A look at the January 2026 Charlottesville retail report

There has been a slight increase in retail storefront vacancies tracked by the Charlottesville Office of Economic Development according to a recently released report.

According to methodology used in the report, 20 of the 451 tracked storefronts were vacant in January, up from 12 in July 2025.

“This report only studies retail properties within the six City shopping centers,” reads the report. “Barracks Road, Downtown Mall, McIntire Plaza, Preston Plaza, Seminole Square, and The Corner.”

There are many caveats to how a vacancy is defined with only ground floor spaces counted. Vacant office space is not included and any space under renovation for a planned occupation is not defined as a vacancy.

As of this snapshot, there are eight vacancies in the area considered the Downtown Mall, including Water Street and Market Street. These include the Dewberry Hotel, the former Wells Fargo location at 123 East Main, the former Bonny & Read restaurant at 111 East Main, and the former Commonwealth Restaurant / Passaflora at 123 East Main Street.

There’s also a vacant space at 218 West Main Street in the CODE building.

Vacancies also increased at Barracks Road Shopping Center with a rate of 8.05 percent. Recent open spaces include the former Zoom Indoor Cycling at 1931 Arlington Avenue and the former Peter Chang China Grill at 2162 Barracks Road.

There is one vacancy in Preston Plaza with the move of Twice is Nice to the former site of Reid Super-Save Market.

The numbers for Seminole Square Shopping Center have been adjusted in recent years with the long-planned redevelopment of the former Giant store into residential units. Here is the description of the work according to the city’s permit portal:

“Expansion of existing commercial shopping center for two (2) additional commercial buildings and two (2) residential buildings. Improvements to existing shopping center building facades and existing parking lots. Additional 18,000 square feet of commercial space and 300 residential apartments.”

A final site plan is under review by Charlottesville’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services as is a demolition request for a portion of the existing center.

Before you go: 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!Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the February 24, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.