Willoughby – located in the southern part of the City is the only development that I am immediately aware of that straddles the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle.  This unique aspect necessitates a decidedly more deliberate verification of school districts, as many families are want for their children to be located in either City or County schools….  Individually, each is a fine product, but combined they are far better and more marketable.Architecture – traditional that one would expect of homes built in the mid-1980s and 1990s, all well-kept three- to four- bedrooms with average to large yards.Garages/Basements – about 20% of the homes here have garages, and/or basements.  More have basements than garages.Home prices – generally range from ~$250k-$350k for single-family and $190-$230k for attached homesTopography – gently rolling hills with more trees than one will find in a new development that has been clear-cut and the landscape leveled.Location – for those who are seeking proximity to the Downtown Mall area (~1 mile) or any of the University of Virginia schools – UVA Medical Center, UVA Grounds, etc – (on average ~1-2 miles) this neighborhood offers an exceptional location for those who don’t mind a relatively short bike ride, with very few hills!From a current resident (not Resident as far as I am aware):In the 3-1/2 years we’ve been there, I’ve personally known at least two UVA-affiliated doctors who’ve bought and moved in. We’ve also had our law student move in this past summer.

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One realtor tried to market the area north and south of West Main Street as “midtown,” though it hasn’t really caught on.The city calls the area south of West Main “Fifeville” after the Fife family, who once owned a farm in this area….  According to a UVA oral history of the area, Castle Hill was home to prominent African Americans and whites at the turn of the 20th century, until, in 1912, the city resolved that it should be illegal for whites and blacks to live next to each other and “the whites moved away.”This law was struck down by the Supreme Court a few years later….  Joe Mallory, an African American man who grew up nearby, had been buying and renovating houses near the intersection with the help of the Piedmont Housing Alliance in 2002.Mallory’s efforts, along with a police crackdown on prostitution, the success of the Downtown Mall, the growth of the University, low interest rates, etc. drew investors, speculators, and homebuyers in search of value to Castle Hill….  The neighborhood association has succeeded in stopping (for now) two proposed condo projects, one on Estes Street, near Walker Square and the other at the corner of Ridge and Cherry.Proximity to the Downtown Mall and the UVA Medical Center (for those of us who work there) is the main attraction of Castle Hill.

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