Tag: Barracks Road

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News

Field School endowed with $1.5 million matching grant

An anonymous benefactor endowed Field School with a $1.5 million matching grant, making the boys’ school one step closer to obtaining its Barracks Road campus goal. Supplied photo.

Field School of Charlottesville, a private, all-boys middle school currently located in Crozet, announced that its goal of a new Barracks Road campus is one step closer to reality thanks to a matching grant of $1.5 million from an anonymous benefactor.

The school described the grant as “transformative” in a September 24 press release. “[It] underscores a shared commitment to promoting excellence in education and nurturing the development of well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment.”

Field School of Charlottesville was founded by Dr. Todd Barnett in 2007, at the suggestion of parents whose children attended his popular Charlottesville-area summer camp for middle-school boys. With the help of area educators, the camp’s programming was expanded into an all-boys middle school, with 27 students the first year, when classes were held in the activities building at Claudius Crozet Park. Two years later, Field School moved to its current location in the historic Old Crozet School. 

Vito “Bo” Perriello, head of school since 2023, says the school’s focus is on making the most of the vital years between elementary and high school for its students.  

“The school’s vision has centered around a mission to ‘develop well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment’ in a model structured on rigorous traditional academics mixed with outdoor education,” he says. “Current enrollment is 88 students. The new campus project would allow us to expand our enrollment by at least 20 percent.”

Perriello says that while the current campus has its advantages, such as “historic charm” and access to playing fields, the school is renting the facilities from Albemarle County and sharing the space with Crozet Arts. 

“It is for these reasons, as well as access to a larger outdoor space, and to a larger catchment of Charlottesville-area citizens, that the school is now working to move to their purpose-built Aerie Campus off of Barracks Road,” Perriello says. “The campus will include both indoor and outdoor learning spaces, playing fields, a state-of-the-art mountain biking course, hiking trails, a ropes course and paddling/water sports.” 

A matching grant is one that doubles either currently raised funds or funds that will be raised by the recipient in the future. Perriello says the school’s fundraising is ongoing.

“We have seen a strong outpouring of support from current families, alumni families, and the larger Charlottesville community that supports the social, emotional, and academic growth of our local boys,” he says. “Thanks to this generous grant, any gifts received up to $1.5 million dollars will have double the impact on our project and overall community.”

The donor, whose identity has not been released by the school, shared a statement in the September 24 press release.

“We are excited to partner with the Field School on this relocation project, which we believe will provide greater access to an outstanding all-boys middle school educational experience in Charlottesville,” the statement read.

When asked why the donor did not want to be identified publicly, Perriello says they wanted the focus to remain on the school.

“I cannot speak for the donor,” he says, “but [I] feel they recognized both the need for an all-boys middle school in Charlottesville and the desire to help deliver more positive outcomes for local area boys at a time young boys are struggling. In remaining anonymous they feel the focus remains on the school, the project, and the mission of developing well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment.”

According to its website, Field School has planned for a campus of its own from the beginning. In fact, the new site was actually purchased five years ago, with plans to move estimated at two or three years from now. 

“The 25-acre property includes a five-acre pond that will afford both recreational and educational opportunities for the boys,” Perriello says. “The property was originally slated to be part of the bypass project, and we were incredibly fortunate to purchase the land when those plans fell through.”

The groundbreaking ceremony is slated for summer of 2025, according to Perriello.  

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News

Retail casualties: Plow & Hearth closes Barracks Road store; will others be next?

Rents are rising at Barracks Road Shopping Center.

Barracks Road Shopping Center’s go-to location for bird feeders, peacock wind spinners, and outdoor furniture is nearly empty now. Plow & Hearth will end its 30-year-plus run at Barracks Road March 1, and increased rent was a factor in the decision to shutter the store.

“Our lease was coming to term and it had some economics that didn’t work for us,” says Paul Abugattas, Plow & Hearth director of retail operations. “Our online business is healthy while retail continues to decline.” The company has closed five of its 23 stores in the past year, and plans to invest more in its Madison properties, including a flagship store there, he says.

Ten or so employees at the Barracks Road location will soon be out of jobs. 

The area’s oldest shopping center once boasted a zero percent vacancy rate, but about 6 percent of Barracks Road’s square footage currently is unoccupied, according to its website. That includes the still-empty, 16,000-square-foot former CVS store and Brixx Pizza. 

The Brixx space is available for an eye-popping $25,000 a month, according to Jerry Miller, CEO of VMV Brands and I Love CVille Real Estate. “Two different restaurateurs told me that,” he says. Asked to confirm, Federal Realty, which owns the shopping center, says it does “not share details pertaining to leases.”

“Because the rents are getting to be so high,” says Miller, “the local mom-and-pop and brick-and-mortar stores are priced out.” Those establishments, he says, will filter to midtown (West Main) and downtown, where former Barracks Road tenants Shenanigans and Lynne Goldman Elements, respectively, have migrated. He predicts Barracks Road will become a “bastion of national brands that have very little ties to this community.”

Many retailers across the country are struggling and closing stores, despite the strong economy. The New York Times reports 9,000 shuttered in 2019, with another 1,200 closings announced so far this year. Fashion Square Mall has seen a steady stream of vacancies, losing anchor Sears and most recently Gap.

At Barracks Road, “Our business is down from a year ago,” says HotCakes co-owner Keith Rosenfeld. The gourmet café and bakery has been in the shopping center since 1992, and he doesn’t remember seeing so many open spaces. 

He says Barracks Road is “still the best, most established shopping center in town,” with Stonefield in that same high-end niche. But if local specialty shops can’t afford to be there, “you get more schlock, more national chains.” 

And restaurant chains make it tougher for establishments like HotCakes, which makes everything in-house and employs around 50 people earning double-digit hourly wages.

With the rise of e-commerce, the trend in the shopping center industry is more “lifestyle experiences,” says Rosenfeld, because “visitation and spending in malls is going down.” Some, like Stonefield, have a movie theater to draw people, and there are more restaurants.

“Unless the industry can figure out how to get people to eat two to three lunches, it’s very hard to grow sales,” says Rosenfeld.

Many locals have wondered about the viability of Stonefield, which is losing Pier 1, and saw the closure of Travinia and Rocksalt last year.

But others say business is just fine. “Stonefield has worked out great for us,” says third-generation retailer Mark Mincer, who opened a Mincer’s there in 2013. “We’re reaching a lot of area people who don’t necessarily come to the Corner.” And his business has gotten better since L.L. Bean opened next door, he says. 

Mincer notes that his rent goes up 3 percent every year at both the Corner and Stonefield. “I don’t love it,” he says. “If we want to go to Ruckersville, we could find something cheaper.”

The Times attributes the decline of retail not so much to e-commerce, but to factors like big box stores and income inequality, which mean retailers catering to high- and low-income customers are seeing growth, but those targeting the middle class, which has seen an unrelenting decline in income, are suffering.

HotCakes’ Rosenfeld agrees, noting Charlottesville’s “extremely high rents and cost of living.” Would-be shoppers paying $1,200 a month in rent for an apartment don’t have as much disposable income, he says. He also thinks the number of centers that have opened in the past few years have impacted existing stores.

The upcoming opening of Chick-fil-A in Barracks Road Shopping Center is expected to generate traffic to the mall—although that isn’t likely to help establishments like HotCakes. 

Federal’s VP of asset management, Deirdre Johnson, says the center has recently added Zoom and Club Pilates “in response to the demand for boutique fitness.” Spring Street Boutique and a Mahana Fresh franchise will be opening soon. 

“Most of the new stores are locally owned, providing Barracks Road a healthy mix of local, regional, and national merchants to best serve our community,” she says.

Spring Street owner Cynthia Schroeder is bucking the trend of  area retailers exiting Barracks Road. “I think it’s the first place people think of to go shopping,” she says. “It’s one of the best malls in the country. It’s where people go to go clothes shopping.”

She declines to say what her rent is, but acknowledges: “It’s not inexpensive.”

Schroeder will close her Downtown Mall store and expects to open the new one in the spring. She isn’t worried about the empty storefronts at Barracks Road. “I think they’re going to fill those.”

 

Categories
C-BIZ

Stayin’ alive: Scarpa models small business ‘thrive-ival’

In retail, 25 years is more than a lifetime–and Amy Gardner, owner and founder of Scarpa, knows this as well as anyone. The women’s shoe shop she opened in North Barracks Road in 1994 has evolved into one of the area’s premier women’s apparel stores.

Gardner’s adventure in retail was spurred by her passion for shoes (“I spent my first babysitting dollars on a pair of gray Esprit driving loafers”), and–oddly enough–the problem-solving skills she honed as an architecture major at UVA in the early ‘90s. “Architecture is basically three-dimensional problem-solving,” she says. “You have to learn to collaborate, to present your thinking, to keep the end-user in mind–a lot like business thinking.”

Gardner saw a problem–Charlottesville had no shop dedicated to fine women’s shoes–and the solution was clear: open her own. “I thought, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ I could fail at age 24–but wasn’t that better than getting to my 40s knowing that I had never tried?” She added accessories in 1997, and clothing in 2004. Then the 2009 recession almost forced Scarpa under. “I had been doing a fine job at watching the top line, but not so well at keeping an eye on the basics–profit margin, expenses,” Gardner says. “I learned a lot about being a better business person.” In 2012, as the market was recovering, she hired a consultant who became a mentor and “reignited that spark I needed to keep going.”

Customer service and loyalty are the heart of Gardner’s business approach. Scarpa’s offerings reflect both the expertise of Gardner and her staff, and their intimate knowledge of their clientele. And this isn’t third-hand market research–it’s personal. Gardner has customers who have been shopping at Scarpa since it opened.

Scarpa’s customers are still largely local, but now include out-of-towners as well. As Charlottesville has become a destination, shoppers often make the store their first stop on a weekend visit. And UVA has brought students’ parents and a large and loyal alumni community who return for reunions and events–and revisit their favorite shoe store.

What spurs this kind of loyalty? Beautifully crafted shoes, jewelry, apparel, and accessories–but above all, Gardner’s commitment to customer service. Need a pair of shoes adjusted? They’ll send them out to their expert cobbler. Need accessories to update your favorite outfit? Bring it in, and they’ll help you figure out a new look. Need a dress for a special event, but can’t get in during business hours? They’ll open early or stay late.

These days, Gardner’s role is managing the business overall, and ensuring that her customers always know Scarpa is their store. “I’m self-made,” she says, “but no one is truly self-made.”

Small biz staying power

What has Amy Gardner learned about small business longevity? Here, she offers her top tips:

1. Figure out what you don’t know, and learn it. Ask for feedback and advice from everyone whose opinion you value, she says–whether for their expertise in business, finance, products, people management, or life balance.

2. Show the customer you are investing in your business. Gardner got this advice early on from Donna Doll, whose restaurant Brasa was part of Charlottesville’s dining boom in the 1990s. Fresh decor and comfortable spaces tells customers you are willing to spend money on their experience. For Gardner, this is one aspect of “playing the long game”–thinking beyond this month’s inventory or this year’s profit.

3. Keep personal relationships in the forefront. Every type of business is about people, Gardner believes: “The trick in business is to read your customer.” Likewise, when hiring staff, she looks for empathy as well as expertise. Asked to name one of her biggest accomplishments, she cites developing and inspiring her employees.

Categories
Arts

Chicho Lorenzo paints through barriers at local exit

Charlottesville Mural Project artist Chicho Lorenzo’s recently completed work is located at Barracks Road near the 250 bypass. Photo by Eze Amos

When painter and muralist Chicho Lorenzo saw the 7′ tall retaining wall along Barracks Road near the 250 bypass, he knew exactly what he wanted to paint.

“Maybe two years ago, I was commissioned to paint a mural for a military school,” Lorenzo says. “I had an idea for an image of two teachers standing like columns, supporting the base of education. I didn’t paint it then, but when I saw this wall I thought, what if I extended it from teachers to nurses to dreamers to many other people in the community?”

In early 2017, The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative partnered with Albemarle County, the Virginia Department of Transportation, UVA Arts and local residents to beautify the concrete corridor that connects busy Barracks Road with scenic Garth Road. Local and regional artists submitted proposals to the initiative, which was spearheaded by The Charlottesville Mural Project, a Bridge PAI program designed to showcase artistic talent while creating a more interesting visual landscape in Charlottesville.

In the process, members of nearby communities discussed what they hoped to see in the mural, including organic colors, a sense of whimsy and playfulness, and a theme that communicated the history, geographic beauty and diverse people of the area.

Small wonder that Lorenzo was chosen. Since moving to Charlottesville in 2008, the self-taught artist has become known for painting dreamy, colorful murals that reflect the vibrancy of his native Madrid and typically reference real people from the local community.

Local musicians are some of his favorite subjects. “If I sit in front of a musician playing, I can perfectly draw it—not just their faces and instruments, but the way they play,” says Lorenzo. “I can draw their music with symbols and other graphic resources. It’s very instantaneous inspiration.”

Manifesting the unseen is part of the pleasure of creation for Lorenzo, who views art as “opening the window for a real life” that just happens to not exist yet.

He points to the mural he painted on the back wall of Mas Tapas in Belmont. “It’s a floating banquet with real people: people from the restaurant, people from the yoga place upstairs, many neighbors from that area,” Lorenzo says. “There was one neighbor who told me that his mom always wanted him to have a farm. So on one of the mountains, far away, there’s a little farmhouse with this guy in the door.”

Just like that, the man’s mother was right. Suddenly, he had a farm.

“In my experience, art opens possibilities in life,” Lorenzo says. “We are so used to seeing life a certain way. We see our routines, our day-by-day. Now with the Internet, we can see more, but it’s still limited. But then you learn how to do art, and you realize life is limitless.”

That’s the power of mutual inspiration, he says. Whether he works on painting a portrait or creating a massive mural, he continually draws from the town that inspires him—and hopes to return the favor.

“Mostly, I hope my art inspires a kind of happiness,” he says. “I have this trust that my art somehow makes the world or at least the local community, a little better.”