmet Street
Acreage: 1.5
Improvements: 60-room hotel and restaurant
Date of purchase: May 7
10. (tie) Turtle Creek Condos: $4.9 million
Type: Condos
Buyer: Neighborhood Investments, a local company run by Richard Spurzem
Seller: Ja-Zan Limited Partnership
Location: Hydraulic Road
Acreage: 0
Improvements: 49 condo units
Date of purchase: July 29
10. (tie) 630 Ivy Lane: $4.9 million
Type: Residential
Buyer: Felicia Warburg Rogan, the “first lady of Virginia wine” who sold Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery
Seller: Robert and Molly Goodwin Hardie
Location: Western Albemarle, Farmington Country Club
Acreage: 3.1
Improvements: 5,880-square-foot house
Date of purchase: October 31
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.
