The style of empathy

Think about the clothes you have in your closet. Or in your dresser. Or in the pile next to your bed. Think about a piece that has some special meaning to you.  My mind goes to a watch that my partner (who, full disclosure, is the editor of this magazine) gave me on our wedding […]

Getting to know: Tori Cherry

T ori Cherry’s work with New City Arts started long before she was hired as its Welcome Gallery Manager. The 2021-2022 Aunspaugh Fellow at UVA worked at a co-instructor for Summer Studio @ The Fralin, which culminated in a week-long show at New City. In November of 2021, she exhibited her own work, a collection […]

A new hill to build on

New Hill Development Corporation got its start from a series of conversations about the history and future of Black wealth in Charlottesville. In early 2017, Wes Bellamy and Kathy Galvin, then City Council members, gathered a group of Black entrepreneurs and community leaders to talk about Black representation in city development. But the scope of […]

Turning the page

Gwen Cassady speaks like she works: In many directions, all at once. She’s built her a professional life around countless nonprofit and for-profit projects, and she’s overcome much to get there. Abused and trafficked by her mother and others as a child, and later driven into homelessness multiple times, Cassady spoke with C-VILLE in early […]

Mr. Ix it

Alex Bryant is not even 30 years old, and being named Ix Art Park Foundation executive director in January was only the latest milestone along his ascent to local leadership. Bryant joined the Charlottesville community in 2011, enrolling at UVA as an engineering student. He switched to music when an advisor told him to do […]

Refreshing its memory

“My husband and I used to take walks along Locust Avenue, and we just adored this one old house,” says Bryant Taylor. “It had an amazing yard, with lots of green space—and both of us love a project.” For the Taylors, “project” is an understatement: Alan is co-founder and president of Riverbend Development, and Bryant […]

Baby barn

The tiny house craze may have tempered a touch, but in the right application, downscale domiciles can still bring it big time. Crozet-based John and Lori O’Connor contracted with Charlottesville Area Builders to construct a new farmhouse several years ago. They didn’t plan to add a guest house but came to the idea as an […]

Triple the fun

For an artist moving to Charlottesville from the West Coast, dashed urban hopes led to a near-downtown dream renovation. The homeowner quickly learned the loft-style living and working space she wanted wasn’t currently available, but she says she got lucky. She found a single-family home on Lexington Avenue that had already undergone a modern renovation […]

How to sell a fully furnished home

With the real estate market still red hot, you may have noticed a new trend on Instagram: buyers selling their houses fully furnished. They don’t have to pay to pack up and haul all their worldly goods elsewhere, and sellers get a custom-decorated house with minimal unpacking. But before you decide to jump on this […]

It’s a calling

“You gotta love old houses to live in one,” says master stonemason Mike Ondrick. “If you keep it anywhere near correct [to its era], you’re going to live with cold walls and damp in the basement sometimes.” Ondrick should know: He’s a founder and project manager for Dominion Traditional Building Group, which specializes in restoring […]