Information Charlottesville

Ten months have passed this year, and I’ve now published summaries of property transactions in Charlottesville for each of them. I look through each purchase and title transfer in order to better understand the market. I am not a real estate expert, but I have been writing about the way land is used in this community since 2005.  Like many of you, I have experiences with many of these places. My work overall is improved by a parcel-by-parcel review.

This month, the anecdotal trend of residential properties trading above assessment continues. There are also several purchases of properties by Limited Liability Companies. The buildings occupied by a Guadalajara, Atlas Coffee, and JLK have new owners. Lots, developed or undeveloped, continue to trade hands at higher prices.

This month I’ve also begun referring to a staff report from a 2013 Charlottesville Planning Commission work session that covered Planned Unit Developments. These are specialized zoning districts that have been used for many years to add higher residential densities. As the community looks ahead to a rewriting of the zoning code, it is useful to note the historic presence of these Planned Unit Developments in the community.

(This piece is paid for by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. Consider signing up for a subscription to ensure I can keep going with research like this each and every week! If you do, Ting will match your first payment!)

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This past month I have received at least two dozen “price decease” alerts from realtor.com. How is that translating into the market? Read ahead and find out for yourself in this anecdotal look at property transactions in Charlottesville during September. Properties appear to be sold above assessment in most all cases. 

Of particular interest to me are two property transfers in areas that are to be designated as “sensitive” to displacement in the Future Land Use Map and the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission recommended adoption of the draft this past week and details still need to be worked out about the mechanism by which bonus units will be allowed in those areas. 

One on Charlton Avenue in the Rose Hill neighborhood was over 53 percent of the 2021 assessment. Another on Anderson Street in 10th and Page went nearly 190 percent over assessment, though that reflects major renovations made by the previous owners. What, if anything, might have been altered with different land use rules? 

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Another tenant has been announced for the new 3-Twenty-3 building in downtown Charlottesville. General Atomics Commonwealth Computer Research will lease just under 50,000 square feet in the building.

“With projects ranging from optimizing the world’s largest container port to predicting future asymmetric warfare events, CCRi has no shortage of experience in diverse client expectations,” reads a description of the company on their website. 

The 3-Twenty-3 building is being developed by Insite Properties and marketed by Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. A press release describes the building as a five-story office building on top of a four-story, 200 space parking garage. 

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