A new report from the Southern Environmental Law Center warns that Albemarle County is overbuilding retail outlets, and that the shopping glut threatens economic vitality, the environment and Albemarle denizens’ quality of life.
According to the report, released Monday, May 1, there are at least 3.3 to 3.5 million square feet of retail development that has either been approved or is under consideration by the County. This massive build-out represents nearly as much retail as existed in Albemarle in 1990 and, if it’s all approved, will bring the County’s total retail to more than 8 million square feet.
In January, an independent consultant working on the Places29 master plan concluded that Albemarle could absorb between 1 and 1.4 million square feet of new retail by 2015, based on population and income growth in Albemarle, Fluvanna, Nelson and Greene. In other words, according to County estimates, the retail development in the pipeline constitutes two to three times the recommended amount.
The SELC report predicts that retail oversaturation will result in dwindling sales and vacancies at existing big-box outlets. Too much new retail will also increase traffic, promote urban sprawl, and pollute local waterways with runoff, they say. One of the biggest problems, according to the report, is that “there is a shortage of readily available information on the amount of retail development under review…far too many hours of research were required to generate even this snapshot of retail growth in the pipeline.”—John Borgmeyer
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