Reader Question – What do you think about Fifeville?

“curious if you are familiar with the fifeville neighborhood in charlottesville. and if so what you think about the huge price tags on houses in a neighborhood that is clearly still in the early stages of gentrification”

Thank you for the question.

For starters, I wrote about Fifeville last year.

From a market perspective, I like Fifeville. I like its location between the Downtown Mall and University of Virginia’s Main Grounds and its proximity to the restaurants that have sprouted up along West Main Street (cVillain has started using the term “Midtown” (archived: 2009) to describe this part of the City). As I have said many times before, (almost) any house or neighborhood that offers “walk-ability” to desirable “stuff” – coffee shops, restaurants, shopping, grocery, parks, gyms – will likely be well poised to take advantage of the local real estate market going forward.

Fifeville offers walk- and bike-ability that is almost unparalleled in the City of Charlottesville.

There is opportunity in Fifeville, and hopefully not just that of “making a buck” by flipping houses; the shifting real estate market has seen to that. I have found that those moving into Fifeville seem to be moving with the intent of becoming part of the neighborhood – and that is better for all involved. Is Fifeville in the “early” stages of gentrification? I’d say they’re in the early-mid stages, closer to “mid.”

While I intended to post this question later this week, C-Ville’s Will Goldsmith today puts forth an outstanding and comprehensive story about Fifeville (archived: 2011).

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Click here for a larger, legible map (no longer available).

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More also at Charlottesville Community Design Center’s site (archived: 2009).