Claudius Place: Crozet skybar nears ground breaking

While plans for a downtown mall in Crozet may have stalled due to the foreclosure on the J. Bruce Barnes Lumber site, another urban infill project moves closer to construction: Claudius Place, which features the current rage in watering holes, a skybar.

Katurah Roell, president of Piedmont Development Group, which is building the nearly 11,000-square-foot building across the street from the upcoming Crozet Library, declines to identify the restaurateur who will be running the new eatery and bar. And a rumored operator refused to confirm his involvement when contacted by the Hook.

"It was previously a popular place in town and will be again," hints Roell, who also says it's not a national chain– and it'll have live music.

The skybar will have 1,600 square feet of open roof and another 1,144 square feet of glass-enclosed bar. With the right alignment, the Claudius Place rooftop could be the primo sunset-watching place in western Albemarle.

The exterior of the building will be bluestone and brick, with a burnished copper roof. One space in the structure already has been sold to an insurance agency, and two others are still available. The 2,600 square-foot space on the ground floor, suggests Roell, would be perfect for a bakery.

"The community has seen the plans and is looking forward to it," says Roell. Groundbreaking takes place in July, and the skybar could be mixing up cosmopolitans and mojitos by the end of the year.