Posts tagged Charlottesville

Charlottesville Albemarle Airport Expanding

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

At the airport in Charlottesville (CHO), waiting for my flight to Dulles (IAD)

Having recently completed an 800 foot runway extension, CHO is about to spend $4 to $6 million.

Nate Delesline with the Daily Progress reports:

A reconfigured security screening area and new, larger public restrooms — before and after the TSA checkpoint — are among the elements that likely will be the most visible changes for travelers.
In addition, the terminal’s deli and gift shop will be relocated; passenger departure and seating areas will be expanded; electronic gadget charging stations will be added; a business center will be added upstairs; and the terminal’s escalators will be replaced.

Having easy access to such a nice airport is a positive for many who are seeking to purchase in the area. I can’t count the number of times an incoming client has asked about CHO. My response has always been that when it works – departure and arrivals are smooth and on time – it’s a beautiful thing. When it doesn’t, the hubs that CHO feed are nice. 🙂

A question – how much larger will the (can the?) airport grow? How will it affect the area surrounding the airport?

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Downtown Charlottesville Redevelopment Planned

in Charlottesville Growth on

Growth within Charlottesville City limits is going to get even more dense in the future, and not just along West Main Street.

It’s long been said that the area south of the Downtown Mall is some of the best real estate in the City of Charlottesville.

It’s a big plan. Bold, edgy and, in my opinion will likely result in something sometime that will look a little bit like the proposed plan. In true Charlottesville fashion,

“It’s a conceptual study, and one of the things we recommend as an immediate next step is additional study,” Pierce-McManamon responded.

This is the sort of thing that anybody thinking about buying or renting anywhere near the City of Charlottesville should at least know about, if not know. Everything will be touched by this plan – by its implementation and by the conversation about the possibility of the implementation. Thoughts of “what if” will impact property values and buyers’ decisions.

This proposal touches on everything – the economy, transportation, infrastructure, affordable housing (Friendship Court would be gone), jobs, the real estate market – everything. Keep in mind that this is a visionary plan. So far as I can discern, there is no developer in the wings pushing for this plan.

You may want to spend some time reading the linked documents – 300 plus pages – at Charlottesville Tomorrow. The historical section that breaks down the development history of downtown Charlottesville is particularly interesting.

By 1990, connectivity in the area had decreased dramatically. Although new buildings began to spring up along Garrett Street in the 1980s, the super-blocks remained. New development occurred in a piece-meal fashion, without a large-scale employer taking the place of the previous industries which had closed.

There is likely to be more discussion at cvillenews.

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UVA’s Strategic Plan to Cost More than Half a Billion Dollars

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Derek Quizon at the Daily Progress reports that the University of Virginia is looking to spend well over half a billion dollars in the next few years.

Implementing the University of Virginia’s five-year strategic plan could cost more than a half-billion dollars, much of the money going to faculty, according to school estimates.

UVa’s administration has avoided publicly discussing the plan’s cost, calling it a fluid and unpredictable figure. But a 44-page analysis obtained in an open records request put the estimate at $564 million, almost a fourth of that amount covering faculty pay raises and net salaries for more than 400 new professors, mostly to cover an anticipated wave of retirements. Faculty startup packages — or research seed money — would total almost $200 million.
…
The analysis said about $330 million would go toward faculty. The university expects to replace 295 retiring faculty with 425 new hires. Additional faculty is needed to account for projected enrollment growth, Sullivan wrote in her letter to the board. Enrollment is expected to increase by 1,089 over the five years of the plan, starting next fall and ending in 2019, according to the analysis.

Pouring that much money into the Charlottesville area is likely to have a positive effect, but I’m curious as to what the impact will be on tuition and housing. What plans are being made (if any) to accommodate the new students? Presumably the slew of new apartments on West Main Street will house some of these students. Any plans for new parking garages?

I’m curious too why it took a FOIA to extract these numbers from the University.

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Do You Know What You Don’t Know about County Public Meetings?

in Albemarle Charlottesville Growth Politics on

What happens in public hearings affects darn near everyone.

So much happens in Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meetings that the public doesn’t find out about – and then get up in arms about, or support – until it (whatever it is) is too far along to change.

I try my best to follow what happens in these meetings as I think it’s part of my job to know more than my clients – whether buyers or sellers. I need to know what might be happening over there that might impact their quality of life, traffic congestion, shopping options, potential resale competition, growth and human settlement patterns, property taxes – you name it, it’s covered at local public meetings.

For example, the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting is chock full of stuff that will affect people’s lives and property values, and these public hearings are all over the County – Barracks Road, 29 North, Pantops, Crozet …

Public Hearings (links go to PDFs):
• ACSA-2013-0002. Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc
• ZMA-2012-00003. Out of Bounds

• ZMA-2012-00004. Avon Park II
• ZMA-2013-00001. The Lofts at Meadowcreek

• ZMA-2012-0005. Hollymead Town Center (A-1)

• ZMA-2013-0007. North Pointe Amendment

• ZMA-2013-0002. Pantops Corner

• SP-2013-000015. Mahone Family

• ZTA-2013-00006. Residential and Industrial Uses in Downtown Crozet Zoning District (“DCD”)

If you’re interested in following these public meetings, two of the more prolific tweeters of public meetings are Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum and Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow.

To be equitable, I looked for the Charlottesville City Council’s agenda but it has not yet been posted. (actually it’s postponed, per C-Ville)

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No Good Way into Downtown Charlottesville Right Now

in Charlottesville on

Downtown Charlottesville Construction

Right now, there seems to be no good way into Downtown Charlottesville right now. These projects are short lived, but I’ve heard from many people that it seems there are more road projects and construction as Charlottesville than at any other time in recent memory.

– Construction of the Battle Building on one side of West Main (more from UVA Health News)

– Construction of the interchange at Mcintire and 250

– Construction of the Residence Inn at the intersection of West Main and Mcintire/Ridge

– What projects am I missing?

If you must make it into our out of Downtown Charlottesville, the best way I’ve found as of yet is 64 – 5th Street Extended. What are your best routes?

While we’re talking about the future of West Main – if you’re looking for something to do tomorrow –

Update 9 December – Sean Tubbs at Cville Tomorrow has a great report on the West Main forum.

(click through for an embedded map)

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Three Charts Depicting the Charlottesville Real Estate Market Entering December 2013

in Albemarle Charlottesville Fluvanna Market statistics on

Curiosity stole an hour of my morning … I intended to update only the Crozet “When do homes come on the market” spreadsheet, got lost there for a bit and decided to look at the Charlottesville MSA numbers.

2012’s Charlottesville MSA sales trends – looking at when homes came on the market, when they went under contract and when they closed.

When do homes Come on the market in Charlottesville - 2012

And 2013

Well, this is interesting.

When do homes Come on the market in Charlottesville MSA - 2013

And the differential between 2013 and 2012.

When do homes Come on the market in Charlottesville - 2012 versus 2013 - differential

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