Tag Archives: 22901
Wegmans, Cracker Barrel and a Target on 5th Street?
Wegmans, Cracker Barrel, a Target … and maybe even a new connector road, bike paths and hiking trails on 5th Street?
We had the rumors at the Nest Report a few days ago and Charlottesville Tomorrow reports this morning that the “Fifth and Avon Center is Moving Forward.“
Charlottesville Real Estate Market Conversation – 29 January 2012
Matt Hodges and I had a good time on WNRN radio yesterday discussing what’s happening in the Charlottesville real estate market, mortgages, buyer activity, real estate assessments, government interference, gas prices’ impact on real estate decisions, and a whole lot more.
I’m going to listen to the show (thanks to Charlottesville Podcast) and put up some show notes, but in the meantime, feel free to what I think was a pretty interesting hour of real estate. Continue reading
Sunday Morning Wake Up Call: Real Estate & Financing with Jim Duncan and Matt Hodges [ 59:40 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadChristmas Trees in and Around Charlottesville
Oh, Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree …
Where do you get Christmas trees in (around) Charlottesville?
The place where we used to cut ours when I was a kid is now a subdivision.
Here are a few where you can cut your own:
- Ralph’s Christmas Trees in Nelson County
- Foxfire Farm in Buckingham County
- Bit-O-Honey Farm in Fishersville
- An aggregate site for pick your own Christmas trees
- Greene Meadows Farm in Greene County
- Kris Kringle’s Tree Farm in Nelson County
(The ones in Nelson get my vote as they’re on the Brew Ridge Trail)
And here are a few favorites for pre-cut Christmas trees -
- The Ivy Store on 250 West
- Boy Scouts’ locations all around town (we frequently get ours in from the ones in Crozet)
- AM Fog in Nelson (just before Blue Mountain Brewery on 151)
- In Albemarle Square, they have trees and are a local family that has been selling trees and wreaths for over 100 years Continue reading
My Home’s LEAP Energy Makeover Continues
Today was interesting. As part of the LEAP Energy Makeover, the 2nd phase of my home’s energy efficient makeover began …
Foam insulation’s not cheap, and it wasn’t fully covered by the award, but doing it was the right choice. We’re nearing the finish of the makeover, and I an my family are looking forward to feeling the difference, both in our home and in our monthly budget.
Albemarle County Schools’ Populations Are Growing. Unexpectedly. ?!
Is anyone other than the politicians surprised?
The question is – would you support an Adequate Public Facility ordinance?
Aaron Richardson at the Daily Progress reports:
Some Albemarle County schools could exceed their capacity sooner than expected, thanks to rapid growth.
Supervisor Ken Boyd curiously chooses the word “adequately” when referring to funding*
“We’re committed to providing adequate educational opportunities in this county, but we’re going to have to look at what other capital improvement projects we have going on,” Boyd said. “We’d have to take a more holistic view than, ‘Gee, have we got $46 million more to spend on education?’”
“Curious” because either:
1 – He thinks the County should offer merely “adequate” education rather than “world class”.*
2 – He’s laying the groundwork for a conversation about adequate public facilities (which tend to be opposed by Realtors) , the long-debated ordinance that would essentially prevent new homes’ construction before adequate infrastructure/fire & rescue/school/etc was in place.
Better schools increase house prices.
At some point, the politicians and the people need to understand that our population is growing, and they need to plan accordingly.
What is an adequate public facilities ordinance? I found the following definition in 2005:
An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) is a law adopted by the local government that allows it to defer the approval of developments based upon a finding by the governing body that public facilities would not be not adequate to support the proposed development at build out.
What are the components of an effective APF ordinance?
• Identifies the types of public facilities to be considered.
• Limits the period of time during which the deferral on development imposed by an APFO can be in force.
• Requires the locality to have in place a capital facilities plan to remedy the infrastructure inadequacy that has been the basis for the development deferral.
ProPublica has released/aggregated a lot of information on Central Virginia schools. Oddly, neither Greene County nor Nelson County are listed.
What a useful time to remind folks to check your school district before you buy . Redistricting happens. And school districts matter.
Continue reading
Nest Realty’s 1st Half 2011 “Nest Report”
Read it, download it, critique it. I’ll be posting a direct link to the PDF later today.
Nest Realty’s Nest Report is out – a comprehensive look at “where we are” right now in the Charlottesville real estate market.
Click through to download the report.
