June 2024 Charlottesville property transactions: House on Alderman Road purchased and plans have been filed to redevelop with six townhouses by-right

Another anecdotal look at property transactions in a market where the rules have been changed to encourage more density

We are now six days into July and five months have passed since the City of Charlottesville’s new development code went into effect. This June 2024 report features the first time where a residential property sold in one month and an application to maximize the density was filed a month later. Learn more in a story I wrote last week.

When I left journalism briefly in the summer of 2018 I had a lot of things I wanted to know and came back to journalism two years later because I felt people had absolutely no idea what was happening with the market. 

Myself included.

Now I offer you these anecdotes as I’ve done since January 2021 in order to provide a moving snapshot. Who is buying what properties? How much is the city adding to its tax base? Are people selling properties maximizing their wealth, or are people being taken advantage of by smooth talkers who talk down their worth? What about affordable housing? What will assessments be in 2025? 

I don’t answer these questions directly in this, but this basic act of journalistic research is how I keep spinning out stories about this changing community. That’s what my paid subscribers want me to do, and I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.

As always, I point out the 2020 assessment and the 2024 assessment for most transactions. I want people to get the sense of how much the city’s tax base has grown. The city’s 2019 Land Book listed 15,071 taxable properties that brought in $72,657,974 in real property tax revenues The land book for this year, dated April 1, lists 15,114 parcels bringing in $104,649,940. 

And that’s BEFORE the City Council voted to increase the tax rate an additional two cents to $0.98 percent of assessed value. The additional funding has allowed the city to comfortably increase spending and meet the Affordable Housing Plan moral goal of putting $10 million a year of local taxpayer money toward subsidizing the cost of housing. 

A lot is happening and it has happened in just a few years. What will happen next? I’ll keep writing about it.  No highlights this month, though, as I want to get one more final regular newsletter in for this month. 

June 3, 2024

• A three bedroom house built in 1939 in the 900 block of Montrose Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $390,000. That’s 24.05 percent above the 2024 assessment of $314,400 and (Residential-A, 0.13 acres)
• A home at 1505 Westwood Road in the Barracks / Rugby has been gifted to the National Christian Foundation Real Property LLC. The three bedroom house was assessed in 2024 at $625,600.  Will this take it off the tax rolls? (Residential-A, 0.367 acres)

June 4, 2024

• A three bedroom house built in 2017 in the 300 block of Huntley Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $609,000. That’s 4.05 percent above the 2024 assessment of $585,300 and 32.56 percent above the 2020 assessment of $459,400. (Residential-A, 0.101 acres)
• A one bedroom unit with 672 square feet in the Charlottesville Towers at 511 1st Street N sold for $235,000. That’s 5.43 percent above the 2024 assessment of $222,900 and 52.50 percent above the 2020 assessment of $154,100. (Residential Mixed Use 5, N/A)
• A two bedroom unit with 1,119 square feet in the Walker Square complex parallel to West Main Street sold for $415,000. That’s 10.14 percent above the 2024 assessment of $376,800 and 40.63 percent above the 2020 assessment of $295,100. (Residential Mixed Use 5, N/A)

June 5, 2024

• A 700 square foot one bedroom unit in the Barringer apartment building at 428 Monroe Lane sold for $385,000. This building is one of the only privately owned properties in this section of the Jefferson Park Avenue neighborhood. The sales price is 3.55 percent above the 2024 assessment of $371,800 and 44.03 percent above the 2020 assessment of $267,300. (Commercial Mixed Use 8, N/A)
• A 1,293 square foot two bedroom unit in the Barringer sold for $625,000. That’s 4.41 percent above the 2024 assessment of $598,600 and 42.66 percent above the 2020 assessment of $267,300. (Commercial Mixed Use 8, N/A)
• A 0.143 acre lot on Riverside Avenue in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $232,000. That’s 63.61 percent above the 2024 assessment of $141,800.  So far there are no building permits associated with the property. (Residential-A, 0.143 acres)
• A couple has purchased both halves of a single-family attached house in the 1000 block of Locust Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood. The sales price of $1.064 million is 8.76 percent below the 2024 combined assessment of $1,116,200 and 0.29 percent below the 2023 assessment of $1,067,100. The 2020 combined assessment is $790,000 making this transaction 34.68 percent above the sales price. (Residential-A, 0.147 acres)

June 6, 2024

• A one bedroom unit in the Belmont Lofts apartment complex at 200 Douglas Avenue in Belmont sold for $429,000. That’s 3.82 percent above the 2024 assessment of $413,200 and 56.34 percent above the 2020 assessment of $274,400. (Residential Mixed Use, N/A) 
• Kappa LLC is the new owner of a multi-unit house at 2525 Woodland Drive in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood. The entity paid $455,000 which is 8.91 percent below the 2024 assessment of $499,500 and 35.26 percent above the 2020 assessment of $336,400. (Residential-A, 0.46 acres)

June 7, 2024

• A four bedroom house on Huntley Avenue built in 2006 in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $637,000. That’s 22.36 percent above the 2024 assessment of $520,600 and 38.03 percent above the 2020 assessment of $461,500. The assessment was lowered in 2021 perhaps because the house sold in October 2020 fo $425,000. (Residential-A, 0.065 acres)
• A three bedroom house in the 1100 block of Avon Street sold for $740,000. That’s 0.3 percent below the 2024 assessment of $742,200 and 66.82 percent above the 2020 assessment of $443,600. (Residential-C, 0.09 acres)
• A three bedroom house in the 200 block of Azalea Drive in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $550,000. That’s 62.58 percent above the 2024 assessment of $338,300 and 113.76 percent above the 2020 assessment of $257,300. A search of the city’s building permit database shows new water laterals were installed in 2022 at an estimated cost of $6,700. (Residential-A, 0.333 acres)

June 10, 2024

• A four bedroom house built in 1965 in the 1500 block of Trailridge Road in the Johnson Village neighborhood sold for $500,000. That’s 0.52 percent above the 2024 assessment of $497,400 and 35.17 percent above the 2020 assessment of $369,900. (Residential-A, 0.384 acres)
• A two bedroom apartment with 1,119 square feet in the Walker Square complex sold for $420,000. That’s 11.46 percent above the 2024 assessment of $376,800 and 39.63 percent above the 2020 assessment of $300,800. (Residential Mixed Use 5, N/A)
• A one bedroom house in the 1000 block of St. Clair Avenue sold for $285,000. That’s 13.32 percent above the 2024 assessment of $251,500 and 49.21 percent above the 2020 assessment of $191,000. (Residential-A, 0.213 acres)
• A four bedroom townhouse in the Melbourne Park Circle in the Locust Grove neighborhood development sold for $485,000. That’s 15.01 percent above the 2024 assessment of $421,700 and 54.21 percent above the 2020 assessment of $314,500. (Residential Mixed Use 3, N/A)
• A three bedroom house built in 1983 in the 900 block of Rives Street in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $390,000. That’s 19.37 percent below the 2024 assessment of $483,700 and 21.12 percent above the 2020 assessment of $322,200. (Residential-B, 0.17 acres)
• JKD Properties is the new owner of 121 Cameron Lane, a two bedroom house in the Lewis Mountain neighborhood.  At $690,000, the Dillwyn-based company paid 19.03 percent above the 2024 assessment of $579,700 and 87.25 percent above the 2020 assessment of $368,500. A company called Running 3 LLC purchased the property in July 2021 for $487,500 and sold it to Clover Cottage LLC for $600,000 in May 2022.  (Residential-A, 0.31 acres)
• JKD Properties also purchased 123 Cameron Lane next door for $1.51 million. This is a four bedroom house built in 1935. The company paid 32.06 percent above the 2024 assessment of $1,143,400 and 145.97 percent above the 2020 assessment of $613,900. The house last sold in May 2021 for $928,000 to an entity called F L Clover LLC. A homestay provisional application was filed on July 26. (Residential-A, 0.5 acres)

June 11, 2024

• A four bedroom house in the 1400 block of Melbourne Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $440,000. That’s 15.98 percent below the 2024 assessment of $523,700 and 13.61 percent above the 2020 assessment of $387,300. The seller is the Hinton Avenue Methodist Church who had purchased the property in November 1970 for $7,500. (Residential-C, 0.29 acres)
• A two bedroom house built in 1948 in the 600 block of McIntire Road in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $385,000. That’s 1.18 percent above the 2024 assessment of $380,500 and 32.71 percent above the 2020 assessment of $290,100. (Residential-A, 0.2 acres)
• A four bedroom house built in 1920 in the 1900 block of Lewis Mountain Road sold for $1,450,000. That’s 35.93 percent above the 2024 assessment of $1,066,700 and 95.58 percent above the 2020 assessment  of $741,400. (Residential-A, 0.337 acres)

June 12, 2024

• The Piedmont Housing Alliance now owns 905 Rives Street in the Belmont neighborhood. That’s a three bedroom house on a large property built in 1940. They paid $300,000 to a former member of the executive staff. The transaction is well below the 2024 assessment of $416,700 or 28.01 percent below. The transaction is 19.24 percent above the 2020 assessment of $251,600. The former staffer bought the house for $190,000 in November 2004. (Residential-B, 0.434 acres)
• A three bedroom townhouse on Junction Lane in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $435,000. That’s 10.84 percent below the 2024 assessment of $487,900 and 15.81 percent above the 2020 assessment of $375,600. (Residential-C, 0.04 acres)

June 13, 2024

• A four bedroom townhouse in the 200 block of Brookwood Drive built in 2007 sold for $585,000. That’s 1.99 percent above the 2024 assessment of $573,600 and 34.42 percent above the 2020 assessment of $435,200. (Residential-C, 0.114 acres)
• A three bedroom house built in 1978 on Leigh Place in the city’s portion of the Willoughby neighborhood sold for $370,000. That’s 18.06 percent above the 2024 assessment of $313,400 and 48.53 percent above the 2020 assessment of $249,100. (Residential-A, 0.178 acres)
• A couple paid $900,000 for a single family house on 11th Street NE in the Little High Street neighborhood as well as the lot next door. An entity called Little High LLC purchased the two properties in July 2023 for $505,000. The city’s building permit database shows about $11,000 worth of renovations conducted soon afterward. The website for the house states it is split into two units. Apparently it is also back on the market again. The sales price is 48.32 percent above the combined 2024 assessment of $606,800. (Residential-A, 0.4 acres)
• A four bedroom house built in 1932 in the 800 block of Fendall Terrace sold for $2.23 million. That’s 24.44 percent above the 2024 assessment of $1,792,000 and 55.49 percent above the 2020 assessment of $1,434,200. The property last sold in February 1984 for $137,500. (Residential-A, 0.63 acres)

June 14, 2024

• A newly constructed five bedroom house built in the 200 block of Hartman’s Mill Road sold for $952,000. There’s no assessment in 2024, but the building permit estimates construction of the single family detached house at $500,000. Hartmans Mill LLC purchased this lot and another next door in December 2021 for $304,000. The one next door sold for $884,591. (Residential-A, 0.344 acres)
• A four bedroom house built in 1946 in the 1000 block of Cherry Avenue sold for $608,000. That’s 81.93 percent above the 2024 assessment of $334,200 and 176.47 percent above the 2020 assessment of $219,700. A building permit to finish the basement valued at $42,500 was issued in June 2022. (Residential-B, 0.16 acres)
• A three bedroom house built in 2014 in the 300 block of Harris Road in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $650,000. That’s 20.98 percent above the 2024 assessment of $445,700 and 45.84 percent above the 2020 assessment of $445,700. (Residential-B, 0.14 acres)
• A three bedroom house built in 1957 in the 1600 block of King Mountain Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $990,000. That’s 31.4 percent above the 2024 assessment of $753,400 and 71.67 percent above the 2020 assessment of $576,700. (Residential-A, 0.79 acres)

June 17, 2024

• The Montague Family Partnership has paid $2,985,000 for a bank building at 2149 Barracks Road in the Meadows neighborhood. That’s 157.77 percent above the 2024 assessment of $1,115,800. This property was last sold in March 2021 for $1.7 million. The property used to be a bank but is now a dental clinic. (Neighborhood Mixed Use 5, 0.57 acres)
• A three bedroom house in the 100 block of Azalea Drive built in 1959 sold for $268,666. That’s 29.37 percent below the 2024 assessment of $445,400 but that won’t count toward fair market calculations because this is a sale within a family. (Residential-A, 0.201 acres)
• Evergreen Home Builders purchased 303 Alderman Road for $835,000. The structure that’s there is irrelevant given that there is already an application for a six-unit townhouse development at this location. I have another story with details on this one. The sales price is 20.98 percent above the 2024 assessment of $690,200 and 86.26 percent above the 2020 assessment of $448,300. (Residential-B, 0.314 acres)

June 18, 2024

• A four bedroom house in the 200 block of 10th Street NW built in 1922 sold for $587,500. That’s 66.24 percent above the 2024 assessment of $353,400 and 129.13 percent above the 2020 assessment of $256,400. There are no building permits listed in the city’s database. (Residential Mixed-Use 5, 0.143 acres)
• A four bedroom house built in 1933 on a large property on Hilltop Road sold for $1,457,375. That’s 53.05 percent above the 2024 assessment of $952,200 and 87.49 percent above the 2020 assessment of $777,300. There are no building permits listed in the city’s database.(Residential-A, 0.739 acres)
• A four bedroom townhouse in the 100 block of Brookwood Drive sold for $505,000. That’s 1.32 percent above the 2024 assessment of $498,400 and 27.14 percent above the 2020 assessment of $397,200. (Residential-C, 0.078 acres)
• A three bedroom house built in 1925 on Observatory Avenue sold for $379,000. That’s 10.01 percent above the 2024 assessment of $344,500 and 56.42 percent above the 2020 assessment of $242,300. (Residential-C, 0.1 acres)

June 20, 2024

• A three bedroom house built in 1962 on Linda Court in the Meadows neighborhood sold for $455,000. That’s 12.74 percent above the 2024 assessment of $403,600 and 52.17 percent above the 2020 assessment of $299,000. (Residential-A, 0.587)
• A four bedroom house built in the 1600 block of Oxford Avenue sold for $1.125 million. That’s 3.24 percent above the 2024 assessment of $1,089,700 and 43.33 percent above the 2020 assessment of $784,900. (Residential-A, 0.386 acres)
• 400 West High Street LLC paid $1.41 million for 400 West High Street. The city’s GIS system has this listed as a six bedroom structure built in 1900. A business called The Inn at 400 West High used to operate on the property but has recently closed. The transaction is 1.27 percent below the 2024 assessment of $1,428,100. The assessment was lowered from 2020 to 2021 and this transaction is 13.91 percent that figure of $1,237,800. (Commercial Mixed Use 3, 0.29 acres)
• A two bedroom condominium with 1,182 square feet in the apartment building at 200 Douglas Avenue sold for $640,000. That’s 5.44 percent above the 2024 assessment of $607,000 and 56.69 percent above the 2020 assessment of $408,700. (Residential Mixed Use 3, N/A)
• A three bedroom house built in 1963 in the 600 block of Shamrock Road in the Johnson Village now belongs to Nettle Holdings LLC. The company paid $405,000 for the property and that figure is 17.75 percent below the 2024 assessment of $492,400 and 20.86 percent above the 2020 assessment of $335,100. (Residential-A, 0.267 acres)
• A three bedroom townhouse built in 2013 on Longwood Drive sold for $390,000. That’s 4.84 percent above the 2024 assessment of $390,000 and 46.84 percent above the 2020 assessment of $265,600. (Residential-C, 0.029 acres)

June 21, 2024

• A one bedroom unit with 604 square feet at 1800 Jefferson Park Avenue sold for $235,000. The purchaser is 1800 JPA 504 LLC. They paid 9.1 percent above the 2024 assessment of $215,400 and 41.57 percent above the 2020 assessment of $166,000. (Residential Mixed Use-5, N/A)
• A four bedroom house in the 800 block of Henry Avenue in the Rose Hill neighborhood sold for $425,000. That’s 9.85 percent above the 2024 assessment of $386,900 and 200.14 percent above the 2020 assessment of $141,600. If the purchaser decides to replace the house, they can only build one replacement unit. If they remodel, they only get one additional unit. (Residential Neighborhood A, 0.143 acres)
• A three bedroom house in the 1600 block of Bruce Avenue in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $725,000. That’s 10.07 percent above the 2024 assessment of $658,700 and 54.45 percent above the 2020 assessment of $469,400. (Residential-A, 0.33 acres) 
• A three bedroom townhouse in the development at Melbourne Park Circle in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $450,000. That’s 23.15 percent above the 2024 assessment of $365,400 and 63.4 percent above the 2020 assessment of $275,400. (Residential Mixed Use 3, N/A)

June 24, 2024

• A one bedroom house in the 800 block of 6th Street SE in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $285,000. That’s 30.02 percent above the 2024 assessment of $219,200 and 78.01 percent above the 2020 assessment of $160,100. There are no entries in the city’s building permit database. (Residential-A, 0.062 acres)
• A four bedroom house built in 1954 on Buckingham Road in the Venable neighborhood sold for $1.31 million. That’s 24.52 percent above the 2024 assessment of $1,052,000 and 115.74 percent above the 2020 assessment of $607,200. (Residential-A, 0.628 acres)
• A two bedroom apartment with 1,147 square feet in the building at 428 Monroe Lane sold for $570,000. That’s 0.16 percent below the 2024 assessment of $570,900 and 37.28 percent above the 2020 assessment of $415,200. (Corridor Mixed Use 8, N/A)
• A duplex at 219 Stribling Avenue is now owned by Piedmont Realty Holdings I. They paid $440,000. That’s 5.52 percent above the 2024 assessment of $417,000 and 49.3 percent above the 2020  assessment of $294,700. (Residential-A, 0.21 acres)
• Reston North Properties LLC is the new owner of unit #511 in the apartment complex at 1800 Jefferson Park Avenue. This is a two bedroom and 830 square foot unit. The transaction is 4.6 percent below the 2024 assessment of $262,600 and 23.33 percent above the 2020 assessment of $202,700. (Residential Mixed Use 5, N/A)
• A three bedroom house built in 1967 on Denice Lane in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $475,000. That’s 4.72 percent above the 2024 assessment of $453,600 and 54.02 percent above the 2020 assessment. (Residential-B, 0.32 acres)
• A two bedroom house on Meadowstreet in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $628,000. That’s 22.85 percent above the 2024 assessment of $511,200 and 74.59 percent above the 2020 assessment of $359,700. (Residential-A, 0.23 acres)

June 25, 2024

• A three story house built in 1979 on Shale Place in the city’s section of the Willoughby neighborhood sold for $445,000. That’s 20.34 percent above the 2024 assessment of $369,800 and 50.95 percent above the 2020 assessment of $294,800. Technically this is actually in the Ridge Street neighborhood. (Residential-A, 0.14 acres)

June 27, 2024

• A commercial unit with 2,530 square feet in the Gleason condominium building at 200 Garrett Street sold for $850,000. The new owner is the cleverly named 200 Garrett Street UW LLC. The transaction is 2.31 percent above the 2024 assessment of $830,800 and 26.71 percent above the 2020 assessment of $670,800. (Node Mixed Use 10, N/A)
• A four bedroom house in the 1000 block of Cherry Avenue sold for $425,000. That’s 36.83 percent above the 2024 assessment and 99.81 percent above the 2020 assessment of $212,700. (Residential-B, 0.163 acres)

June 28, 2024

• A three bedroom house in the 900 block of Blenheim Avenue in Belmont sold for $428,000. A company called Northern Lights Real Estate had purchased the property in December 2020 for $250,000. The only building permit listed in the city’s database is an electrical service change issued in late May that passed inspection in June. The sales price is 32.1 percent above the 2024 assessment of $324,000 and 75.84 percent above the 2020 assessment of $243,400. (Residential-A, 0.139 acres)
• A rectangular-shaped parcel on undeveloped land adjacent to what’s left of the Meadowbrook Shopping Center sold for $581,500. The new owner is Greenshire Holdings LLC. The sales price is 33.96 percent above the 2024 assessment of $434,100 and 101.21 percent above the 2020 assessment of $289,000. (Residential-B, 0.83 acres)
• A two bedroom condominium with 1,162 square feet at 1130 East High Street sold for $700,000. That’s 25.49 percent above the 2024 assessment of $557,800 and 41.67 percent above the 2021 assessment of $494,100. The unit had not been built in 2020. (Corridor Mixed Use 5, N/A)

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