Browsing Category Albemarle

Meadowcreek Parkway Takes another Step to Completion

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that Judge Moon has dismissed the most recent lawsuit seeking to prevent the Meadow Creek Parkway’s completion.

Judge Norman K. Moon of the U.S. Western District Court has dismissed a lawsuit from the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park that claimed the Federal Highway Administration unlawfully split three components of the roadway in order to evade environmental scrutiny.

Anyone up for a bet as to when the Meadowcreek Parkway will be completed? I’m thinking 2015.

I’d love to know when the Meadowcreek Parkway was first proposed; that’d be an interesting addition to CvillePedia. For newcomers, it’s been discussed since well before 2005 when I first started this blog. I believe it’s been in the works for at least 40 years, but I can’t find that cited anywhere.

I do know this – whether it’s one word (Meadowcreek) or two words (Meadow Creek) – in true CharlAlbemarle fashion, we’re going to have another road that goes from Point A to Point B that has (at least) two names: the County section is now the “John Warner Parkway” and the City’s section will likely be something else.*

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Six Questions about Albemarle County’s Neighborhood Model

You can have the most walkable neighborhood in the world, but if the only places you can walk to are your neighbors’, the neighborhood is not truly walkable; this seems to be something lost on Albemarle County, whether intentionally or circumstantially.

Now the County seems to be grasping this disconnect –

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that the County is debating the Neighborhood Model.

Having islands (neighborhoods) unto themselves does not provide what homebuyers – or home owners – are looking for if they are seeking to live in a walkable community. I could rattle off the number of subdivisions in Albemarle County that are very walkable – but to do anything other than walk to friends’ houses (even that’s not allowed due to today’s fear-centric society!)

The number of neighborhoods in Albemarle County from which residents can get to stuff – stores, coffee shops, schools, work – without having to resort to a car is much smaller. Further, the number of neighborhoods built since 2001 that meet even two thirds of the 12 tenets can likely be counted on one hand.

Six questions:

1 – What does one say to those who buy in a neighborhood who don’t know that interconnectivity is pine of the 12 tenets of the Neighborhood Model? (hint: this is part of the buyer agent’s role – to help educate as best possible that if they don’t own it it’s going to change)

2 – Should developers be required to put in infrastructure from the beginning?

3 – Who should pay for the infrastructure – developers, homebuyers (see previous choice), all property owners (via property taxes)?

4 – How are walkability and access defined?

5 – Has the Neighborhood Model been successfully implemented?

6 – Which are the most “successful” neighborhoods? How is “success defined”?

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April 2012 Charlottesville Real Estate Market Report

Highlights:

– Days on Market (an inherently flawed data point) are down in Charlottesville, Albemarle and Fluvanna.

– Average Sales prices are down (not surprising)

– Total sales across the MSA are down (not surprising)

Thoughts/initial conclusions:

– More buyers are looking to be closer in/closer to stuff

– Good properties are selling and selling quickly

– Interest rates remain low – a good thing for buyers.

– I think we may have pulled the spring market forward a bit; the early spring may have pulled transactions into the earlier months of the year.

Dead simple Takeaways:

– Buyers: do your due diligence, don’t let emotion enter the equation and make sound, rationale decisions with the intent of holding the property for at least five to seven years

– Sellers: do your due diligence and realize that buyers most often don’t have to buy, but want to buy – it’s your job to make them want to buy your house. This means: price, presentation, perfection … and a great location and setting.

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Commuting and Traffic in Charlottesville

I noted five years ago that Charlottesville’s traffic’s perspective wasn’t that bad, when put into the appropriate perspective.

In the years since I wrote that article, traffic hasn’t gotten any more tolerable and the City and County continue to demonstrate an astonishing capability to do nothing – expensively. (see: Places 29)

That said:

One of the most important things to note to those moving to Charlottesville is that the region is becoming more and more segmented – if you live in the 29 North area, there’s usually little reason to leave 29 North except for work – same with Crozet, Pantops, City of Charlottesville, etc. Urban Cores matter.

But – if you live and work in the City of Charlottesville or the urban ring (or really, any part of) Albemarle County, your commute is likely to be not beyond 25 or 30 minutes. The following infographic* shows some useful data points about the value of a short commute.

For now, I’d like to think that the Charlottesville area offers a reasonably high quality of life, and the commuting isn’t that bad.

Five years from now – we’ll see.

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How is “Local” (Food, Farm, Business) Defined?

In case you missed the conversation (150+ comments) last week at cvillenews about the Charlottesville City Market’s first vendor who happens to be a franchise, it’s worth a read. The main question I see is – what does “local” mean to you? ( outside of the context of a City farmers’ market)

Charlottesville has seemingly been a leader in the locavore movement (see: Forbes and Tom Tom’s Locavore Expo for starters) and it’s been interesting and fun to watch and participate in the “I really want to know where my food is coming from and from whom” evolution. See: Buy Fresh Buy Local.

Does local mean: only local money and people? What if you grow and franchise? Are you now less local?

To what other industries does the demand for “local” extend?

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