Charlottesville News – Gayle Harvey Real Estate

2018 Spring Happenings in Central Virginia

After a fickle, false start to spring, it appears the season might be here to stay. That means lots of outdoor activities in central Virginia for the enjoyment of all. From shopping for local foods and wares to spinning on a carnival ride, from relaxing on the grass while listening to live music downtown to hiking up a steep incline to get a breathtaking mountain view—the central Virginia area offers plenty of festive activities to celebrate the arrival of spring and the end of a long winter.

Dogwood Festival: March 24-May 5, 2018

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This annual festival that honors both the official state tree and flower encompasses many community activities that span from March to May. One of these is the Dogwood Carnival (April 5-22) that takes place in McIntire Park. There are rides, games, and all the greasy food you can stomach. There is also the Dogwood Parade (April 21), in which participants will march along the pedestrian mall and loop down High Street. This year’s theme is “Candy Land” so bring your sweet tooth!

Fridays After Five: April 13-September 14, 2018

Unwind on a sunny afternoon with free live music at the Sprint Pavilion. Spread a blanket on the grass and enjoy a beer and other concessions offerings, the proceeds of which go to support local nonprofits. The music ranges from pop, hip-hop, rock, reggae, bluegrass, and folk, all played by talented local and regional musicians.

Sprint Pavilion

Charlottesville City Market: April 7-December, 2018

You know spring is here when the city market returns to the lot between South and Water streets! Be on the lookout for fresh produce, homemade cheese, butter, and baked goods, handcrafted jewelry, woodwork, and ceramics, and delectable breakfast & lunch items so you can nosh while you shop – including fresh tacos, dumplings, bagels, and breakfast sandwiches hot off the griddle.

Historic Garden Week: April 21-28, 2018 Cville Flowers

This special tour highlighting beautifully designed gardens spans the entire state of Virginia, giving the public access to historic estates and homes. This year’s Historic Garden Week in the Charlottesville-Albemarle Area will provide tours of Morven Estate (land once purchased by Thomas Jefferson as a gift for Col. William Short), Castle Hill (a Georgian home originally constructed in 1764), Grace Episcopal Church, Chopping Bottom Farm (a Keswick estate with contemporary style), East Belmont (an early 19^th-century home with formal garden), Ben-Coolyn (a 145-acre estate on land originally part of the Meriwether Land Grant of 1730), and the University of Virginia (specifically the Pavilion and Serpentine Gardens).

National Park Week: April 21-29, 2018

National Park Week means there will be lots of things happening at nearby Shenandoah National Park to celebrate this natural resource. Entrance fees will be waived at all national parks on April 21. And on Earth Day, April 22, SNP will offer a ranger-led hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Charlottesville Ranked among 30 Best Small Cities & Named “Most Literate”

sidewalk-cafe-53318_1280 Earlier this month (January 2018), National Geographic Traveler ranked Charlottesville among the top 30 Best Small Cities in the U.S., as well as giving it the distinction of “Most Literate” among its peer cities. To determine the rankings, National Geographic teamed up with Resonance Consultancy, a branding consulting firm that has created an algorithm for ranking cities and is behind the World’s Best Cities program.

For the Best Small Cities rankings, the collaborative team analyzed social media references to cities in the U.S. and then organized them according to population size. Certain themes arose around certain cities, such as the number of coffee shops or art galleries, or—in the case of Charlottesville—the number of bookstores and college degrees. From those larger themes the team created superlatives to describe each city, rightly naming Charlottesville “Most Literate.” To learn more about our literary city, read our blog post on local bookstores. And, for all those eager readers out there, be sure to mark the dates of the upcoming Virginia Festival of the Book: March 21-25, 2018.

To read the complete list of Best Small Cities in the U.S., visit National Geographic here.

Holiday Happenings

December 8-10, 2017

Are you looking for holiday activities that celebrate the season? Do you need ideas for where to find unique gifts? Here are some fun things to do this weekend that involve both!

On Friday night after work, you can catch—for one night only—the 11^th annual Let There Be Light art installation at PVCC. This tradition brings together local and regional artists to celebrate the proximity of the winter solstice—the longest night of the year—with art that plays with light. (Attendees are encouraged to bring a flashlight.) Alternatively, you can stop by The Garage downtown—the single car garage across from Emancipation Park on 1^st Street—and join in their Carol Sing.

Saturday morning, rise bright and early to enjoy the Holiday Market, set up in the parking lot of the seasonal City Market between Water and South Streets. There you will find holiday wreathes, garlands, ornaments, and plenty of gift ideas, such as jewelry, clothing, and handcrafted goods.

Next, be sure not to miss the McGuffey Art Center’s Winter Celebration. This festive event features jugglers, live music, donuts, open art studios with hands-on art projects, and a holiday gift shop with original, local art for sale.

If you’d like to continue your holiday shopping, head over to C’ville Craftacular at the Carver Recreation Center in the beautiful, historic Jefferson School. A tradition for 12 years running, Craftacular’s holiday show highlights the best its participating vendors have to offer in handmade wares.

On Sunday, take a break from the hustle and bustle by enjoying a screening of Elf at the Paramount. Santa himself and Buddy the Elf plan to make an appearance at 2:00 p.m.

Whatever festivities you choose, we hope you have a lovely weekend in Charlottesville! Details of suggested events follow below.

What/When/Where

Art Installation: Let There Be Light

Friday, December 8, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

V. Earl Dickinson Building, PVCC | 501 College Drive

The Garage Carol Sing

Friday, December 8, 7:00 p.m.

1^st Street, between Market and Jefferson Streets

Holiday Market

Saturday, December 9, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

100 Water Street

Winter Celebration

Saturday, December 9, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

McGuffey Art Center | 201 2^nd Street NW

C’ville Craftacular Holiday Market

Saturday, December 9, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Carver Recreation Center | 233 4^th Street NW

Elf the movie

Sunday, December 10

11:30 a.m. sensory friendly | 2:00 p.m. standard + visit from Santa & Buddy | 7:00 p.m. standard

The Paramount | 215 East Main Street

Charlottesville Ranks 3rd Happiest U.S. City

This month, Charlottesville ranked # 3 in happiest cities in the United States in an article published by NationalGeographic.com! The rankings were the result of a study conducted from 2014-2015 in 190 U.S. metropolitan areas. Author Dan Buettner (The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons from the World’s Happiest People) and social scientist Dan Witters of Gallup joined forces to create an index that measures features of happiness. Witters established 15 metrics, which included financial security, healthy diet, vacation time, intellectual growth, civic engagement, and—of all things—dental checkups. Meanwhile, Buettner observed that happiness often manifests as “pleasure, pride, and purpose,” which contribute to a robust sense of wellness.

But another key factor, as George Stone of National Geographic reports, is place. He writes, “In happier places, according to Buettner, locals smile and laugh more often, socialize several hours a day, have access to green spaces, and feel that they are making purposeful progress toward achieving life goals.”

While the article doesn’t reveal what all 15 metrics were, or go into detail about to what degree they aligned with the ranked cities, it’s not hard to imagine what metrics contribute to the happiness of Charlottesville residents.

Health

In 2016, HealthLine ranked Charlottesville one of the top 10 Healthiest Small Towns in the U.S. Our small city has several gyms, a plethora of yoga studios, as well as other boutique fitness studios, and a thriving farm-to-table movement. In addition, we have two excellent hospitals: the University of Virginia Hospital and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital.

Green Environment

Buettner says, “There’s a high correlation between bikeability and happiness in a city.” Charlottesville has recently established new bike lanes that help accommodate our two-wheeled citizens. There is also a reliable transit system affectionately known as the CAT (Charlottesville Area Transit) and a free trolley that runs a loop from downtown to the university, which help cut down on traffic. The City maintains lots of green space as well in the form of numerous public parks and walking trails. And certain regulations protect our beautiful skyline from being obscured by billboards.

Education

As Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia approaches its bicentennial (2019), it continues to rank well in the U.S. News & World Report, recently snagging # 3 for Top Public Schools. Likewise, Albemarle County ranks # 3 and Charlottesville City # 6 in Best School Districts in Virginia, according to www.niche.com.

Civic Engagement

Charlottesville provides ample opportunity to volunteer for a cause you believe in and help your neighbors. Whether your passion is education, housing, the arts, domestic violence prevention, or advocacy and social justice, Charlottesville has numerous organizations in need of volunteers who want to make a difference in their community.

Pleasure, Pride, & Purpose

Our modest metropolis has a reputation for being fertile ground for cultivating the arts. Theaters, galleries, art studios, dance studios, and a writing center can all be found here. And while some may wonder what the point of art is, many would argue that envisioning and completing a painting or play or choreographed dance and sharing it with the community can fill one with a sense of pleasure, pride, and purpose. For others, it may be viewing a sculpture, film, or musical set that inspires these responses. Either way, the opportunity to experience this kind of happiness abounds in our artistic city.

The 2017 Parade of Homes

Each year the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association showcases the latest trends in residential architecture and design in the local Parade of Homes. This year’s selections ranged from Hollymead townhomes in the upper $200s, detached homes near downtown Charlottesville in the low $400s, and homes on one-acre sites near the university in the mid $600s. Our broker had the opportunity to tour some of the model homes and has shared her insights with us.

1612 Rialto Street, Charlottesville | Village at Moores Creek MLS #: 556501

Builder: Cville Real Estate & Construction, LLC. Detached 3 BR, 3.5 baths. $485,000

Highlights:

Solid wood doors and hardwood floors
Contemporary style, such as wire rails, transom lights, skylight
Large pantry in kitchen
Home office
Close proximity to downtown Charlottesville
The builder is willing to customize to reflect their clients’ unique style

Rialto

735 Highgate Row, Crozet | Old Trail MLS #: 556737

Builder: Arcadia Builders. Detached 4 BR, 3.5 baths, 2-car garage. $585,000 (before upgrades)

Highlights:

Craftsman style
Mountain view
Screen porch off of the living room
Upstairs has loft area plus 3 BR
Walk-in closet with built-in shelves
Master bath has double vanities and two showerheads
Home office

Highgate

5712 Upland Drive, Crozet | Old Trail Village MLS#: 566213 Upland 01

Builder: Southern Development Homes. Attached 5 BR, 3.5 baths, 2-car garage. $699,900

Highlights:

EcoSmart Pippin floorplan
Mountain view
Fantastic kitchen with quality upgrade cabinets
Open floor plan with 1^st floor master bedroom
Screen porch off of driveway
Study with French doors
Finished basement with bedroom, bathroom, and recreational room
Universal Design can receive up to $5,000 tax credit
Includes multigenerational living
Stairless entry from garage and front door
Recessed shower
Raised outlets

Upland

222 Pfister Avenue, Charlottesville | Oak Hill Farm MLS#: 564774 Pfister 01

Builder: Stanley Martin Homes. Detached 5 BR, 4.5 baths. $774,990

Highlights:

Open floor plan
Soapstone kitchen countertops
Screen porch
Home office with French doors
Oversized master suite with sitting area
Master bath with double vanities

Pfister

1411 Kendra Circle, Charlottesville | Whittington MLS #: 557294 Kendra 02

Builder: Christopher Companies. Detached 5 BR, 4.5 baths, 2-car garage. $947,000

Highlights:

Green features
Luxury kitchen
Beautiful stone fireplace in living room
Built-in bar with wine cooler and bottle storage
Two master suites, one on first floor, one on second
Huge master baths each have shower with two showerheads
Additional laundry site on second floor
Unfinished basement provides potential for additional square footage
Passive radon system installed in all new construction homes

Kendra

While Virginia’s Population Growth Has Slowed, Charlottesville’s is Booming

In an article published in The Virginia Newsletter, Luke Juday, the Director of Planning for the City of Waynesboro, reports that Virginia’s population growth has slowed following three decades of consistent growth. And the growth it does have is largely apparent in its metropolitan areas.

“For decades, Virginia has attracted a stream of new residents, both from other countries and from the Midwest and Northeast,” Juday writes. “Northern Virginia, considered part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, has attracted the largest regional share of newcomers.”

There are “two components of population change,” he reports. “Natural increase and net migration… While they may seem like two simple and discrete ways by which population changes, natural increase and net migration interact, often compounding or counteracting one another.”

Juday’s study attributes migration to three main causes that correspond to three different stages of life: 1) young adults seeking independence, with higher education cited as a chief reason for relocation, 2) middle-aged adults settling down with their children, and 3) older adults retiring.

He writes, “Those rural counties experiencing the heaviest influx of older in-migrants are concentrated along the Chesapeake Bay and in the Blue Ridge Mountains, two regions offering peaceful settings, a lower cost of living and relative proximity to at least one major metropolitan area.”

The Charlottesville area is one of the locales in Virginia with a booming population, which Juday defines as “experiencing population growth from both in-migration and robust natural increase.” One reason for this is because Charlottesville offers a central metropolis that attracts educated young adults. Juday also specifically cites Albemarle County as having a booming population. Though, instead of being limited to young adults, it is “experiencing significant new development driven by a strong in-migration from all age groups.” Meanwhile, he mentions Orange as an example of an “attracting” locality, defined as still attracting migration (of mostly older adults) but the influx of migrants is offset by natural decrease in the population. He also cites Culpeper County specifically for attracting migrants willing to commute to Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Juday closes his article with this thought: “Localized economic and demographic trends are rarely static. Local governments cannot depend on inherited wisdom about their locales’ strengths and weaknesses, but must reassess often and think creatively to serve their residents in the face of larger economic trends.”

To learn more about the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, visit https://coopercenter.org.

Charlottesville’s 2016 Rankings

It seems every year Charlottesville is awarded recognition of some kind for an aspect of the city that makes it a wonderful place to live. Whether it is the proximity of the Blue Ridge Mountains or the University of Virginia, or the iconic pedestrian mall (one of the only estimated 75 remaining in the U.S.), there are endless remarkable and noteworthy characteristics that define the area and earn the notice of others. Here is a list of all of Charlottesville’s 2016 honors (and one so far for 2017, too!).

Paramount Downtown_750x1000

A Sense of Place

The New York Post ranked Charlottesville #3 out of the 15 Best Places to Live in the U.S.

Livability named Charlottesville #21 of the Top 100 Best Places to Live.

Travel+Leisure’s annual America’s Favorite Places survey ranked Charlottesville #23 out of 30 of America’s Favorite Towns. According to their website, “The open-response survey asked respondents to submit their favorite place and rate it in over 65 categories, including affordability, notable restaurants, and public parks.” Charlottesville’s high scores gave a nod to the number and quality of area bookstores and wineries.

Trip.com listed Charlottesville as one of the 10 Hippest Mid-Sized Cities in America.

Food

The American Farmland Trust ranked Charlottesville’s City Market as the #3 farmers market in America in the nationwide People’s Choice category.

Travelocity named Charlottesville one of America’s Best Small Cities for Foodies, specifically highlighting The Clifton Inn, The Local, and The Boar’s Head.

OpenTable named local restaurant Fleurie as one of the 100 Best Restaurants in America.

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Health

HealthLine ranked Charlottesville as one of the top 10 Healthiest Small Towns in the U.S.

Education

College Rank slotted Charlottesville in as #7 out of 50 of The Best College Towns in America.

Business

Livability.com ranked Charlottesville #4 out of 50 Best Cities for Entrepreneurs due to the success of the University of Virginia’s Innovation Laboratory, or “i.Lab,” as it’s known.

Books

About Great Books included Charlottesville on “The Ultimate 50-State Road Trip for Book Lovers” due to the annual Festival of the Book, multiple bookstores, and the historical presence of Edgar Allen Poe and William Faulkner, not to mention the library at Monticello.

Pets

Paw Culture ranked Charlottesville #7 on its list of “11 Pet-Friendly Holiday Towns and Cities,” citing the popularity of the downtown pedestrian mall.

Tourism

And one to grow on…

In January 2017, Expedia named Charlottesville one of the top 17 Places to Visit in 2017 for its mountain views, historic sites, local coffee, shops, and many vineyards.

Charlottesville Authors Published in 2016

In 2016, authors local to the Charlottesville area published over 40 books, ranging from poetry collections to photography books to novels written on the timeless themes of love and loss. The list of Charlottesville authors includes several recognizable names, such as bestselling authors John Grisham, Jan Karon, and Rita Mae Brown, award-winning author and former poet laureate Rita Dove, as well as newcomer Margot Lee Shetterly, whose novel Hidden Figures was adapted to film for a major motion picture released to theaters this month. Whether it is the rolling hills and beautiful mountain views that offer inspiration, the intellectual draw of the University of Virginia, or the small but vibrant urban center of Charlottesville that stimulates ideas and conversation, it’s evident that many writers are making a home for themselves in this particularly lovely piece of central Virginia.

Here is the list we’ve compiled of books published by area writers in 2016. Let us know if we’ve overlooked anyone!

FICTION

Nine Island (Catapult) by Jane Alison. A woman in Miami translates Ovid and considers giving up love, all while observing the complex relationship dynamics within her condo community.
Some of the Parts (Knopf Books for Young Readers) by Hannah Barnaby. A teen reeling from her brother’s accidental death searches for his organ donation recipients in hopes of finding closure.
Cakewalk: A Novel (Bantam) by Rita Mae Brown. Sisters in a southern town test the boundaries that define their lives in the aftermath of WWI.
Tall Tail: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery (Bantam) by Rita Mae Brown. A crime in present-day Crozet, Virginia leads Harry to research a murder that happened in 1784, all with the help of her feline companions.
Ninja Librarians: A Sword in the Stacks (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) by Jenn Swann Downey. In this middle-grade young adult book, Dorrie time travels to 1912 England as an apprentice of the society of ninja librarians she has stumbled upon.
The Other Side of Hope (CreateSpace) by R.F. Dunham. In this work of speculative fiction, the eastern hemisphere is the economic center of the world and Islam is the dominant religion when a terrorist attack sparks a war between east and west.
The Whistler (Doubleday) by John Grisham. Lacy Stoltz investigates a judge accused of helping to fund a mafia-backed casino who is now pocketing casino money.
Theodore Boone: The Scandal (Dutton Books for Young Readers) by John Grisham. A 13-year-old investigates possible cheating on standardized tests at his school.
Scamming Death, The Scary Mary Series (CreateSpace) by S.A. Hunter. Protagonist Mary battles the angel of death who is terrorizing a nursing home.
Nitro Mountain: A Novel (Knopf) by Lee Clay Johnson. This novel follows the dramas within an Appalachian Virginia town.
Barhoppers: The Answer Man and Other Bar Plays (Indie Theater Now) by Joel Jones. These short, comedic plays with a philosophical bent explore themes of love, ambition, and testing social boundaries.
Come Rain or Come Shine, Mitford Series (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) by Jan Karon. Dooley Kavanagh and Lace Harper finally wed– in a barn.
Invisible Fault Lines (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) by Kristen-Paige Madonia. A modern teen’s father disappears on a construction site. Possible clues lead her to research the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Done Growed Up, Apron Strings Trilogy Volume 2 (Westropp Press) by Mary Morony. This second book in the series continues the story of the Mackey family and their black maid in the 1950s American South.
Lost and Found, The Maria Series Book 5 (CreateSpace) by Ella Rea Murphy. In the late 1940s, protagonist Maria explores the new economic freedom available to women, while also preoccupied with thoughts of three different men.
Grave New World, Slate & Ashe Series No. 4 (Echelon Graphic Novels) written by Ethan Murphy, edited by Susan L. Holland, art by Luigi Teruel. The titular evolved zombie and outlaw run from one problem only to stumble upon another: an armed militia.
Pigloo (Henry Holt & Co.) by Anne Marie Pace. In this picture book a young pig plans to explore the North Pole, despite the naysaying of his sister.
Losing It (Riverhead Books) by Emma Rathbone. Julia, an adult woman who happens to be a virgin, spends the summer with her single, ageing aunt only to learn that her aunt has also unintentionally remained chaste. Julia is on a mission to find out how this happened and how she can avoid a similar fate.
There Is Nothing Strange (Holland House) by Susan Pepper Robbins. This novel explores the entanglements of a love triangle between married couple Laura and Jeremy, and their friend Henry.
The Giant, Quarantine Book 4 (Carolrhoda Lab TM) by Lex Thomas (writing team Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies). In the fourth book in the Quarantine series, protagonist Gonzalo searches for his love, Sasha.

NONFICTION & POETRY

Cut on the Bias: Poems (Laughing Fire Press) by Patricia Asuncion. In this collection of poetry, the personal is the political as the author writes of growing up a biracial Filipino American in inner-city Chicago.
Waking to Beauty: Encounters with Remarkable Beings (Rainbow Ridge) by Rosalyn Berne. While recounting her connection to horses, the author considers the presence of divinity in the animal kingdom.
Homes and Haunts: Touring Writers’ Shrines and Countries (Oxford University Press) by Alison Booth. This study explores public interest in writers’ homes.
FLOAT: Becoming Unstuck for Writers (Be Well Here) by AM Carley. This helpful guide consists of exercises and prompts to stimulate the writing mind by a professional writing coach.
Collected Poems: 1974-2004 (W.W. Norton & Company) by Rita Dove. This robust collection spans thirty years of the former poet laureate’s career, ranging from subjects of motherhood, language, and African American identity.
Why Write? A Master Class on the Art of Writing and Why It Matters (Bloomsbury USA) by Mark Edmundson. The author explores the titular question and why writing is a vital form of expression.
The Preschool Parent Primer (IvyArtz) by Pamela Evans. This petite primer is packed with everything preschool teachers wish their students’ parents knew.
Shantytown, USA: Forgotten Landscapes of the Working Poor (Harvard University Press) by Lisa Goff. This scholarly book follows the history of shantytowns.
The Perfect Season: A Memoir of the 1964-1965 Evansville College Purple Aces (University of Indiana Press) by Russell Grieger. This memoir reflects back on that rare experience in athletics: completing the perfect season.
Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination (Harvard University Press) by Jack Hamilton. This scholarly book explores what led to the whitewashing of rock and roll.
For Love of the Land: A History of the Wintergreen Community (The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen) by Mary Buford Hitz. This illustrated coffee table book chronicles the conservation efforts that led to the creation of Wintergreen resort.
First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His—and the Nation’s—Prosperity (Da Capo Press) by Edward G. Lengel. This book explores the economic principles that informed Washington’s approach to government.
Whistle What Can’t be Said: Poems (Unicorn Press) by Charlotte Matthews. These poems reflect on the author’s experiences in childhood, and with cancer and survival.
Night Sky Frequencies and Selected Poems (Sheep Meadow Press) by Debra Nystrom. The common thread that ties these poems together is a narrative that follows the lives of two abandoned children.
Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go (She Writes Press) by Joan Z. Rough. This deeply personal and emotional memoir chronicles the challenges and rewards of caring for an aging parent with whom the author had a difficult relationship.
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race (William Morrow & Company) by Margot Lee Shetterly. This New York Times Bestseller recounts the true story of four African American women mathematicians whose calculations for NASA made space travel possible.
Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, from Scout to Go Set a Watchman (Henry Holt & Co.) by Charles Shields. In this revised biography, the author considers the posthumous publication of Lee’s Go Set a Watchman.
Monticello in Mind: Fifty Contemporary Poems on Jefferson (University of Virginia Press) edited by Lisa Russ Spaar. A collection of various poets explores and interrogates Thomas Jefferson’s complicated legacy.
God of Earth: Discovering a Radically Ecological Christianity (Westminster John Knox Press) by Kristin Swenson. The author, an associate professor of religious studies, explores the sacred in the natural world.
I’m Not from the South, But I Got Down Here as Fast as I Could (Sartoris Literary Group) by Tony Vanderwarker. In this memoir the author recounts his migration to, and immersion in, the south.
Glass Harvest (Autumn House) by Amie Whittemore. This collection of poetry examines love and loss with language that often references nature.

ART BOOKS

Carry Me Ohio (Sturm & Drang) by Matt Eich. This collection of photographs documents the ten years the photographer spent with the people of southeastern Ohio.
The Philosopher’s Style (Grey Book) by Beatrix Ost. This eclectic collection combines fiction, interviews, and visual art from the author’s collection.
Flash: The Photography of Ed Roseberry: Charlottesville, Virginia 1940s-1970s (C’ville Images) by Steve Trumbull. Vintage black and white photographs show Charlottesville in the mid-1900s.

Wegmans Grocery Store Comes to Charlottesville November 2016

We’ve known for awhile that the popular, monolithic mid-Atlantic supermarket Wegmans had found a new home on Fifth Street in Charlottesville, but representatives from the grocery store have confirmed an opening date of Sunday November 6, 2016, just a few months away. The supermarket aims to make sourcing food products from local central Virginia farms a priority, and will likely give the Whole Foods on Hydraulic Road a run for its money.

The construction of Wegmans carries with it implications that reach far beyond its effect on Charlottesville grocery stores. The building (120,000 ft² in all) will include such Wegmans hallmarks as a full beer and wine library, a huge prepared foods section, a full-service family restaurant (known as The Pub at Wegmans), a seafood section with fresh fare delivered daily, and more than 60,000 different products overall. The Wegmans staff estimate that the store will be bringing in over 3,000 organic products, many of them sourced from farms on land around Charlottesville, according to the Daily Progress.

Such a huge structure requires deliberate planning, and the city of Charlottesville has been working hard to accommodate a family-first company that will certainly bring revenue, jobs, and opportunities to people in the city and the areas outside the city. Wegmans will be situated on the intersection of I-64 and Fifth Street at the brand new Fifth Street Station, a shopping center which was essentially constructed to host Wegmans and a few other stores. The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved the development of the property as far back as 2008. River Bend Management is handling the development; local music/real estate mogul Coran Capshaw is involved in the development. Wegmans will be the largest business in the Fifth Street Station, but it will share the property with a Dick’s Sporting Goods, Mattress Warehouse, PetSmart, Virginia ABC, Panera Bread, and a few other businesses.

Also of note is the construction of the new Bent Creek Parkway which will link Fifth Street and Avon Street. During negotiations with the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, the developer proffered that Bent Creek Parkway be completed before certificate of occupancy can be granted. The city of Charlottesville is also providing additional transportation options. Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) is currently in the logistical stages of planning a new bus route that will service the Fifth Street Station. The new route will also provide service down Avon Street to Monticello High School and the Mill Creek neighborhood.

So what does all this mean for you as a current or future Charlottesville resident? For one, it means that there will be a surge of jobs in the Charlottesville area. Indeed, Wegmans alone has announced that there will be 550 employees at the Fifth Street branch, 500 of whom will be selected from a pool consisting solely of Charlottesville applicants. Wegmans has appeared on Forbes’ annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list every year since its inception in 1998, making the top ten eight years in a row. It has a reputation for being a family-friendly company with a genuine interest in improving and advancing the lives of its employees, and its commitment to finding and selling local produce and meats will be right at home with the local farm-to-table mentality.

Nelsonite to Become Virginia State Rock

Many great and beautiful innovations hail from the land of Nelson County…Wintergreen Ski Resort, the inspiration for the TV show The Waltons, the ginger gold apple variety, a sea of craft breweries, wineries, and distilleries, and now…Virginia’s state rock. The Virginia State Senate voted to make Nelsonite the Commonwealth’s state rock. On Friday, April 1 Governor McAuliffe signed off on the decision; the bill becomes law on July 1.

The bill’s passage is the result of a community effort which germinated at Piedmont Virginia Community College. PVCC’s political science and geology departments came together in what was initially supposed to be an exercise, a way to experience firsthand the process of introducing legislation to Virginia’s Congress. But the Nelsonite State Rock Initiative had other plans. The group demonstrated steadfast tenacity, and so what began as an innocuous attempt to illuminate students about the mechanism of legislative government became a community-driven initiative, supported by people from all over land in central Virginia. All due to the hard work of three honors geology students and one political science student (who happens to be a 54-year old woman headed to UVa to complete her bachelor’s degree in the fall!)

Nelsonite (named after Nelson County, Virginia, naturally) is a fairly scarce intrusive igneous rock, consisting of mostly ilmenite, rutile, and apatite. It’s mostly black or dark grey, with white and tan speckles. It was deposited on land in Nelson, Roseland, and Amherst over a billion years ago, and is considered a rare earth element. It also occurs in Washington State, Quebec, China, and Canada. It’s got a rich economic history in the 20th century, having been mined a lot by the banks of the Piney River (on land in Nelson County) and other similar areas. It provided an ample source of titanium for paint pigments and steel alloys, and for the calcium phosphate used in artificial teeth and fertilizer. Many historians credit the rock with boosting Virginia’s economy in the early 20th century. It’s still very economically viable in both China and Canada, where they too refer to it as Nelsonite. The movement to officially recognize Virginia’s love affair with Nelsonite gained a steady stream of momentum after Virginia State Geologist David Spears supported the choice. At the annual 2015 Virginia Field Geologists Conference, it won a unanimous vote to be chosen as the state rock.

The Nelsonite bill’s passage was fairly prompt due to more contentious issues before the Congress, such as the difficulty of Virginia’s State Senate to choose a new VA Supreme Court Justice. If you think there are more important issues in front of Congress than rocks, you’re probably right. But the Nelsonite State Rock Initiative asks a rhetorical question that rings true. “With the severity of the problems in the world and the ever-growing demand to face and resolve these issues, is it a waste of time to be focusing on symbolic elements such as state beverages, state flags, state mottos, or even state rocks? Absolutely not.” No matter how symbolic, actions like these are a reflection of community and a celebration of Virginia’s rich heritage. We here at Gayle Harvey Real Estate have to agree.