Roses closure prompts discussion about what’s next

The pending closure of Roses in the Pantops Shopping Center is the latest in the end of an era, as 20th-century commercial patterns continue to wane. A looming vacancy might be seen as a catalyst for new construction to fit the needs of the 21st century, but a representative of the firm that owns the […]

Should a downtown movie theater be demolished to build new housing?

Crowds rarely attend meetings of the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review, but quite a few people showed up for a November 19 preliminary review of a potential 184-foot-tall building at the Downtown Mall site of the Violet Crown movie theater. “I completely understand the magnitude of the importance of this property cannot be overstated,” said […]

Albemarle County biotech company to add 200 jobs at expanded facility

Albemarle County’s campaign to grow the biotechnology industry showed a major sign of progress earlier this month when one company announced plans to invest $200 million into an expansion project.   “We want to expand our manufacturing to make sterile medicines, put in clean rooms, and create really, really great jobs,” said Afton Scientific’s Tom […]

A brief history of the two-decade process to replace the Belmont Bridge

On a warm morning in late June, City Manager Sam Sanders presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Belmont Bridge, a $38 million project that for a time served as another chapter in Charlottesville’s resistance to infrastructure for motorized vehicles. “There are many who didn’t believe that this would actually happen,” Sanders said to […]