Wade Apartments, one of the titans of local student housing, made quick work of erecting a 20-unit apartment building at 1620 Jefferson Park Ave., but a neighbor is claiming in court that its rise came at his expense.
Charles diPierro lives at 106 Oakhurst Cir. and shares a boundary line with Jefferson Commons, which Wade Apartments had constructed between 2006 and 2007. In a lawsuit filed in February in Charlottesville Circuit Court, diPierro claims that contractors for Wade Apartments repeatedly trespassed on his property to remove trees, store equipment and perform excavation work. He also claims that the group acted in a civil conspiracy to do so. He’s asking for $400,000 in damages.
The suit was served in March, but no response has yet been filed. Wade Tremblay, general manager of Wade Apartments, didn’t return calls for comment. DiPierro’s attorney, Mike Derdeyn, had no comment.
 Charles diPierro is suing Wade Apartments and the contractors Wade hired to build this apartment building at 1620 JPA, citing trespassing and civil conspiracy issues. |
In the complaint, diPierro says that police were called on several occasions in April 2007 to make workers leave his property. “When confronted with these repeated unauthorized trespasses, Wade Tremblay…ratified the conduct by explaining away tortuous activity by words to the effect of, ‘We have to keep things moving. Time is money,’” says the complaint.
Neighbors who share a property line don’t share diPierro’s problems about the construction of Jefferson Commons. “I found Wade to be totally professional and over the top in responding to concerns,” says Michael Osteen, who says that Tremblay took care of some mutual landscaping issues. “I was totally satisfied with my relationship with Wade.”
Tom Pietro, another adjacent property owner, has a separate concern—a concern that may stem from the lawsuit. A retaining wall was built for Jefferson Commons. “Apparently because of the lawsuit, they never backfilled it,” says Pietro. “There’s a pretty big cavern there.” Pietro is concerned that an animal or a small kid could get trapped in it.
“I have college kids living in my building until August,” says Pietro. “They’ve been known to party on occasion. God knows somebody wanders out in the backyard and decides to hop over my stone wall, they’re going for a ride.”
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