Cville Tomorrow News

The Dewberry: Landmark hotel sold for $6.25M at auction

6/21/12 * The Hook [full story]

Waynesboro-born John Dewberry, a starting quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the mid-1980s, and now a well-known Atlanta-based real estate developer, submitted the winning bid of $6.25 million for the shell of the Landmark Hotel in Federal bankruptcy court today.

The tan and handsomely dressed Dewberry met with reporters after the auction, which included bids from development corporation J.B. McKibbon. TRT Holdings, Inc., which owns both the Omni Hotel and Gold's Gym chains, bowed out at $3.5 million. Dewberry purchased the property through his Deerfield Square Associates II LLC.

Landmark sold at auction; new owner hints at 'European subtlety' in its future design

6/19/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

It could be considered a Hail Mary play, but successful Atlanta developer John Dewberry believes his company can make big gains in the Charlottesville hotel industry with Monday’s purchase of the skeletal Landmark Hotel at a bankruptcy court auction.

Dewberry, a standout quarterback at Georgia Tech from 1983 to 1985 and a former player in the Canadian Football League, bought the unfinished structure for $6.25 million, bidding against J.B. McKibbon, of J.B. McKibbon, Ltd., which is associated with a hotel management group in Tampa, Fla.

Dewberry represented his own Georgia-based Deerfield Square Associates II, LLC, in the bidding.

After delays, Scottsville streetscape project set for second phase

6/17/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

A long-running project to beautify downtown Scottsville is entering its second and last stage, town officials said last week.

The second phase is expected to cost about $700,000, after it came in about $50,000 over estimates in May, Mayor Jesse B. Grove III said. Grove said funds from the town’s treasury will be used to fill any funding gaps the project comes across. That’s a prospect Grove isn’t looking forward to.

“The town itself has very little revenue and we never have an excess of operating expenses, so anything over is a burden on the town,” he said.

Three bidders for Landmark Hotel emerge

8/15/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

Three bidders have qualified for the Landmark Hotel property’s auction, which is scheduled to be held Monday morning in U.S. District Court.

Richard Maxwell, the attorney for current property owner and CNET co-founder Halsey Minor, filed a document Thursday listing Atlanta-based Deerfield Square Associates II, LLC; J.B. McKibbon, Ltd., which is associated with a hotel management group in Tampa, Fla.; and TRT Holdings, Inc., a private holding company based in Irving, Texas, that owns the Omni Hotels chain and Gold's Gym International, as qualifying bidders for the upcoming auction.

Claudius Place: Crozet skybar nears ground breaking

6/14/12 * The Hook [full story]

While plans for a downtown mall in Crozet may have stalled due to the foreclosure on the J. Bruce Barnes Lumber site, another urban infill project moves closer to construction: Claudius Place, which features the current rage in watering holes, a skybar.

Katurah Roell, president of Piedmont Development Group, which is building the nearly 11,000-square-foot building across the street from the upcoming Crozet Library, declines to identify the restaurateur who will be running the new eatery and bar. And a rumored operator refused to confirm his involvement when contacted by the Hook.

Paydirt indeed: Panorama wins permission for bigger weddings

6/14/12 * The Hook [full story]

Couples searching for that perfect wedding spot can add one more full-size contender to their short lists, as Panorama Farms in Earlysville recently won approval for a permit to hold special events for up to 200 people on the 850-acre farm that is best known for hosting off-road cycling and running events. Central Virginia’s status as a national (and arguably international) wedding destination has sparked a lucrative market, and the Murrays of Panorama Farms can get a bigger slice of that cake thanks to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors’ June 6 go-ahead.

“Ninety percent of the business will be focused on weddings,” said Margaret Murray as she answered Supes’ questions about why Panorama needs this permit, points of access to the area, and of course, what the neighbors think about Panorama’s plans to regularly host weddings and receptions.

Questioning authority: RWSA chloramine plan stirs water fears

6/14/12 * The Hook [full story]

Perhaps if the agenda had said, "Addition of strychnine to water supply," the matter might have gotten a lot more attention than it did a year ago when the water authority okayed the addition of a chemical that once sent lead levels skyrocketing in Washington, D.C.

"Chloramine" may sound like a mouthwash or a tasty new chewing gum, but even some of those who approved adding it to the water were unaware of the damage it had wreaked in other communities.

"It was brought to us as EPA requirements for upgrades," says Albemarle Supervisor Ken Boyd, who sits on the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. He was told most of the country uses chloramines as a water disinfectant– and it was the cheapest alternative. "I had no idea there was all this controversy."

City Human Rights Task Force hears complaints

6/14/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

The city of Charlottesville’s Human Rights Task Force has gotten more than 50 discrimination allegations since early March, and it got a few more Wednesday night at its first public forum.

William Woodson, 50, kicked things off by saying he has been without income since 2010 after he lost his job at a local copy and print center.

Woodson told the task force members assembled in the Buford Middle School cafeteria that he had a “rapport” with his customers, and would sometimes keep the store open after hours to help people send faxes and make copies. After eight years on the job, he said, he was fired by a new manager.

Shadwell bridge set to reopen Friday

6/14/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that the Route 250 bridge over the Buckingham Branch Railroad in Shadwell will reopen Friday, three weeks ahead of schedule.

The road has been blocked since May 1 to allow crews to replace the superstructure of the bridge just past the intersection of Route 22 towards Gordonsville. The contract for the project was worth just under $1.8 million.

VDOT spokesman Lou Hatter attributed the abbreviated build time to careful planning and working ahead on the part of Fairfield-Echols, LLC, a Fishersville-based construction company.

Looking at council's use of time

6/13/12 * The Daily Progress Editorial [full story]

The topic of Charlottesville City Council’s resolutions continues to resonate.

The issue has been a handful of recent resolutions that have nothing to do with city law or policy. They are:

» A call for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to limit corporate influence in politics, a reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Citizens United controversy.

» A recommendation to Richmond and Washington to revise their thinking on marijuana legalization and enforcement.

» A statement of opposition to war with Iran.

Council passed all these resolutions.

Kathy Galvin has emerged as council’s dissenter on such resolutions.

Report: Kroger area's top grocer, but local market set for major changes

6/13/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

For the second consecutive year, Kroger has maintained a commanding lead as the Charlottesville region’s top grocery retailer by sales, according to an industry trade publication.

Ohio-based Kroger, which has three stores in the area, had $101.2 million in sales and about 27 percent of the area’s market share, according to Food World’s 2012 market study published this week. Columbia, Md.-based Food World follows the grocery industry in the Mid-Atlantic. The study covered the last 12 months ending March 31.

Rounding out the area’s top five local grocery retailers this year are North Carolina-based Harris Teeter, with $55.2 million in sales and nearly 15 percent of the market; Maryland-based Giant-Landover with $49.22 million in sales and 13 percent of the market; North Carolina-based Food Lion with $42 million in sales and 11.2 percent market share. Sam’s Club, the Arkansas-based, Walmart-owned warehouse chain, had $26.3 million in sales and 7 percent market share.

Safety improvements to I-64 west topic of forum

6/13/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

WAYNESBORO — A mockup video showing a trip down Interstate 64 east from Afton Mountain toward Crozet displayed enhancements that could make the tricky stretch of road safer.

The video was one exhibit shown Tuesday at Waynesboro City Hall as residents received information from the Virginia Department of Transportation about potential safety upgrades to I-64 east and west between mile markers 96 and 107.

The film showed variable speed signs with 45 mph limits and flashing lights warning motorists to slow down.

Cameras stationed at strategic locations along the 11-mile stretch would allow VDOT to keep a close eye on the conditions.

As local land holdings grow, Jim Justice shares plan for string of retreats

6/12/12 * Cville Weekly [full story]

Jim Justice II doesn’t call central Virginia home, but his footprint in the region is big—and growing.

Justice, the CEO of coal outfit James C. Justice Companies who added Wintergreen Resort to his holdings last month, owns thousands of acres of land in the region, including a 4,500-acre tract in Albemarle County. In a phone conversation last week from his home in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he said he’s working on a vision for a trail of linked tourist destinations stretching from the Tidewater to the Blue Ridge.

“I feel a sentimental attachment to the land and to our heritage, especially in the Virginias,” he said.

HUD funding holdup continues to keep nine out of Crossings

6/12/12 * Cville Weekly [full story]

On April 10, a dedication ceremony was held for The Crossings, a single-room occupancy, permanent housing facility located at the corner of Fourth Street and Preston Avenue. It was a joyous celebration of the opening of a building comprised of 60 efficiencies, half of which are available to low-income residents for a rent of $525 a month. The others are reserved for the chronically homeless, and funded by housing vouchers that allow the new tenants to pay a fraction of the overall $648 a month.

After years of bad luck, these homeless residents are being offered a fresh start, but for nine of the intended 30, the dedication was bittersweet. Because of a regulatory snafu between the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Albemarle County, they could not move in. Two months later, the “Albemarle 9”—as they are being called—are still waiting. “It’s messed up,” said Deborah Kolpack, one of the homeless represented by the county. She has been out on the streets since the end of March when PACEM’s winter shelter closed.

In change, councilors could get same benefits as city workers

6/12/12 * The Daily Progress [full story]

Charlottesville city councilors could soon get the same health benefits offered to city employees who work 40 hours per week.

Last week, councilors gave initial approval to an ordinance that would give them access to taxpayer-funded medical and dental plans while in office.

The move could cost up to $32,000 per year if all five councilors choose to receive coverage.

Starting July 1, the city’s monthly health contributions for each full-time worker will be $506.43 for medical and $31.85 for dental, which adds up to nearly $6,500 per year.