News Real Estate

Not-so-tiny change

A recent change to rules about what can be constructed has cleared an obstacle for those who wish to live in a very small living space. At least in Louisa.  “State building code now identifies tiny homes and has a regulation,” says Toni Williams, a member of the Louisa Board of Supervisors. “It’s just a […]

Sean Tubbs | June 12, 2024

News Real Estate

Change order

The University of Virginia has more influence and control over Charlottesville’s future than any other entity in the community. At this moment, UVA has more than a billion projects under construction, according to the packet for this week’s meeting of the Board of Visitors.  The agenda of the Buildings and Grounds Committee is a good […]

Sean Tubbs | June 5, 2024

News Real Estate

Filling in 

Details are now known for the first of three UVA-initiated projects to build between 1,000 and 1,500 affordable housing units in the community.  “This is a project being pursued by the University’s real estate foundation at the northeast corner of 10th Street and Wertland,” says Jeffrey Werner, the city’s preservation planner. “There are some opportunities […]

Sean Tubbs | May 29, 2024

News Real Estate

Back to worship 

A Christian church with locations in Louisa County, Pantops Mountain, and Waynesboro has purchased a key site in downtown Charlottesville for a new campus.  Point Church paid $1.3 million for 105 Ridge St., a structure originally built in the late 19th century for the Mount Zion Baptist Church. The property had previously been listed at […]

Sean Tubbs | May 22, 2024

News Real Estate

Neighborhood remodel?

Twenty-three years ago this week, Albemarle Supervisors officially adopted a policy called the Neighborhood Model to encourage construction of a more urban fabric in the county’s designated growth areas.    “We were proud of the tremendous efforts put into developing the Neighborhood Model by a committee of local residents and staff,” says Sally Thomas, who […]

Sean Tubbs | May 15, 2024

News Real Estate

Explosive growth

Unlike Scottsville, Crozet is not a town, and decisions about land use are up to the six-member Board of Supervisors. The unincorporated community is in Albemarle’s White Hall District, and last year, incumbent Supervisor Ann Mallek narrowly defeated challenger Brad Rykal.   Rykal’s campaign argued Albemarle has focused too much development into Crozet without providing […]

Sean Tubbs | May 8, 2024

News Real Estate

House down

The City of Charlottesville issued a stop-work order on Friday, April 26, at 521 Park Plaza in the North Downtown neighborhood. When it served the document, the city discovered the three-bedroom house had been demolished.  At some point late last week, a yellow excavator smashed the one-and-a-half-story structure into pieces. City records listed the home, […]

Sean Tubbs | May 1, 2024

News

Hall pass

On Tuesday, April 30, representatives from the University of Virginia Alumni Association will publicly present a site plan for “a new Alumni Hall” at the corner of Emmet Street and Lewis Mountain Road.  The Alumni Association is a separate entity from the university, and pays property taxes to the City of Charlottesville. Unlike UVA, it […]

Sean Tubbs | April 24, 2024

News Real Estate

Change of plans?

The developer of a planned nine-story apartment building at 218 W. Market St. is considering building a hotel there instead. “It’s a great opportunity to further expose the Downtown Mall to visitors coming into Charlottesville, and increase the vitality of our downtown,” says Jeffrey Levien of Heirloom Development. In September 2020, City Council granted Levien’s […]

Sean Tubbs | April 17, 2024

News Real Estate

One exit

Any structure erected in Virginia must conform to building codes created around a century ago to ensure safe construction methods are followed and that people inside can get out if there’s a fire. Such provisions spread across the country after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in March 1911 in New York City that led to […]

Sean Tubbs | April 10, 2024