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Just add Waterhouse: Last week, the building at 218 Water Street was demolished in preparation for construction of Bill Atwood’s mixed-use development. |
After years of designs and redesigns, construction of architect Bill Atwood’s Waterhouse project seems imminent. Demolition of the building located at 218 Water Street—former home of the Balkan Bakery and Sidetracks Music—began on Tuesday, October 5. By the following afternoon, little remained where the building once had stood.
Originally conceived as two nine-story towers, Waterhouse’s new six-story “village” design was approved by the Board of Architectural Review in August. (Atwood’s design incorporates the green building located next door to the demolition site.) Waterhouse’s premier tenant is WorldStrides, a student travel business based in Albemarle County that employs more than 200 people. WorldStrides announced plans in August to move from its current location at Peter Jefferson Place on Pantops Mountain.
Provided Atwood secures the roughly $20 million in funding for Waterhouse and completes construction, he stands to receive a rebate of half of the project’s property tax revenue for five years as part of a tax increment funding agreement with the city. According to City Planner Brian Haluska, “[The developers] intend to start building as soon as possible and hope to finish before October of next year.” WorldStrides hopes to move in by November 2011.
