“I guess I’ve got the traffic, and now I’ve got the convenience”

Posted on March 13, 2008 by Jim Duncan

The title quote from Hugh Underwood in today’s Daily Progress accurately sums up the approval of the Avon Center.

The segmentation of our region continues …

One of the greatest negatives about living on the east side (Mill Creek, Lake Reynovia, Marshall Manor, etc.) or south side of Charlottesville is the lack of shopping; now that problem will be no more.

The Fifth Street-Avon Center development will bring a grocery, home improvement store and large discount retailer, along with a promenade of smaller shops and restaurants. It will be located just south of Charlottesville between Fifth Street and Avon Street Extended.


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Even better –

The entire project will be LEED certified, a nationally recognized standard of green building, said the project’s lawyer, Steven Blaine. Greenways would connect to the Rivanna Trail system, and rain would be harvested off roofs, all aspects supervisors praised Wednesday.

And a theater too!

More at WINA.

Generally, I think this type of development, if it is effectively integrated into the surrounding community, will cause real estate values to increase, and it likely will raise the intrinsic value of living nearby (not next to – nearby).
In fifteen years, will residents of this part of Charlottesville even know about the 29 North Corridor? Will they have any reason whatsoever to go there?

Update 03/13/2008: In typical fashion, Charlottesville Tomorrow has an extensive report.

Update 03/14/2008: Good discussion at cvillenews.

About Jim Duncan

A Charlottesville Realtor who tries to stay on the bleeding/cutting/functional edge of technology and real estate trends. I have been selling real estate for the past 10 years, lived in C'Ville for twenty+ and am married to one of few Charlottesville natives left.
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  • Scott

    I wonder if this project will move forward quickly with the downturn in the Commercial sector. Both Lowes and Home Depot have reported lower same-store sales YOY this year. How anxious will they be to continue expansion plans during an apparent contraction?

  • downtownenvy

    This is some development that I am actually glad to hear about for a change. I lived on Mill Creek Drive for a while, and I have to tell you it was more than a bit of a pain sometimes. My husband’s office is off of 29 so commuting all of the time became a hassle.

    We decided that the solution for us was to move closer to downtown, which we did, and we are much happier. It’s a great area over there, but not overly convenient for shopping, or being accessible during heavy traffic times around Charlottesville.

  • http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/ Sean Tubbs

    We’ve got the audio from the meeting at Charlottesville Tomorrow. You can also take a look at how the project evolved by reading our coverage from the past two years.

  • http://www.cvilleexpert.com Pavel

    Living only 1-2 miles from the proposed development, I could not be happier. Let’s hope it actually comes to fruition.

  • Short Seller

    I guess the miserable sales numbers that Home Depot is ringing up at the Waynesboro store isn’t enough of a deterent for them to build another store 20 miles away…
    Then again there isn’t a Lowe’s in the immediate vicinity of 5th St. Ext. like there is in Waynesboro. It clearly is an under-served area from a retail perspective.