Redevelopment

Charlottesville Albemarle is no stranger to greenfield development. So it's heartening to encounter some re-development. Here, the ghost-box of Circuit City, closed three years ago, is getting remade into a grocery store. Meanwhile, in the Woolen Mills, the H.T. Ferron ready-mix plant site is also being reworked, rumor is it will become an adult day care center.
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Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.

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14 comments

Of course, before it was Circuit City, was it not a Safeway grocery store?

How many grocery stores can C'ville support?? There are none South of the RR tracks, even though Costco and Wegmans are on tap to arive in S. C'ville in the next 2-3 years. Good grief.

Except Food Lion.

Maybe we'll finally get that Olive Garden Distribution Center!

*fingers crossed*

All the negative responses to development, all the time. I guess it would be better to send all of shoppers out of town, continuing to take their tax dollars elsewhere, and you guys are cool with rising tax rates in the City and County, lack of new jobs, etc. Careful what you wish for.

photo guy, how did you miss the positive tone of "it's heartening to encounter some re-development."

i thought the safeway was down at barracks, where the kroger is now...

There were several Safeways over the years. There was one on West Main St, one where Tractor Supply is now, one across from K-Mart on Hydraulic and 29N, and as you say , those at Barracks Rd and Albemarle Square. The one at Barracks Road was something called Big Star before Safeway and the one on Long St was an IGA before it became Tractor Supply, after all the Safeways left Charlottesville sometime in the late 80s.
Prior to Kroger,and after Safeway the one at that location was something called "The Grocery Store."
Always liked Safeway. Live now where I can easily access the one in Culpeper.

I didn't miss it, it's a common theme of this Hook contributor to take thinly veiled shots at 'new' development'. The 'no stranger to greenfield development' is par for the course. I just don't get it. What do you think the rest of 29N looks like? It looks like every other developed commercial stretch in the country. You know, the commercial retailing that creates jobs, sales taxes, places to spend your disposable income. It's also common of the Hook to muckrake any developer, development, or anything else that fits the NIMBY personality of this me-centric, holier than thou town.

I absolutely love this place, UVA, the countryside, the farms and estates, the eclectic downtown, the restaurants, the public schools, and I could on and on. What I don't understand is those that disparage developers, development and generally act like 29N is not a place for business and retail. Just what do you think it's there for? What do you think will change about 29N in the future? It's a central cog in our tax base. Essential for employment. Also critical to expand our choices and options so that you and I can spend our money HERE, and not in Short Pump, DC, or to the taxless Amazon and other web companies that don't contribute back to our local economy. You may think that Dominos or Papa Johns or McDonalds are some big corporate giants killing our town, but they are owned by local people, employ locals, and the larger the tax base we create here the better off we'll be.

Believe you me, the same people that cry about development in C'Ville are the same ones that will fight against the eventual rise in real estate taxes when the are tax shortages. The same people who cry for teacher raises and education funding. All of this must go hand in hand.

So yes, it's great that the old Circuit City has new tenant coming in, but it's also fantastic that we have broken into this millenium with a stadium seating theater, and that wouldn't have happened without new greenfield development.

"we have broken into this millenium with a stadium seating theater, and that wouldn't have happened without new greenfield development."

Why is that a truism?

"we have broken into this millenium with a stadium seating theater, and that wouldn't have happened without new greenfield development.

A better question might by why is that a good thing?

An even better question would be does someone who writes "What I don't understand is those that disparage developers, development " really not see the irony in also writing "I absolutely love this place, UVA, the countryside, the farms and estates, the eclectic downtown, the restaurants, the public schools, and I could on and on."

Have you noticed that giant swath of old woods that was clear cut on Rio Road East lately? Sad. We had built the meadow creek/Melbourne Road connector theoretically to take the pressure off of Park/Rio...but now they allowed all those new apartments to be built along the southern side of the narrow part of Park/Rio as well as however many new homes they are about to build on the north side of the narrow part.
Guess the housing bust is over for now, for our area...but the traffic congestion problem... P.S. gotta hate that traffic intersection at Rio/Meadowcreek...can't believe they didn't make that a roundabout.

Doesn't an adult day care center show XXX movies? How did that get past zoning in this town? Will there be live dancers?

R.I.P.: Bobby Astyr

@BLOODHOUND...Your question about how someone could love all the things that make this area attractive (btw, those "things" are not unique in any way...many other small cities have eclectic downtowns, mountains, universities, countryside, farms and estates) whilst embracing development (as Photo Guy does) makes the classic assumption of the lib, holier-than-thou whiners in this town:

That assumption is that the developers want to develop the mountains, countryside ad infinitum. Photo Guy is right: 29 North is designed for such development. I am pleased if the retail/shopping eventually meets up with Ruckersville for one "golden strand" of retail.

Just ask the old guard in Fluvanna how well that pastoral retention obsession is working for tax revenues.

It is the height of misplaced elitism to call the new theater complex at Stonefield some kind of poster boy for cold, heartless development when it sits across from some of the ugliest architecture and light industry around. However, I have heard many who fancy themselves as "nuanced" complain that, somehow, the artistic experience of watching a movie is somehow bastardized by the 14-screen theater. Hogwash.

R.I.P.: Gus Dudgeon