The Hook News Blog » Real Estate

Technology, Real Estate 08:24 am December 27th 2007

Pitt: Help me, Bill McDonough

by Hawes Spencer

Famous actor Brad Pitt has invited famous Charlottesville architect William McDonough to help him “make it right.” That’s the name of Pitt’s effort to repopulate New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, the impoverished below-sea-level neighborhood devastated two years ago by Hurricane Katrina. Pitt has enlisted McDonough, along with other leading “green” architects, to prove his premise that hurricane-proof housing can be built with Crescent City flavor for under $150,000. The New York Times has this story. #

Comments(3)

Real Estate, Growth, Community 02:31 pm December 19th 2007

Magna Carlyle

by Lisa Provence

A copy of the Magna Carta, circa 1287, sold for $21.3 million last night at Sotheby’s in New York to Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein. Meanwhile, another Carlyle Grouper is dropping some big bucks locally. The former CFO of the $76 billion private equity firm, UVA alum John Harris, is building one of Albemarle’s largest houses, but he’s having a little problem with a conservation easement on the 47-acre Turner Mountain parcel in Ivy. The story runs in tomorrow’s Hook, but you can read it now.

Comments Off

Religion, Real Estate, Growth, Community, Health 05:09 pm December 18th 2007

Church okayed in area with gas spills

by Lisa Provence

Despite concerns about city churches moving into rural areas, on December 12 the Albemarle Board of Supervisors approved a special use permit for the First Church of the Nazarene to build at a site on U.S. 250 east at Route 22 in an area riddled with petroleum spills, a neighborhood that includes Stone Robinson Elementary, GoCo Bulk Oil, and Luck Stone. The church originally wanted a daycare center, but that request was omitted from the permit. Supervisors Sally Thomas and Dennis Rooker offered the congregation some “free advice,” says Thomas, suggesting the site is not an appropriate place for a daycare center.

Comments(2)

Food, Real Estate, Business, Community 12:37 pm December 06th 2007

Photomontage ‘o the day: New Arch’s on Emmet

by Dave McNair

As mentioned in this week’s Dish, Arch’s Frozen Yogurt plans to open a new location on Emmet street next summer. In 2005, Arch’s owners bought the old Donut Connection at 1232 Emmet Street. Since then, they’ve been working with the folks at BRW Architects– known for their renovations of Congregation Beth Israel, the Downtown Rec Center, and the Mall side of the Water Street parking garage– to develop a modern two-story building with two outdoor eating balconies, ivy-covered walls, and a host of energy-efficient features including SIPS wall and roof panels. These cool photomontages, courtesy BRW, show how the new building will look in its natural surroundings.

Comments Off

Photos, Real Estate, Infrastructure 01:56 pm November 30th 2007

Snap o’ the day: railroad condos

by Hawes Spencer

This almost-finished building called Cream Street 10 will soon house 10 high-tech condos overlooking the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks near the restaurants of West Main. Shot at 7:55am today from the Drewary Brown Bridge.

Comments(2)

Real Estate, Business 12:57 pm November 30th 2007

Is it an extreme buyer’s market?

by Dave McNair

This bit of info on realtor Jim Duncan’s blog jumped out at us. In a post about properties that are selling in Charlottesville, he describes a 2,600-plus square foot, 6-bedroom, 4-bath house at 609 Lyons Avenue being listed for $630k in February. $50k was knocked off in March, then it went to another realtor who listed it for $489k. When they finally knocked the price down to $375k— a reduction of $255k!!!— the house sold in seven days.

“Price it right from the beginning,” writes Duncan, citing lessons learned. “If the market says the price is high, reduce it. Beat the market down, don’t chase it.” Then he offers an even harder pill for cash-strapped sellers to swallow: “What you need to make to buy the next house is irrelevant to what your home is worth today.” Ouch!

Comments(5)

Newer posts · Older Posts

Asides

UVA's Paige graced Playboy's cover
The Hook doesn’t have a subscription, so we missed it when UVA alum and one-time Hotseat-sitter Amanda Paige graced the cover of Playboy last September. Click the thumbnail to view the whole thing. According to her MySpace page, Paige is still active with Hugh Hefner and company, and Playboy Promotions still acts as her booking agent. # (1)

Dennis Miller joins 'CHV lineup
Come Monday, syndicated satirist and Saturday Night Live veteran Dennis Miller Show joins the the line-up of NewsTalk 1260 AM WCHV radio. Host of a three-hour weeknight show, the five-time Emmy award winner and four-time Writers’ Guild award winner will be broadcast weeknights at 10pm. (WCHV is part of Monticello Media, which has been busily rebranding the stations it bought last year, including “Tom” and “Generations.”) (1)

Mug o' the day: Herman's teddy
WVTF’s spring fund-raising drive began yesterday, and Charlottesville essayist/painter of bears Beth Herman won the honor of having her artwork grace a coffee mug offered by the station to listeners who make $150+ donations. (0)

Duh! MJ Hospital could be senior center
The neighbors whose frequent complaints helped push their 9-acre neighbor from the Locust Grove neighborhood should be high-fiving each other this morning, as the Daily Progress reports the obvious result of a study on what’s easiest to do with the soon-to-be-abandoned Martha Jefferson Hospital site: turn it into a senior center. (2)

Snap o' the day: Halsey's hotel
Internet titan Halsey Minor’s luxury hotel really looks like it’s going to happen, now that green wooden construction barricades were erected between Friday and Monday around the old Boxer Learning building. Minor Family Hotels LLC filed a permit January 25 to demolish the structure at 108 Second Street SE, with the work valued at $350,000. (The snap was shot yesterday.) (0)