Real Estate Weekly | 3.20.2024

NORTH WALES

1,471± acre estate with c. 1776 stone manor home, 2-story Georgian Revival-style stone carriage house, stables and shooting preserve. Listed on both National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register. MLS#587418 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 www.NorthWalesVa.com

SWANNONOA COUNTRY CLUB

Stunning golf course atop the Blue Ridge Mtns. in Afton, Va. 20 minutes west of Charlottesville, UVA and at the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley via I-64 or Rt 250. Explore the many alternative uses for the 236 acres with sweeping views in all directions. MLS#649416 $3,500,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

TILMAN ROAD

Arguably the best Blue Ridge Mountain views in Ivy. On 6 landscaped acres with a custom 4-bedroom house including 2 master suites, living room, dining room, study, sunroom/eat-in kitchen and large basement with recreation room. Western school district. $1,450,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

EAST WATER STREET

Rare opportunity for a unique downtown office/retail condo with deeded onsite parking space! Located in the Holsinger Condo on Water Street, one block removed from the Historic Downtown Mall. Easily accessible to UVA and all Charlottesville has to offer. $495,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

EDGEMONT

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 15 miles south of Charlottesville, is this rare 572-acre historic estate whose design is reputed to be the only remaining private residence attributed to Thomas Jefferson. MLS#576150 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700 www.HistoricEdgemont.com

MEADOW FARM

436+ acre parcel of land in Southern Albemarle! 4 division rights; complete privacy; lush, gently rolling terrain; long road frontage; stream; 3-acre lake; 125-135 acres of open land; mature hardwood forests. Under conservation easement. Charlotte Dammann, 433.981.1250

NEWLISTING

THE BARRINGER

Immaculate two-story penthouse offering private luxury living in the heart of UVA. Unparalleled views from the light filled spacious great room, kitchen, balcony, two ensuite bedrooms, laundry and half bath. Assigned parking. MLS#650507 $719,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

FRAYS GRANT

This 21 acre lot is situated at the end of a culde-sac that provides privacy and a quite setting among towering hardwoods, and is convenient to CHO airport and ample shopping of various kinds. MLS#640231 $269,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

HIGHER GROUND

27 acre estate, mountaintop retreat with 11,400 sf., 8-BR, 6.5-BA residence with many outside terraces, decks and unsurpassed panoramic mountain views! 10 miles to famed Omni Homestead Resort, 2 miles to the airport. www.highergroundva.org Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

MILL HOUSE

Former house of noted local architect Floyd E. Johnson, on the banks of Totier Creek. Thoughtfully renovated and expanded, 5-BR, 3 full and 2 half BA. Guest house, 2-bay garage, pool, equipment shed plus 130 acres of open & wooded land. MLS#639196

$2,475,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700

FREE UNION PARCEL

42 acre tract on Wesley Chapel Road with the right to be divided into two 21 acre parcels. Big views with clearing towards the Blue Ridge. Stream frontage on Burruss Branch. Old logging road recently cleared for easy access. MLS#647055 $799,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

SIMMONS GAP ROAD

5-acre lot with mature hardwoods. Great opportunity to build with no HOA. Private building site amongst beautiful woods. Located between Free Union and Earlysville but so convenient to Charlottesville & UVA. MLS#621177 $119,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

Annie Gould Gallery

109 S. Main Street, Gordonsville, VA • (540) 832-6352

A month in

What’s happened so far with Charlottesville’s new zoning rules?

By Sean Tubbs

Charlottesville’s new Development Code has been in effect for a month, and most of the players involved say not enough time has passed to determine any effects so far.

“It’s early in the experience for staff and developers and they are still learning the day-to-day implications of the new code,” says James Freas, the city’s director of Neighborhood Development Services.

Ashley Davies, the chair of the Charlottesville Area Development Roundtable, also says it is too soon to make any conclusions.

The city’s new development portal allows anyone to track what is happening. As of Friday, March 15, there have been no new applications for critical slope waivers, Comprehensive Plan amendments, rezonings, or special uses. There have also been no submissions of the new major “development plan” that is the first review step for staff in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. Two minor developments have been filed with one at 816 Hinton Ave. and one at 133 Stribling Ave.

“It is very interesting to me that we had a rush of over 1,000 housing units trying to get special use permits under the old zoning at the last minute, and no rush of new applications,” says Ben Heller, a vocal critic of the new zoning, referring to student housing projects like Verve Charlottesville and 2117 Ivy Rd. Those projects were approved under the old zoning, which did not have a requirement that one in every 10 units be designated as affordable.

The Piedmont Housing Alliance has filed for a final site plan for the third phase of the redevelopment of Friendship Court into Kindlewood. That will see 13 existing

buildings demolished to make way for at least 88 units across four new buildings.

That site plan has a fee of $3,560, and triggered what may be the city’s first tree removal permit with a request to take down 26 trees. That permit will cost $1,300 to process. There’s also a “public infrastructure plan,” but the development portal doesn’t have any details.

In February, the Board of Architectural Review reviewed its first project under the new zoning for a new apartment complex proposed for 1609 Gordon Ave. The 0.172 acre property is now zoned Residential Mixed Use 5, but within a design control district. Because the cost of construction would be above $350,000, both the old rules and the new rules require a preliminary discussion with the BAR. The developer had submitted a plan that assumed the project was RX-3, which allows less buildable space.

Freas said NDS staff are talking with developers and answering questions about projects that will soon be submitted.

“There are a number of projects being prepared for submission, and we are talking through the questions associated with these projects,” Freas says. “The code is a new approach, and it requires more thought on design to figure out what one can do with a piece of property.”

Meanwhile, the city has responded to a lawsuit by several property owners seeking voidance of the new zoning code based on a claim that it was adopted without sufficient scrutiny from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

“In the city’s view, plaintiff’s efforts to secure a judicial veto of the Zoning Ordinance, which was the product of a very thoughtful legislative process, are not well-taken,” says City Attorney Jacob Stroman.

The Piedmont Housing Alliance has filed for a final site plan for the third phase of the redevelopment of Friendship Court into Kindlewood.

FILE

A unique art gallery located in the heart of historic Gordonsville.

anniegouldgallery