The recent approval of the preliminary site plan for Albemarle Place leaves developers Landonomics eager to make themselves at home in Charlottesville. Roll out the welcome wagon, Charlottesville, it’s time to meet the new neighbors.
Senior Vice President Steve Lucas says that he hopes Albemarle Place will be a successful follower to the company’s first endeavour, Suffolk’s Harbour View area.
Landonomics will distribute its land allotment at the corner of Hydraulic Road and Route 29N into an estimated 700 residential units and 40 retail locations across 65 acres.
Landonomics will work with design firms skilled in similar projects and familiar with the Charlottesville area. The development group joined forces with CMSS Architects, a Virginia Beach-based planning and design firm that teamed up with Landonomics previously on the Harbour View project. Also collaborating with Landonomics is Charlottesville’s Cox Company.
Though Landonomics began in Chicago, Illinois, the developer has been known in Virginia during the past 20 years. Harbour View, the firm’s first project in Virginia, now has two branches—a retail center, and a town center where residences, restaurants and a multiplex can comfortably rub shoulders—and covers more than 2,000 acres of land.
When asked about the Landonomics penchant for mixing homes with entertainment and shopping, a combo sometimes referred to as “New Urbanism,” Senior Vice President Steve Lucas responds that “there is a desire for people to have the ability to live, work, shop and play within a very attractive, convenient community.” Albemarle Place residents (and everyone else around here) will have immediate access to a 14-screen multiplex and a 120-room hotel.
Traffic is an ongoing concern with any new development but Lucas has a ready answer: The mixed-use nature of Albemarle Place will generate less traffic than typical shopping centers, he claims. The project’s location at the often congested intersection of Hydraulic Road and Route 29 may ease congestion through its design.
“The main connector through our project has been designed to provide some relief to the Route 29/Hydraulic Road intersection,” Lucas says.
In July of last year Albemarle Place financing was estimated at $100 million. Though he declined to specifically update that number, Lucas said: “Let’s just say we are ready to start as soon as the County gives the last of the approvals.”—Brendan Fitzgerald
Related stories
‘Permanent damage’
After almost three months, Charlottesville police have dropped charges against Patrick McNamara for the January 12 assault of a woman on the Rivanna Trail. The case against McNamara has been dismissed, but the arrest continues to affect his life. On January 18, McNamara was taking a break outside while working from his apartment when he […]
Passing the buck
Charlottesville representatives returned to Richmond for the April meeting of the state legislature. The April 17 session was originally intended to address vetoes, amendments, and the state budget, but a jam-packed agenda pushed budget considerations to May. Though he didn’t outright veto the budget, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin put forward 233 amendments to the bill, […]
Hall pass
On Tuesday, April 30, representatives from the University of Virginia Alumni Association will publicly present a site plan for “a new Alumni Hall” at the corner of Emmet Street and Lewis Mountain Road. The Alumni Association is a separate entity from the university, and pays property taxes to the City of Charlottesville. Unlike UVA, it […]
