Cville Tomorrow News

House OKs funds for 2 local transportation projects

7/30/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

The House voted Thursday evening in favor of two earmarks introduced by U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, that would send $1 million to two major transportation projects in the Charlottesville area.

The earmarks, which were part of the fiscal 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, would provide funding to improve the U.S. 29/250 Bypass Interchange and to extend the runway at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport.

“These two projects are going to add real value to the Charlottesville-Albemarle community and give the area even more tools to attract new investment and new jobs,” Perriello said in a statement.

The measure must win approval in the Senate before going into effect.

City unemployment back to 20-year high

7/28/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

Charlottesville’s unemployment rate soared in June, tying a 20-year high of 8 percent set in January, fueled by a loss of U.S. Census jobs, scattered small-scale layoffs and college summer breaks.

Virginia Employment Commission statistics released Wednesday show the city’s unemployment rate reached 8 percent in June, a 1.4-percentage point increase over May’s 6.6 percent.

VEC figures dating back to 1990 show that the 8 percent rate is the city’s highest for any given month since at least 1990. The number exceeds June 2009’s 7.6 percent and far exceeds rates reached during recessions in 2001 and 1991.

Changes in zoning regs to shutter amped music in neighborhood

Don't shoo the piano player

7/27/2010 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

City Council’s discussion last Monday made clear that it supports further lowering the late-night music level in Belmont and Fry’s Spring to 55 decibels. But another vote it took that night may prove to have a greater impact on curbing loud noise in those and other areas.

In approving the consent agenda, Council approved changes to zoning regulations that will prohibit any place of business that holds concerts and provides dancing, where admission is charged, from operating in neighborhood commercial areas. According to a staff report, those areas include Downtown North, the Cherry Corridor, High Street and the Neighborhood Commercial Corridors of Belmont and Fry’s Spring. 

Under the new ordinance, piano and non-amplified music will be permitted in a restaurant where the entertainment “is clearly incidental to the restaurant’s primary function.”

Whittington development pipes up

Could 96-unit site use Biscuit Run's sewer?

7/27/2010 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

On the west side of Old Lynchburg Road, directly opposite Biscuit Run, sits Whittington—Biscuit Run’s Rural Area cousin, a 183-acre development approved by Albemarle supervisors in 1977 and slated for 96 units. Since plans for the 3,100-lot Biscuit Run development were flushed in favor of a 1,200-acre state park, Whittington developer Frank Stoner thinks the site could take advantage of Biscuit Run’s nearby sewer lines.

During a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Stoner requested that the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA) expand its jurisdiction to offer sewer services to Whittington, currently approved for water lines but slated for a septic system rather than sewer lines. Supervisors denied the same request in 2006; this time, they unanimously agreed to hear public comment on the proposal in September.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker told Stoner that he “wouldn’t be unsympathetic to looking at this as a Comprehensive Plan change”—moving Whittington into the county’s Development Area. Stoner said he would consider the step. However, Stoner reminded the board that Whittington was approved for one-acre lots more than 30 years prior, and said the request for sewer service wasn’t a growth management decision.

Bel Rio owner accused of fraud in lawsuit

7/25/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

Bel Rio owner Jim Baldi is being accused of fraud and other offenses related to the restaurant’s operations in a lawsuit filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court.

The suit adds to a list of controversies and questions surrounding Baldi and his Belmont restaurant, which has been the center of Charlottesville’s noise debate and shut its doors earlier this month.

In the suit, filed July 7, fellow Bel Rio LLC member Gareth Weldon accuses Baldi of two types of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion, saying, among other things, that Baldi used the business’s funds for personal benefit or for purposes unrelated to the business without authorization.

Albemarle fair ousted from its site

7/22/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

The Albemarle County Fair is being booted from its site after next month’s event, leaving organizers uncertain where to turn and raising doubts about the fair’s future.

Owners of Bundoran Farm, who have long leased the property for the fair, have decided not to renew a contract set to expire this year, officials said Thursday. While this year’s fair will be held as planned, it’s unclear where the fair might be relocated.

“We don’t have any idea,” said Rob Harrison, president of the fair’s Board of Directors.

Hockey hero: Local man saves the Ice Park!

7/22/2010 * The Hook [full story]

Local ice skaters, meet your unlikely hero: 29-year-old businessman Mark Brown. On Friday, July 16, he purchased the struggling Charlottesville Ice Park to end months of fear and speculation that the massive building, widely seen as a Downtown nexus, might— like the controversy-stained shell of a hotel nearby— stand empty for years.

The purchase comes two weeks after skating stopped and at a price of $3 million, more than a million less than the asking price and about a million below the 1996 development price.

“I hadn’t really thought about it when the sale was announced in February,” admits Brown, a Kentucky native and 2002 UVA grad who grew concerned when, weeks after the owners announced the June 30 closure in April, no buyers had come forward. Part of the problem, then Ice Park co-owner Roberta Williamson said, was in the ice rink’s bank statements: she estimated the business she and her ex-husband Bruce Williamson and two other investors purchased for $3.1 million in 2003 had been losing as much as $70,000 per year, a deficit she said they simply could not sustain. (The Williamsons bought out their partners sometime after the sale.)

Major development revised for more commercial focus

7/21/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

Formerly a nine-story, largely residential project, the Waterhouse development slated for downtown Charlottesville is now set to be six stories and primarily devoted to commercial activity.

Developed by architect Bill Atwood, the development at 218 W. Water St. has morphed into a project with nine residential units but more than 50,000 square feet of office and retail space, he said. The amount of housing space is sharply decreased — before, 57 residential units were planned.

“It’s a big change, but I think we’re in new times. These are totally new times,” Atwood said.

Some Mall businesses are irked by panhandling. Is the new Downtown shelter to blame?

Asking for change

7/20/2010 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

It’s not yet 1pm, but Steve is closing in on his $30 panhandling goal. His feet bracket a black duffel bag and a blue Maxwell House coffee container with a few bills inside. He doesn’t ask for money aloud, so a potential donor must get close enough to read his sign:

“Due to the economy, I find myself unemployed and homeless and hungry, and health is bad. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.”

His goal, Steve says, depends on the day. He could aim for $60, and get it, but it might take him until 10pm or later. Once, in a nearly 18-hour stretch, he received $185—some $10s, some $20s. Last fall, he and a friend were seated by The Paramount when a man gave each a $100 bill.

Bel Rio looks for new tenants

Landlord surrenders liquor license, city revisits decibel talks

7/20/2010 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

The Belmont music venue that was at the center of the debate over the city’s noise ordinance may have sounded its last note.

Philip Bogenberger, a spokesman for the Alcoholic Beverages Control (ABC), told C-VILLE that ABC “made numerous attempts to get ahold of the owner, and we sent a letter to him notifying him that the license was voluntarily surrendered.” Jeff Easter, landlord of Bel Rio in Belmont, confirmed that he voluntarily surrendered the establishment’s liquor license. Easter also told C-VILLE that he is looking for possible new tenants.

The action came after “activities” during the Fourth of July weekend “got out of hand,” said Easter. “They just shot fireworks up, and I think some lady was resisting arrest outside of Bel Rio. It was just rowdy behavior,” he says, adding that it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” A call to Bel Rio owner Jim Baldi was not immediately returned, and a sign on the door states that Bel Rio is closed for vacation and a kitchen renovation. However, Easter told C-VILLE he went to the building, and no apparent renovations were taking place.