Good-bye, Albemarle Place. Hello, Trader Joe’s?
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Albemarle Place has now become Stonefield, but the big vision for a commercial and residential village is still the same.RENDERING FROM EDENS & AVANT WEBSITE
If you’re one of those who bet that Albemarle Place, the mega-village to be built on 65 acres behind the 7-Eleven on Hydraulic Road that was approved in 2003, would never get built, well, you’d have won that bet, technically.
During a work session and presentation before the County Board of Architectural Review on Monday, January 3 representatives from Edens & Avant, the Columbia, South Carolina-based development company that took over the project, unveiled a plan to scrap the Albemarle Place name and call it Stonefield.
Edens & Avant reps could not be immediately reached for comment, so it’s unclear why the company decided to change the name. However, if the problems and bad publicity that have plagued the project are any indication—the change in developers, the discovery that the aging sewage infrastructure the development would hook into, politely called the Meadowcreek Interceptor, didn’t have the needed capacity (that’s in the process of being replaced at a cost of $24.5 million, and should be completed by August 2011), the economic downturn, and the simple fact that the name “Albemarle Place” has been attached to a non-existent place for so long—it’s not hard to guess why.
As already revealed, the development will feature a million square feet of residential space and nearly a million more square feet of retail and office space, including a new 14-screen Regal Cinemas with a high-tech IMAX® theatre. However, the latest renderings of the project showed something that a lot of folks will hope is not just wishful thinking: a Trader Joe’s on the corner of Hydraulic and Route 29. There was also mention of a Hyatt Place Hotel. Whether or not actual contracts have been signed with those companies can’t be confirmed, but the general feeling among County planning officials is that the long-awaited project is actually going to get built. Indeed, reps from Edens & Avant said they have a desire to break ground in March.
And we’re talking about some serious ground work. Not only does the building site need to be fully prepared, proposed proffers have Edens & Avant chipping in $1 million to build a fourth southbound lane on Route 29 from Westfield Road to 29/250 interchange, and a second lane for the on-ramp onto 250 West.
“They are real excited about it, ” says ARB planning official Margaret Maliszewski, who attended the presentation, and says additional plans will be reviewed in the coming months. “They seem anxious to get started.”
Developing story.
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- http://www.rivanna.org/documents/meadowcreek/ConstructionSchedule.pdf
This project has been a nightmare, but if they can deliver a Trader Joe’s, I’ll forgive them.
they oughta call it “Stonerfield”.
heh. heh-heh-heh… heh-heh.. heh-heh-heh-heh-hheh….
hey beavis, how about “Stonehenge”…..
heh. heh-heh-heh… heh-heh.. heh-heh-heh-heh-hheh….
I had thought that the cbs station purchased property across the street from the entrance to this development. Why haven’t they moved in yet?
I’m in for part of the proffers if they actually build the TJs.
so how does this fit in with the rumor that TJ’s gave up its liquor license?
Gimme a strip-mall with 2 or 3 “McDonell’s” liquor stores. Legal Drug-Dealing! thanx Republicans!!!!!
Butthead make me laugh.
Is Peter Chang going to have a restaurant there too?
At least the Hydraulic/29 intersection doesn’t have any existing traffic problems! Hopefully other people also enjoy the 20 minutes it takes to travel the couple hundred yards from 29 to 250 via Hydraulic.
Stonefield is the dumbest name ever. Of course, if they have Stonefield Shopping Centers around the country, they save money in branding…sort of like The Woodlands, whic is a student apartment complex in ten different college towns in the south.
I would like to see a youth athletic complex on that land.
Make it a proffer to build the trader joes and I’m in. No more having to drive to short pump to get tasty treats.
they have to name these things after what was there before they leveled the place, right now its a field with stones. forget which comedian used that line, but so true
How can that 24 million interceptor job be finished by this August? Have they even started??
I was under the impression that TJ’s would take over the ‘old’ Whole Foods location once they relocate to their new bldg on Hydraulic. If we have to wait for the Albemarle Place/Stonefield (whatever they call it) to be blessed (design, permits, road proffers, etc. - which could take YEARS!) then I will continue to patronize the TJ’s at Short Pump along with other retailers that C’ville doesn’t have.
Mickiemac
Just what C’ville needs, another yuppie heaven! More overpriced goodies, more traffic…Riiiiighttt!
Time to consider Red Light Cameras at this intersection- it has been such a success just North