A company called Rock Mountain LLC purchased a two-story commercial building in the 700 block of West Main for $2.2 million in April 2025. The top floor is residential, with the street level occupied by a string of retail businesses on one of Charlottesville’s most-traveled corridors.
Earlier this year, the city’s Board of Architectural Review approved a plan to replace the windows on the second floor as part of an upgrade of all five apartments. Any exterior modifications must be approved by the BAR because the property is within an architectural design control district.
Staff in the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services issued a building permit in early March for the work, which included removing a ceiling with “asbestos-containing materials.”
One of the retail spaces has been occupied since 2006 by Ben Around Tattoos artist Ben Miller. The business had to close suddenly in the early summer when the renovation work encountered problems and it has not reopened since.
“In the process of attempting to address [the asbestos], our space was rendered unsafe and we were forced to close our door at 703 W. Main St. on June 17 of this year,” reads an October 17 post on the company’s Instagram account that announced a pending move to another location in Charlottesville.
A visit to the storefront shows a space strewn with construction debris as part of the work. Spaces on either side have not been damaged and DOMA Korean Kitchen remains open for business at 701 W. Main. The spot at 705 had been occupied by Cake Bloom but the bakery has since moved to 120 10th St. NW.
In the post, Miller called the move bittersweet because West Main Street has changed over the past 20 years.
It’s gone “from a mostly burned out part of town full of defunct automotive shops where the transients drank and hung out at the bus stops to essentially becoming restaurant row,” Miller observed.
Miller thanked other business owners along West Main Street for their support over the years, including the late Melvin Walker of the former Mel’s Diner and owners of the former Blue Moon Diner.
“I will be happy to be out of a building that has been falling down around my ears for decades, to be done dealing with the parking on West Main and the traffic,” Miller said.
Miller is moving to 633-A Rose Hill Dr., formerly the home of Jones Heating & Air, a building constructed in 1948. He said he hopes to be open in early 2027.
As for 703 W. Main St., the city issued a permit for additional asbestos abatement on October 2. A company called Paragon Solutions, Inc. of Waynesboro provided an estimate of $6,000 to decontaminate the space.
Rock Mountain LLC is also proceeding with renovation of the overall building with permits pending for upgrades to the electrical and plumbing systems. A parking space was closed last week to facilitate continued work.
