Zoning clearance still underway for place to watch soccer in Hollymead Town Center

One way to get story ideas for this newsletter is to review applications that businesses file with Albemarle County to make sure they can operate where they plan to locate.

“To open a commercial or industrial business in Albemarle County, you need a Zoning Clearance (CLE), no matter what size or form your business takes,” reads a portion of the county’s website.

These are available for public review in the Civic Access portal that Albemarle began using at the beginning of this year.

One that caught my attention was one filed on October 30 for a soccer bar in the Hollymead Town Center to be called the Blues Fox Den.

“Includes a temporary outdoor recreation space with seating, enclosed with a secured fence,” reads the information available on the portal. “The temporary space has two small, backyard turf fields and sits on approved commercial building site pads.”

The application is still under review. You can take a look here.

• The space in the Rio Hill Shopping Center that had been occupied by a Sally Beauty franchise will soon be the home of a Best Wireless franchise. They applied on November 7. Sally Beauty moved to the 5th and Avon Shopping Center. (ZC-2025-00167)
• Best Wireless is also seeking to open a franchise in the Pantops Shopping Center at the location of a former pet salon. The application was made on November 7. (ZC-2025-00168)
• A building supply store at 1738 Scottsville Road used to be known as Beacon Sales and is now called QXO. They applied for a zoning clearance on November 7 to notify the county. (ZC-2025-00166)
• The VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment is seeking a zoning clearance to expand into the Jordan Building at 485 Hillsdale Drive for a classroom for eight students. The filed on November 7. (ZC-2025-00165)
• Sentara Martha Jefferson has filed for a zoning clearance for an early learning center. According to the permit portal, this would involve construction of a 12,800 square foot building. The application was made on November 12. (ZC-2025-00169)
• On November 3, a zoning clearance application was made for Bon Secours to operate an urgent care facility in the Pantops Shopping Center. The business was formerly known as MedExpress. (ZC-2025-00162)
• A zoning clearance has been approved for the Charlottesville Turkey Trot to be held at 9 a.m. on November 27 at Albemarle High School. You going? (ZC-2025-00163)
• What about running on New Year’s Day? A zoning clearance has been approved for the Charlottesville Track Club New Year’s Day 5k to be held in Free Union at 5404 Wesley Chapel Road. (ZC-2025-00155)

Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the November 17, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack, make a monthly contribution through Patreon, or consider becoming a sponsor. The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is  happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things.