April 2022 property transactions in Charlottesville

Another anecdotal look at property sales with few frills

This month I’ll keep it simple. This is intended to be an anecdotal list of transactions of property in Charlottesville for the month of April. This is not an automated process, because I use this review to keep an eye on what is happening in the city of Charlottesville. I share it with the public because I suspect many of you will find it useful, too.  Paid subscribers to this newsletter get a first look before it will be posted on the Information Charlottesville archive.

Some highlights this month:

• The University of Virginia Foundation has continued its investment in the Ivy Road Corridor with another purchase directly opposite from the future Emmet / Ivy precinct.
• Several vacant lots across the city were sold, prompting my curiosity about what will be built on those spaces in North Downtown, Woolen Mills, and Ridge Street.
• Notable commercial sales include the buildings that house Lampo Neopolitan Pizza and the Bridge Performing Arts Initiative, as well as a shopping center on Maury Avenue that has two restaurants and a dry cleaner.

Some notes:

• I don’t list the names of individuals and couples who purchase residential properties. I do list the names of corporate entities that do so.  I increasingly note when they are out of state.
• In cases where the transaction for a residential structure is way over the assessment, I pull details from the city’s building permit database to see if any known/recorded or building-permitted investments were made by previous owners. 
• In most cases, I put the 2021 and the 2022 assessment in the blurb because I want to know how accurate the 2022 assessments have been in predicting what the sales price is. People with more mathematical brains may be able to come up with a number that ties it all together, but that’s not a skill set I have. 
• In many cases I will list the new designation under the Future Land Use Map. April marks six months since the City Council adopted a Comprehensive Plan that signals a future with more residential density. I don’t use the acronym because I want you to read those words each time. The Future Land Use Map calls for exactly what is described for each land use category. I’ll write that for each first use. 
• I don’t usually list transactions that are title changes or subdivisions, except when it seems relevant. 

April 1, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Piedmont Avenue in the Jefferson Park Avenue neighborhood sold for $405,000. That’s 21.77 percent over the 2021 assessment of $332,600 and 7.58 percent below the 2022 assessment of $438,200. The house was built in 1939 and was purchased by Aspiring Developments LLC of Louisa. The 0.184 acre property is currently zoned R2-U and is designated in the Future Land Use Map as Higher-Intensity residential.
  
  “Provide opportunities for higher density, multi-family focused development. Incentivize affordability and increased intensity to meet Affordable Housing Goals.” 
• A four bedroom house on Raymond Road in the Ridge Street neighborhood was sold for $550,000. That’s 34.38 percent over the 2021 assessment of $409,300 and 16.77 percent over the 2022 assessment of $471,000. The structure was built in 2008 as part of the Brookwood Planned United Development. City Council approved that rezoning in July 2006.

• An entity known as Daddy Rabbit, INC purchased three empty lots on 5th Street SW parallel to 5th Street Extended for $145,000. The three lots are zoned R-1S and have a collective size of 0.354 acres and a collective assessment of $208,200. The transaction is 30.36 percent below the 2022 assessment. A house on the property was demolished in 2006. The Future Land Use Designation is Medium-Intensity Residential.
  
  “Increase opportunities for housing development, including affordable housing along neighborhood corridors, near community amenities, employment centers, and in neighborhoods that are traditionally less affordable.” 
• A two bedroom house in the 1300 block of King Street in the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $60,000, which is 72.5 percent below the 2022 assessment of $218,200. This is a sale within a family. 
• A five bedroom house on Bruce Avenue in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $625,000. That’s 43.02 percent over the 2021 assessment of $437,000 and 23.98 percent above the 2022 assessment of $504,100. This property is within the General Residential.
  
  “Allow for additional housing choice within existing residential neighborhoods throughout the city.” 
• A two bedroom townhouse at 1105 Druid Avenue in Belmont sold for $330,000. That’s 25.52 percent over the 2021 assessment of $262,900 and 14.11 percent over the 2022 assessment of $289,200. The Future Land Use Map designates this as Higher-Intensity Residential. This structure was built in 2004. 
• New construction of a four bedroom house on Franklin Street in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $622,431. According to Realtor.com, that includes a finished basement that is “perfect for a future apartment.” 
• An entity called Yellow Shirt LLC purchased a commercial condominium unit in the office building at 908 East Jefferson Street for $703,400. That’s right at the 2021 assessment and 0.5 percent below the 2022 assessment. 
• A 1,663 square foot two-bedroom unit in the Holsinger building at the intersection of Water Street and 5th Street SE sold for $875,000. That’s 15.53 percent over the 2021 assessment of $757,400 and 2.97 percent over the 2022 assessment of $849,800. 

April 4, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Watson Avenue sold for $525,000. That’s 35.9 percent over the 2022 assessment of $386,300. The 0.365 acre property is now designated as Medium Intensity Residential in the Future Land Use Map. 

April 7, 2022

• A five bedroom house in the 1600 block of Brandywine Drive sold for $750,000. That’s 48.57 percent over the 2021 assessment of $504,800 and 35.43 percent over the 2022 assessment of $553,800. This 0.472 acre property is currently zoned R-1 and is designated as General Residential. 
• A three bedroom house in the 500 block of Paton Street in the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $360,000. That’s 11.04 percent over the 2021 assessment of $324,200 and 3.25 percent below the 2022 assessment of $372,100. The house was built in 2010 as part of a Planned Unit Development. 

April 8, 2022

• An 829 square foot unit with two bedrooms in the condominium complex at 1600 Monticello Avenue sold for $207,000. That’s 15.71 percent over the 2021 assessment of $178,900 and 8.32 percent over the 2022 assessment of $191,100. 
• A three bedroom house in the 900 block of Monticello Avenue sold for $550,000. That’s 38.61 percent over the 2021 assessment of $400,400 and 21.18 percent over the 2022 assessment of $458,000. The Future Land Use Map designates this parcel as Medium Intensity Residential. 
• One half of a duplex in the 900 block of Rock Creek Road in the Orangedale section of the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $230,000. That’s 41.36 percent over the 2021 assessment of $162,700 and 13.64 percent over the 2022 assessment of $202,400. This is within a Sensitive Community Area.
  
  “Allow for additional housing choice, and tools to mitigate displacement, within existing residential neighborhoods that have high proportions of populations that may be sensitive to displacement pressures.” 
• A two bedroom home in the 200 block of Harris Road in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $355,000. That’s 28.86 percent over the 2021 assessment of $275,500 and 14.41 percent over the 2022 assessment of $310,300. The property is 0.2 acres and is within the Medium-Intensity Residential land use category. 
• An eight bedroom house split into two units on Plateau Road in the Jefferson Park Avenue neighborhood sold for $798,000. That’s 33.87 percent over the 2021 assessment of $596,100 and 11.27 percent over the 2022 assessment of $717,200. The structure was built last year. 

April 11, 2022

• A four bedroom house built in 1928 on University Circle in the Venable neighborhood sold for $1.35 million. That’s 4.88 percent over the 2021 assessment of $1.2872 million and 0.95 percent below the 2022 assessment of $1.363 million. 
• A four bedroom house built in 1960 on Agnese Street in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $339,000. That’s 22.29 percent over the 2021 assessment of $277,200 and 1.8 percent over the 2022 assessment of $330,000. 
• A three bedroom home in the 1400 block of Westwood Road in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $615,000 but the transaction does not tell the whole story. Daddy Rabbit Inc. purchased the property in June 2021 for $275,000, which was 8.36 percent below the 2021 assessment. The company then took out building permits for interior renovations that total nearly $65,000. The result? A 2022 transaction that is 77.64 percent over the 2022 assessment of $346,200. 

April 12, 2022

• A three bedroom house in the 200 block of Palatine Avenue in Belmont sold for $260,000, which is 18.03 percent below the 2022 assessment of $317.200. The purchaser is Down the Road LLC, which currently owns two other properties in the city. This one is within the General Residential land use category. 
• A three bedroom townhouse on Brookwood Drive sold for $380,000, which is 40.43 percent over the 2021 assessment of $270,600 and 19.2 percent over the 2022 assessment of $318,800. 
• Daddy Rabbit Inc purchased another property below assessment. How much will they invest in this one, and what will the sale price be? The company bought 2200 Banbury Street for $310,000, which is 21.14 percent below the 2022 assessment of $393,100. The structure is in the Greenbrier neighborhood and has three bedrooms. 

April 13, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Wellford Street in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $515,000. That’s 11.87 percent over the 2021 assessment of $460,800 and 3.03 percent below the 2022 assessment of $531,600. 

April 15, 2022

• A four bedroom house on Highland Street in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $660,000. That is 49.65 percent over the 2021 assessment of $473,300 and 25.81 percent over the 2022 assessment of $524,600. 
• A five bedroom house on Hessian Road in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $1.8 million. That’s 25.41 percent over the 2022 assessment of $1.4384 million. The property last sold in February 2020 for $1.25 million, which was under assessment at the time. 
• A unit in the condominium building at 550 East Water Street sold for $2.375 million. That’s 27.6 percent over the 2022 assessment of $1.8613 million. The previous owner, Trouvaille Development Company, purchased the space in October 2020 for just over $1 million. They made several upgrades valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
• The Montessori Education Trust purchased the house at 631 Cutler Lane that serves as one of the campuses for the Montessori School of Charlottesville. The sales price was $750,000, which is 28.18 percent over the 2021 assessment of $585,100 and 10.77 percent over the 2022 assessment of $677,100. 

April 18, 2022

• A house built in 1925 in the 300 block of 14th Street NW in the Venable neighborhood sold for $450,000. That’s 6.68 percent below the 2022 assessment of $482,200. There are eight bedrooms in the unit. The property last sold in December 2021. 
• The University of Virginia Foundation purchased a single family home at 1926 Ivy Road for $750,000. That is 250.8 percent over the 2022 assessment of $213,800. The property is directly across the street from the Emmet-Ivy Corridor where UVA is building the School of Data Science, the Karsh Democracy Institute, and a hotel and conference center.  The Foundation has been slowly purchasing properties along the southern side of the roadway, just as they did with the northern side. What will the ultimate use of this property be? 
• A three bedroom house built in 2015 on Harris Road sold for $553,000. That’s 35.91 percent over the 2021 assessment of $406,900 and 23.27 percent over the 2022 assessment of $448,600. The Future Land Use Map designates the property as Medium Intensity Residential. 
• A four bedroom house in the 1600 block of Yorktown Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $970,000. That’s 20.02 percent over the 2022 assessment of $808,200. The structure was more or less replaced in 2017 according to city building permit records. 
• A vacant lot in the 1300 block of Chesapeake Street in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $155,000. The property is 0.172 acres in size and is within the Medium Intensity Residential category. How many units could be built here, and will the property owner wait until the new zoning ordinance is in place? 

April 19, 2022

• A three bedroom house built in 1998 as part of the Amherst Commons Planned Unit Development sold for $635,000. That’s 56.4 percent over the 2021 assessment of $406,000 and 35.57 percent over the 2022 assessment of $468,400. 
• The buildings that house the Bridge Performing Arts Initiative and Lampo Neopolitan Pizza in the 200 block of Monticello Road have both been sold for $800,000 to a company called Lightning Properties. The address for the registered agent is 205 Monticello Road, where Lampo opened and where the business will soon reopen after spending time way due to construction of the Belmont Bridge. The purchase price is 87.22 percent over the 2022 assessment of $427,300 for the two properties. 
• A house at 1120 East High Street in the Martha Jefferson Neighborhood with four apartments sold for $535,000. That’s 63.56 percent over the 2022 assessment of $327,100. The Future Land Use Map designation is Urban Mixed Use Corridor.
  
  “Higher intensity mixed used development arranged along corridors between employment, commercial, and civic hubs of the city.” 
• A three bedroom house on Lyons Avenue in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $635,000. That’s 17.2 percent over the 2021 assessment of $541,800 and 9.54 percent of 2022 assessment of $579,700. The 0.401 acre property is designated for General Residential. 
• A newly constructed four bedroom in the 400 block of Lochlyn Hill Drive sold for $917,341. The 0.162 acre property was assessed in 2022. 
• A three bedroom house in the 1400 block of Kenwood Lane in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $550,000. That’s 31.7 percent over the 2022 assessment of $417,600. 

April 20, 2022

• The shopping center on Maury Avenue that houses Anna’s Ristorante and Pizzeria, Yuan Ho Chinese Take Out, Rudy’s Dry Cleaners, and Wahoo Wash has a new owner. Stadium Row LLC purchased two properties that make up the center for $3.05 million, which is 37.36 percent over the 2022 assessment of $2.225 million for both properties. The properties are zoned Neighborhood Commercial Corridor District and are designated as Urban Mixed Use Corridor in the Future Land Use Map. 
• The Barringer is a condominium complex built in 2007 in Charlottesville city limits that is otherwise surrounded by the University Medical Center and the new Brandon Avenue section of Grounds. A 1,293 square foot unit with two bedrooms sold for $615,000, which is 40.38 percent over the 2021 assessment of $438,100 and 17.46 percent over the 2022 assessment of $523,600. 
• A three bedroom house on Meadowbrook Road in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $571,750. That’s 11.33 percent below the 2022 assessment of $644,800, but 7.33 percent over the 2021 assessment. 
• A rare vacant lot in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $257,500. That’s 19.43 percent above the 2021 assessment of $215,600 and 6.63 percent above the 2022 assessment. The property is designated as General Residential Density. 
• The building that houses the Belmont Market convenience store in “downtown” Belmont sold for $1,299,999. Not $1.3 million, but $1,299,999. That’s 208.86 percent over the 2022 assessment of $418,100. The purchasing entity is Jefferson Street Properties, LLC and that entity owns two other properties in Charlottesville. 
• A two bedroom house in the 200 block of 16th Street SE in the Woolen Mill’s neighborhood sold for $297,00 to an entity known as Mark It Zero LLC. The sales price is just 0.88 percent over the 2022 assessment of $294,400, but 15.47 percent over the 2021 assessment of $257,200. 
• A five bedroom house in the 2200 block of Brandywine Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $485,000. That’s 18.84 percent over the 2021 assessment of $408,100 and 2.86 percent over the 2022 assessment of $471,500. 
• A four bedroom house in the 1600 block of King Mountain Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $660,000. That’s 31.58 percent over the 2022 assessment of $501,600. This parcel is immediately adjacent to Medium Residential Density but this one has a designation of General Residential. 

April 21, 2022

• A two bedroom house in the 1000 block of Druid Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $375,000. That’s 35.82 percent over the 2022 assessment of $276,100. Solar panels were placed on the roof in 2018 according to a search of building permit records. 
• A two bedroom house built in 1925 on Spruce Street in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $499,000. While that is 103.42 percent over the 2022 assessment of $245,300, it does not reflect the new plumbing and electrical wiring as well as other interior and exterior renovations. 
• A three bedroom house on Tarleton Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $430,000 to the Entrust Group of Oakland, California, for the benefit of a specific individual. The purchase price is 32.63 percent over the 2021 assessment of $324,200 and 13.28 percent over the 2022 assessment of $379,600. This property is designated as Urban Mixed Use Corridor and is within a block of Rio Road East. Will other out-of-town investments follow? 

• A three bedroom house on Greenleaf Lane in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $425,000. That’s 21.71 percent over the 2021 assessment of $349,200 and 5.49 percent over the 2022 assessment of $402,900. This property is designated as General Residential. 
• A four bedroom townhouse on Bing Lane in the Cherry Hill Planned Unit Development in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $425,000. That’s 27.59 percent over the 2021 assessment of $333,100 and 14.37 percent over the 2022 assessment of $371,600. 

April 22, 2022

• A structure on 9th Street NW in the 10th and Page neighborhood sold for $100,000. That’s 71.21 percent below the 2022 assessment of $347,400. The purchaser is a trust and the house was built in 1925. 
• A structure in the 800 block of Ridge Street sold for exactly the 2022 assessment of $157,200. The purchaser is an individual who originally bought the 0.22 acre property in October 2015 for $90,000. This person sold the property and an adjacent one to Close Haul LLC in August 2018 for $320,000. The house does not appear to be habitable. 
• One half of a duplex on Bailey Road in the Orangedale section of the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $245,000. That’s 30.74 percent over the 2022 assessment of $187,400. 
• The middle unit of a triplex on Old Fifth Circle in the Willoughby neighborhood sold for $315,000. That’s 35.02 percent over the 2022 assessment of $233,300. 
• A two bedroom house on Raymond Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $315,000. That’s 14.09 percent over the 2022 assessment of $276,100. 
• A 1,028 square foot unit in an apartment building on Arlington Boulevard in the Barracks Road neighborhood sold for $225,000. That’s 6.53 percent above the 2022 assessment of $211,200 and 43.04 percent over the 2021 assessment of $157,300. 

April 25, 2022

• A four bedroom house built in 2007 on Druid Avenue as part of a Planned Unit Development sold for $642,000. That’s 20.79 percent over the 2021 assessment of $531,500 and 2.10 percent over the 2022 assessment of $628,800. 
• An office in the medical building at 902 E. Jefferson Street was purchased for $600,000 by Polecat LLC. That’s 14.2 percent below the 2022 assessment of $699,300. 

April 26, 2022

• An 870 square foot unit with two bedrooms in the Monticello Overlook apartment building sold for $194,000. That’s 5.49 percent above the 2021 assessment of $183,900 and 1.22 percent below the 2022 assessment of $196,400. 
• A four bedroom house on Altamont Circle in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $925,000. That’s 8.36 percent over the 2022 assessment of $853,600. 
• A three bedroom house on 4th Street NE in North Downtown sold for $725,000. That’s 7.58 percent over the 2021 assessment of $673,900 and 1.67 percent over the 2022 assessment of $713,100. 
• A five bedroom house on Rugby Avenue sold for $585,000 to the Midland Trust as the custodian of an individual. The sales price is 24.2 percent over the 2021 assessment of $471,000 and 7.68 percent over the 2022 assessment of $543,300. The property is designated as Medium Residential Intensity in the Future Land Use Map. 
• A three bedroom house on Jefferson Park Circle in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $803,678. That’s 20.55 percent over the 2022 assessment of $666,700. 
• A six bedroom house in the 800 block of Village Road in the Johnson Village neighborhood sold for $1.005 million. That’s 80.95 percent over the 2022 assessment of $555,400. 

April 27, 2022

• A four bedroom house on a 0.606 acre lot on Highland Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $500,000. That’s 29.8 percent over the 2022 assessment of $385,200. 
• A five bedroom house on Moseley Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $483,000. That’s 25.52 percent over the 2021 assessment of $384,800 and 13.7 percent over the 2022 assessment of $424,800.
• A single family house with a basement apartment in the 500 block of Stonehenge Avenue in Belmont sold for $460,000. That’s 49.55 percent over the 2022 assessment of $307,900. The previous owner added an extension in 2016 and replaced the wiring in 2021. 
• A three bedroom house on Yorktown Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $607,000. That’s 32.42 percent over the 2022 assessment of $458,400. The previous owners finished the basement in 2011. 
• A three bedroom house on Brandywine Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $495,000. That’s exactly the same price the property sold for in April 2021. This transaction is 9.98 percent over the 2021 assessment of $450,100 and 0.30 percent below the 2022 assessment of $496,500. 
• A three bedroom house on Holmes Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $352,000. That’s 34.81 percent over the 2021 assessment of $261,100 and 13.44 percent over the 2022 assessment of $310,300. 

April 28, 2022 

• A three bedroom house built in 2017 as part of the Rialto Beach Planned Unit Development sold for $550,000. That’s 6.22 percent over the 2021 assessment of $517,800 and 1.16 percent over the 2022 assessment of $543,700. 
• A duplex in the cul-de-sac of Olinda Drive in the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $450,000. That’s 28.28 percent over the 2021 assessment of $350,800 and 0.68 percent below the 2022 assessment of $453,100. 
• One half of a duplex on Moseley Drive in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $252,000. That’s 19.77 percent over the 2021 assessment of $210,400 and 8.71 percent over the 2022 assessment of $231,800. 
• A three bedroom house on Marshall Street in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $415,000. That’s 16.25 percent over the 2022 assessment of $357,000. 

April 29, 2022

• A three bedroom house in the 1600 block of Oxford Road sold for $690,000. That’s 50.16 percent over the 2022 assessment of $459,500. The house was built in 1948. 
• A four bedroom house on the Johnson Village side of Shamrock Road sold for $535,000. That’s 18.08 percent over the 2022 assessment of $453,100. 
• A 758 square foot apartment in the condominium building at 1001 East Market sold for $315,000. That’s 32.3 percent over the 2021 assessment of $238,1000 and 14.71 percent over the 2022 assessment of $274,600.