C-VILLE’s long been reporting on the possibility of a nine-story building at 600 E. Water St., on the site of the C&O parking lot next to the old railroad depot, and it now appears that the project is coming close to earning its preliminary site plan approvals.
 Rich folks will have another option to buy big apartments with great views if the proposal for 600 E. Water St., seen here from the Belmont Bridge, goes through—and if developers actually build the darn thing. Plenty of other nine-story buildings are still languishing on plans. |
It’s a sliver of a site, just a third of an acre in a triangular shape. Property owner Neal Sansovich previously had the property on the market in 2006 for $2.4 million, and real estate agent Bob Kahn billed it as the perfect place for Charlottesville’s version of New York’s Flatiron Building. When no acceptable buyers stepped up, Sansovich took the project to Daggett & Grigg architects, who cooked up a building with office space on the first and second floors with the potential for 3,350-square-foot apartments that take up the whole floor above, plus some first floor apartments.
Time has become of the essence for Sansovich. Revisions to the zoning of the area that are currently before the city Planning Commission would make him apply for a special-use permit in order to go up to nine stories. That would mean more time in the review process, required approval by City Council and potentially more concessions to make the city look favorably upon his request. As it stands, he only needs administrative approval as well as support from the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) regarding the building’s exterior.
Sansovich implies that he’s not rushing because of the possible zoning change. “The project has been in the design phase long before City Council ever talked about height restrictions,” says Sansovich via e-mail. “The natural progression of the project has always been to go before the BAR around the first of the year.”
The BAR got its first look at the project on January 15 and generally had favorable comments, though some members wanted to see a more unconventional building to go along with an unconventional site.
“It’s kind of wild to have this New York-style apartment,” said Bill Adams, BAR member. “Is this looking at Central Park?”
Architect Jim Grigg answered, “We would like people to think that.”
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.
