A few years ago, Molly Conger was just your average Charlottesville resident who, to be honest, didn’t pay much attention to politics. Now she’s got more than 20,000 Twitter followers hanging on her moment-by-moment reports on local government meetings, which she’s been live-tweeting since December 2017. In this issue, Conger, in the first of what […]
Planning & Development
This Week 1/23
“If Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence,” my 7-year-old asked me the other day, “why did he have slaves himself?” The notion that “all men are created equal” was a radical and noble idea, and it still is, if you take “men” to mean “human beings.” But back then, as I struggled to explain […]
Zoned out: How neighborhood associations and zoning regulations have shaped our city
In the early 1970s, City Council adopted a plan to turn Grady Avenue into a four-lane road running all the way from downtown to the bypass, with the goal of providing quick and easy access to I-64. Venable residents worried that the move would ruin their quiet neighborhood, and banded together to form what was […]
YOU issue: Ag tax break
Here’s what readers asked for: Each year Albemarle County forgoes about $20,000,000 in taxes on land use parcels, but the exact figure is not known to the public since the amount is not carried as a line item in the budget and there is no public discussion as far as I can [...]
Still Speaking Up: PHAR celebrates 20 years of empowering low-income residents
When Joy Johnson moved to Westhaven in 1983, she was a single mom with four young children. She barely had time for everything that needed to be done, let alone those things that seem like you can put them off indefinitely. But the fliers kept showing up – in her mailbox, on her door, by […]
New venture: Riverbend dips into public housing
Music and real estate mogul Coran Capshaw’s Riverbend Development, known for 5th Street Station, the Flats, and City Walk, among many other projects, is now aligning itself in a different direction: a partnership with Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority to build new public [...]
Pantops gets new rescue station—finally
Growth area Pantops, with its increased density and worsening traffic, has long needed a fire and rescue station, and one has been on the books maybe dating back to Thomas Jefferson, joked Albemarle Fire Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston at the official opening May 7 of Pantops Public Safety Station [...]
City Council approves bigger West2nd
During yet another out-of-control City Council meeting on April 2, Mayor Nikuyah Walker cleared the chamber and councilors reconvened after a closed session to seek legal advice on how to maintain order. Nearly two hours into the meeting, councilors began to address the city’s business, and by [...]
Vertical horizon: Apex helps Charlottesville ‘grow up’
Members of a local upscale fitness club will soon be looking for a place to park. Apex Clean Energy—a company devoted to developing, constructing and operating wind and solar power facilities—announced plans March 1 to build a new headquarters on Garrett Street to house its 170 local employees [...]
West2nd smackdown: Council rejects permit despite meeting city requirements
When Mayor Nikuyah Walker chaired her first City Council meeting February 5, citizens got to see how previously out-of-control meetings would be run under a new regime—and learned that the heckling continues both for councilors and for the West2nd developer seeking a special use permit that [...]
UPDATE: Auction postponed for Waterhouse condos
The foreclosure auction of four Waterhouse condos scheduled for Monday, January 29, was canceled, and trustees for the sale are mum about why. Isak Howell is named as a substitute trustee on the legal notice that ran in the Daily Progress, but the phone number listed is for a Roanoke law firm [...]
Trying again: Cohousing ready to break ground
Every kitchen sink will face a window that looks out into the front yard in a new 26-home development in Crozet. Lounging comfortably around the living room of their clubhouse, Emerson Commons residents call this design “classic cohousing,” because it encourages interaction with neighbors. [...]
Pharmacy farewell: Meadowbrook closes to make way for CVS
For many of its longtime customers, the letter arrived April 24 announcing the demise of Meadowbrook Pharmacy after more than 60 years at the corner of Barracks Road and Emmet Street. And the sadness at the loss of one of Charlottesville’s two independent pharmacies was not assuaged with news [...]
Circle theory: Two roundabouts in Crozet’s future
Every few years, the idea to put a roundabout at difficult intersections pops up—and usually disappears. Charlottesville’s former mayor and longtime delegate, the late Mitch Van Yahres, was a big roundabout fan, and he supported the one installed at the airport, one of the few bandied about [...]
No way, Crozet: High-density subdivision rezoning denied
At its February 1 meeting, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors denied a rezoning request for Adelaide, a proposed 80-unit housing development in Crozet. The project is currently zoned for one single home per acre, and developer Kyle Redinger sought a zoning change to six units per acre, [...]
Boom town: Long-dormant county developments get second wind
The Great Recession is officially over. The evidence? Building permits in 2016 were the highest since 2007 housing-bubble levels. Construction is going on all over the area, from 5th Street Station to West Main to U.S. 29 north. And a recent Weldon Cooper Center population study pegs the [...]
In brief: 5-star dreams, bathroom fears and more
Unlike NC… Governor Terry McAuliffe signs an executive order at UVA January 5 that prohibits state contractors from discriminating against gay and transgender people, and notes that the Tar Heel State has lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of its bathroom bill. Delegate Bob Marshall [...]
West Grounds: More student apartments in Midtown
Another unremarkably named structure will soon be joining The Flats and The Uncommon student housing on West Main: The Standard. Located across the street from The Flats on the site of the soon-to-be demolished Republic Plaza, the six-story, 70′ structure has already raised concerns about [...]
Legal question: Can supes order Albemarle court move?
When the Albemarle Board of Supervisors passed a 4-2 resolution on November 2 directing county staff to explore options to relocate one or both of its houses of justice from downtown’s Court Square, Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci fired back with a letter questioning whether the supes [...]
In brief: White deer mourned, Draego dropped and more
Deerly beloved One of two cherished white deer often spotted in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood was struck and killed by a car on Jefferson Park Avenue Extended around 3pm October 23. Deer-lovers, who have christened the creature names such as “Enchanted” and “Half & Half” on Facebook, [...]
In brief: Bavarian getaway, creepy clowns and more
City goes Wild West over weekend Three people were shot early October 1 in a Corner parking lot during a disorder, according to Charlottesville police. The wounds were non-life-threatening, and Lewis Alexander Tyree Jr., 23, was arrested as a felon in possession of a firearm. That same night, [...]
Hell no: City responds to parking center proposals
In the ongoing melodrama between the city and Charlottesville Parking Center owner Mark Brown, a letter from City Manager Maurice Jones says there’s no way the city will sell its Water Street Parking Garage shares to or even work with Brown, who, perhaps not coincidentally, announced plans to [...]
Market Plaza gets new name
To forestall the inevitable confusion of people looking for Market Plaza on Market Street, the future Water Street home of City Market has been renamed West2nd. Under a broiling sun September 8, developer Keith Woodard announced the $50 million mixed-use project’s new moniker. “We’ll still have [...]