Easy money

There is money to be made if you own property and know the right time to sell. And the odds of making even more money increase with every acre of property you own.   Developer Wendell Wood’s United Land Corporation will take in around $64 million if both Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville […]

Navigating northern Albemarle

For over four decades, Albemarle County has designated areas close to Charlottesville where intense growth is allowed to occur. As this year comes closer to an end, there’s a lot happening in what’s known to planners as Places 29-North.  “We are reviewing an application for about 1,500 homes in the North Fork area,” says Deputy […]

Council’s turn

After several years of discussion, the Charlottesville Planning Commission has recommended a new zoning code that will increase the amount of buildable space within city limits. The appointed body has recommended the restoration of an idea to limit development in areas of the city identified as more prone to displacement of Black and other minority […]

Less Dairy Market?

A long and meticulous conversation has been held all year about proposed new rules and regulations for buildings in Charlottesville, and the Planning Commission will likely take a final vote on a recommendation on October 18. Since a public hearing was held September 14, the six remaining planning commissioners have held four meetings to finalize […]

Build up

Every quarter, the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer puts out a list of facts about each market it serves. According to its final fact for the Charlottesville market, “More than 2,000 multifamily units have been built since the start of 2020, expanding the total inventory by more than 16 percent.”  Such numbers […]

Demolition derby 

The advent of a new development code has fueled fears of future demolitions, as existing structures are taken down to make way for more building space for homes and businesses.    The area’s level of demolition has remained steady for the past dozen or so years, according to data gathered through the city’s permit review […]

A new pathway? 

At this point in the community’s development, nothing happens in isolation. A forthcoming renovation to the home of one of the University of Virginia’s most well-known institutions could lead the way toward providing a new pathway in a congested area.  “While the Center for Politics has been very successful in developing and running its extensive […]

What’s in a name? 

When the first students arrive at new residence halls on Brandon Avenue next summer, they’ll move in to buildings that carry the names of two professors whose lives were entwined with some of the struggles of the mid-20th century.  “It is the custom at the university to name residence halls after esteemed faculty members,” says […]

New plans for vacant land 

As the University of Virginia looks to build a $100 million biotechnology institute at the Fontaine Research Park, Riverbend Development has filed its latest plan for a 69-acre parcel of land that appears rural, but is very much in Albemarle’s development area.  The undeveloped Granger property is between Interstate 64 and the Norfolk Southern railroad […]

‘The new status quo’ 

A dozen years have passed since Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital completed its move from a location near downtown Charlottesville to a new facility on Pantops in Albemarle County.  This summer, two entities purchased the two halves of the 8.34-acre site for $38.9 million. A firm going by the name Octagon Partners bought the property in […]