Cville Tomorrow News

$22/foot: Hospital campus sold for just $6.5 million

9/30/2010 * The Hook [full story]

The soon-to-vacated North Downtown campus of Martha Jefferson Hospital has been sold to the developer of the Gleason condo complex with a price— $6.5 million— that appears smaller than other downtown deals. But a pair of local investors don’t smell any sweetheart dealing.

“It does sound cheap,” says realtor Roger Voisinet. “But on the other hand, there are some daunting expenses to convert it.”

Voisinet notes that making it an assisted-living facility would probably entail the lowest conversion cost, but he wasn’t sure whether there’s a market for another one of those in town. And Developer Richard Spurzem notes that just holding such a mammoth place can chew up resources.

Going South: But where's the Lawn?

9/30/2010 * The Hook [full story]

If the recently completed South Lawn project were a blockbuster movie, the promo might start like this:

"In a world where UVA launches the most ambitious undertaking on the sacred ground of Jefferson's Academical Village in a century, attempting to reinterpret an enduring classic of American architecture, a band of architectural rebels mount a counter attack to preserve creative freedom in the Village."

Indeed, the South Lawn project has been UVA's big production number. For nearly a decade, its been touted as a radical and much needed extension of Jefferson's Academical Village, and at a cost of $105 million it certainly has a blockbuster budget. But will the South Lawn project achieve success worthy of the considerable build-up?

Dredging advocate tries to walk across reservoir

9/30/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

Dredging advocate Bob Fenwick attempted Wednesday to walk across a body of water without getting wet, to show that the sediment-filled South Fork Rivanna Reservoir has been neglected.

Fenwick failed. He blamed Wednesday morning’s rainfall.

However, sediment had filled the reservoir enough for Fenwick to walk more than halfway across without so much as getting his feet wet, demonstrating Fenwick’s point: Sediment has drastically decreased water storage capacity in the reservoir. He attributes the state of the reservoir to “neglect” from officials who have not dredged.

Martha Jefferson to merge with Sentara

9/30/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

Martha Jefferson Hospital intends to merge with Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare, a historic union for the 107-year-old Charlottesville hospital.

The larger nonprofit health system already has eight hospitals around the state and has worked in some capacity with Martha Jefferson for more than 10 years, hospital officials said Wednesday. Officials said the merger would allow Martha Jefferson to provide better care and acquire the latest technology.

“We believe this will make Martha Jefferson Hospital an even better community hospital,” said Jim Haden, president and CEO of Martha Jefferson. “They become us, we become them.”

Long dry period harms farmers

9/29/2010 * Cavalier Daily [full story]

Although students may have felt they were caught in a deluge in between classes Monday, Charlottesville is approaching drought conditions, and local farmers are feeling the effects.

In a recent press release, the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority announced that the area has received 1 inch of total rainfall since Aug. 1, which falls well short of the 5-6 inches expected. Rivers and streams are running low and have dropped dramatically during the past month.

Environmental Sciences Prof. Robert Davis said Charlottesville had received less than .1 inches of rainfall before Sunday. The next day’s rain, in contrast,

Jefferson Scholars enjoy green new home

9/29/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

Some of the University of Virginia’s brightest thinkers now have a place to congregate that officials say would have made Thomas Jefferson proud.

The Jefferson Scholars Foundation, a privately funded group whose mission is to attract and recruit the brightest undergraduate and graduate students to UVa, has moved into its office space on Clarke Court.

The $22.8 million, 32,000-square-foot Jefferson Fellows Center has numerous environmentally friendly features such as a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, use of local building materials and lots of natural light. Rainwater is collected and reused to heat and cool the building and irrigate the site, and those who drive “environmentally friendly” cars get parking spaces closest to the building.

Census: Incomes in Albemarle drop

9/29/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

The average Albemarle County household had an income reduction of more than $6,100 in 2009, compared with a year prior, according to new national estimates.

Albemarle’s declines are in step with state and national drops caused by the recession.

“There have been bubbles all throughout history, and this one that we just experienced has probably been one of the largest that we’ve ever recorded,” said Michael Harvey, president of the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development. “And so the fall from it is what is hurting so bad.”

Engaging citizens focus of forum

9/29/2010 * Daily Progress [full story]

More civics education, more access to objective local news and more outreach to traditionally uninvolved populations are needed to encourage more informed participation in the democratic process.

That was the message Tuesday at a forum titled “Civility: Engaging Informed Citizens in Democracy,” sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Charlottesville/Albemarle. The forum, held at the Jefferson Madison Regional Library’s central branch, attracted about 50 people.

Everyone agrees that more informed participation is needed, said the panel’s moderator, Bob Gibson, executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

UTS introduces carpool system

9/28/2010 * Cavalier Daily [full story]

NuRide facilitates carpool program for community, offers incentives for using eco-friendly transportation

NuRide, an organization that promotes “green” transportation, is now collaborating with the University to make carpooling easier for students.

In an effort to broaden the environmental benefits of minimizing daily commute, the University has sponsored the NuRide program for 257 participants in the local Charlottesville and Albemarle County area, including Martha Jefferson Hospital and Charlottesville city employees.

Membership eligibility will be regulated by the University and is limited to users with pre-registered e-mail domains, such as virginia.edu, said Rebecca White, director of the University’s Department of Parking and Transportation. The total cost to the University is estimated to be about $16,000, she said.

On Estes Street, size matters

9/28/2010 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

Five years later, Fifeville neighbors laud townhouse project

What happens when an unpopular development meets a slumping housing market? Mix with vigilant neighbors well versed in local government, and you get a happy ending. At least that’s the case of the 850 Estes Street project in Fifeville.

Back at the height of the real estate bubble, developers had a huge incentive to cram as much housing anywhere they could. So in Fifeville, that prime hunk of real estate between UVA and the Downtown Mall, a development group, led by Southland Homes’ Rick and Rich Carter, cobbled together a few adjacent lots on Estes Street, and applied to build a four-story, 27-unit condo project. That was in 2005.

Several neighbors disapproved. The opposition was led by Catarina Krizancic and Jason Pearson, a married couple who live nearby on Nalle Street. It seemed like 850 Estes would be Walker Square Lite, another towering, high-density project walling off the neighborhood and dwarfing the scale of the two-story, single-family homes of Nalle Street.