Entrepreneur Oliver Kuttner says he has the infrastructure to quarantine COVID-19 infected people in an RV village, but needs help to make that happen. Photo: Elli Williams
Entrepreneur and inventor Oliver Kuttner has been known to step up in a crisis. In 2005, he loaded the Starlight Express, a Charlottesville-New York luxury bus service he co-founded, and headed south with supplies to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.
Now Kuttner has a plan to house those who are infected with COVID-19 and need a place to quarantine: a 157-acre industrial site he owns near Lynchburg and the James River. Initially he wanted to build small bungalows, but then he decided RVs with their own ventilation systems could house 7,000 people more safely than hotels or dormitories.
“I have the infrastructure ready,” he says. “I’m halfway there.” But it’s the second half of his $80-million vision that’s more challenging.
“It’s bigger than what I can do,” Kuttner says. “I’m not a health care provider.”
He wants a larger organization like FEMA, the Red Cross, or state government to partner with him for what he says is a very cost-effective way to isolate infected people. “I need someone to put their arms around me,” he says. “I have a plan to flatten the curve in central Virginia.”
And Kuttner, who lives part time in Germany, believes the U.S. is where Germany was seven weeks ago. He’s convinced that if he can’t get the RV park off the ground by April 10, it will be too late to make it happen before health care capacity in the Thomas Jefferson Health District is overwhelmed.
One person interested in a similar plan and who has met with Kuttner is Lockn organizer Dave Frey, who envisions putting campers at NASCAR racetracks. “I know where to get RVs,” says Frey.
“David has experience setting up a facility for thousands of people,” says Kuttner.
But so far, Kuttner says he’s gotten no response from FEMA or elected officials. FEMA referred C-VILLE to its how to help webpage, but did not answer whether the agency would get involved in a project like Kuttner’s.
And as the pandemic continues its exponential growth, Kuttner says, “I would not be surprised if [this plan] never flies.”
The RV retreat isn’t Kuttner’s only COVID-19 effort. On Friday, he said he’d just procured 49 ventilators from his connections in China and plans to offer them to New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo has put out a plea for the respiratory equipment.
Kuttner, who won the $5-million 2010 International X Prize for his design of a 102-miles-per-gallon car, also has finished a prototype for a patient transport vehicle that has separate ventilation for the driver. “I may build 10 next week,” he says. “I’m not sitting at home playing Netflix,” he says of his 18-hour days.
“I think we have a huge disaster coming,” says Kuttner. “I hope I have egg on my face in the end, but from what I’ve read, I think we’re underestimating it.”
Former Charlottesville police chief Al Thomas is named in several lawsuits stemming from the events of August 12, 2017.
Eze Amos
Who’s suing whom
In advance of the two-year statute of limitations, a flurry of lawsuits have been filed stemming from the events of August 12, 2017, adding to several that are ongoing. Having a hard time keeping up with who’s a defendant and who’s a plaintiff?Here’s a primer:
Sines v. Kessler
Ten victims of the Unite the Right rally, including Seth Wispelwey, Tyler Magill and Marcus Martin, filed suit against 24 UTR organizers, including Jason Kessler, Richard Spencer, James Fields, Elliott Kline, Chris Cantwell, Matthew Heimbach, David Parrott, and Andrew Anglin. It’s the oldest lawsuit filed, filed October 11, 2017.
In addition to filing another federal lawsuit against the city, Jason Kessler is also a defendant in other suits filed by Unite the Right victims. Eze Amos
Kessler v. City of Charlottesville
Kessler and David Parrott are suing City Manager Tarron Richardson, former police chief Al Thomas, Virginia State Police Lieutenant Becky Crannis-Curl, and former city manager Maurice Jones, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated. kessler v. charlottesville
Tanesha Hudson v. City of Charlottesville
The community activist claims Maurice Jones, Al Thomas, Detective James Mooney, Sergeant Ronnie Stayments, and Sergeant Lee Gibson violated her First, Fifth, and 14th amendment rights and seeks $400,000. Filed pro se, which means she’s representing herself, in Charlottesville Circuit Court.
DeAndre Harris v. Jason Kessler et. al.
The 35 defendants include Richard Spencer, six attackers, Elliott Kline, David Parrott, and John Doe 1 and 2 (aka Sunglasses and Redbeard). Harris, who was severely beaten in the Market Street Parking Garage, is allegingconspiracy to discriminate and attack on the basis of race. DeAndre Harris v. Kessler, Spencer et.al
Greg Conte v. Commonwealth of Virginia
Richard Spencer pal Conte and UTR attendee Warren Balogh named the VSP, former governor Terry McAuliffe, VSP Lieutenant Becky Crannis-Curl, Al Thomas, Mike Signer, Wes Bellamy, Emily Gorcenski, Seth Wispelwey, and Dwayne Dixon among the 16 defendants, and alleged First and 14th amendment violations. Also filed pro se. conte, balogh v. VA
Bill Burke v. James Fields et. al.
Bill Burke waits for the jury’s verdict at the James Fields trial. staff photo
The 19 named defendants include Jason Kessler, Richard Spencer, Matthew Heimbach, David Duke, Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin, plus John Doe and Jane Doe 1-1,000. Burke traveled from Ohio to protest the white supremacists who came to Charlottesville. He was injured when Fields drove into a crowd, and Heather Heyer died beside him. Claims RICO violations and conspiracy, and seeks $3 million on each count. burke v. fields
Karen Cullen and Amanda Bates v. Commonwealth of Virginia
The widows of Virginia State Police’s Berke Bates and Jay Cullen, who died in a helicopter crash August 12, both filed wrongful death lawsuits seeking $50 million each.
Quote of the week
“The temperature at the floor when they entered was 500 degrees.”—Charlottesville Fire Chief Andrew Baxter describes the August 18 Pet Paradise fire
In brief
$4-million sale
Hawes Spencer, former editor of C-VILLE and the Hook, sold the Downtown Mall building that houses Bizou for $4 million to Bizou owner Vincent Derquenne and developer Oliver Kuttner, who purchased the property as Walters Building LLC. Spencer bought the building, which housed the Hook offices, for $2.5 million in 2006.
Elliott Harding. publicity photo
Slimed by Kessler
Independent 25th District candidate Elliott Harding’s brief association with Jason Kessler came to light last week when Kessler posted messages from Harding, who reviewed Kessler’s petition to recall Wes Bellamy in 2017. Harding, a former chair of the Albemarle County Republican Committee, says he quickly saw what Kessler was about and has worked to prevent him from gaining a platform. “We’ve been at it ever since.”
Another statue suit
Norfolk, fighting to remove its own Confederate statue, filed a federal lawsuit arguing that Virginia’s law preventing a locality from removing a war memorial is unconstitutional and forces the city to perpetuate a message it no longer stands behind, violating its First and 14th amendment rights, the Virginian-Pilot reports. City councilors are also plaintiffs in the suit.
‘Hitler’s best friends’
Two weeks after city councilors were accused of aligning themselves with the Nazi dictator for rejecting a proposal to bring D.C. rapper Wale to Charlottesville, Kathy Galvin, Mike Signer, Heather Hill, and Wes Bellamy issued a joint statement condemning the “abusive environment” created by some attendees of council meetings. Bellamy also apologized for not initially defending his colleagues, saying “I genuinely don’t believe any of you are racist.”
Fatal infection
German shepherd Gunner died after a day of swimming in the Rivanna River, NBC29 reports. He contracted a bacterial disease called leptospirosis, which is transmitted in wet places where animals have urinated and can be deadly to humans as well.
More bad pet news
A fire broke out in Pet Paradise around 6:30pm August 18. Seventy-five animals were rescued from the Concord Avenue facility, but Pet Paradise is asking for help in locating two cats and a dog that were missing after the fire.
Beauregard splits
Interim Deputy City Manager Leslie Beauregard is leaving after 16 years working in city government and will take a position as assistant city manager in Staunton October 7, the DP reports. Beauregard was best known for her budget work. She was put in an interim position under new City Manager Tarron Richardson’s reorganization of city hall.
Airbnb says it has 1,100 listings in the Charlottesville area.
Over graduation weekend, Fry’s Spring resident Chris Meyer rented his house for a “ridiculous amount of money to someone from California,” he said at City Council May 20.
He appeared before council to complain about the difficulty he encountered in getting the proper city permits and in trying to remit the transient occupancy tax, and asked councilors: Why not do what Alexandria and Blacksburg do and have Airbnb collect the lodging tax? He also suggested raising the rate from 7 percent to 15 or 20 percent, and using that money for affordable housing rental vouchers.
Mayor Nikuyah Walker commended his “very different perspective,” and councilor Kathy Galvin noted that in 2018, the city lost about 250 housing units to short-term rentals.
Commissioner of Revenue Todd Divers is not enthusiastic about the idea of turning lodging tax collection over to a “multinational corporate entity that has repeatedly shown its willingness to flout tax, zoning, and regulatory structures all over the world.”
In a memo to City Council and City Manager Tarron Richardson, Divers says his office is doing a “fantastic” job of collecting transient occupancy tax of licensed homestays—over $1 million since the city created a hotel residential permit a few years ago.
His problem with having Airbnb collect the lodging tax is that the company will not disclose the identity and location of hosts, nor will it allow the city to audit its tax records more than once every four years, which means the city has to take Airbnb’s word it’s collecting all the taxes. Meanwhile, the city still must make sure hosts have business licenses and homestay permits.
Divers also questions how Airbnb can determine the appropriate jurisdiction for an Albemarle rental with a Charlottesville address.
“We’ve done this all over the world,” says Airbnb spokesperson Liz DeBold Fusco. Airbnb has collected more than $1 billion in taxes in 400 municipalities. “I’m not sure why [Divers] thinks our methods don’t work.”
She also “vehemently” disagrees with his characterization the company flouts regulations. “We think that’s baseless.”
Divers points out that 189 jurisdictions in Virginia collect lodging taxes, and he contends that rather than asking why Charlottesville doesn’t follow the Alexandria/Blacksburg model, the question should be, “why did 187 other jurisdictions in Virginia reject it?”
In Meyer’s case, Divers says someone who rents out his home once or twice a year, is “de minimis” by taxation standards, which means the person doesn’t have to get the short-term rental permit. “I’m not going to make you do anything” as far as trying to collect the lodging tax, says Divers, although one is still free to pay the tax if he wants.
However, he’s still checking the Airbnb website, and if someone claims to have an infrequent rental and he finds out otherwise, “I’m going to come to get you,” says Divers.
Meyer met with Divers after the City Council meeting, and learned he didn’t have to do the paperwork, but he still feels the city should be collecting the $125 tax in his case.
And he likes the idea of making a difference between the lodging tax hotels pay and the tax on short-term rentals, upping the transient occupancy tax to 15 or 20 percent on the latter to help mitigate the loss of housing stock.
“That excess revenue should be plowed into rental housing vouchers,” he says, “to help people displaced by Airbnb.”
Developer Oliver Kuttner owns nine apartments on the Downtown Mall that he rents full-time on Airbnb, for which he pays more than $1,000 per month in transient occupancy taxes. He says the city pays “lip service” to affordable housing. In 2015, he wanted to build micro-apartments behind the Glass Building on Second Street SE, but couldn’t get the rezoning needed. An office building is now going up in that spot.
“It cost me $80,000 [in permits] and six months of my life to be denied the permit to build micro-units,” he says. “The city is the single biggest obstacle to lower-cost apartments.”
Now, he wants more decentralized hotels like Airbnb. “We need to support the person who wants to build one hotel,” says Kuttner. “I would like to see more independent hotels than a fifth Marriott downtown.”
Currently Charlottesville has no plans to funnel lodging taxes into affordable housing vouchers, says city spokesperson Brian Wheeler. The taxes go into the general fund, which funds the city’s affordable housing initiatives, he says.
Meyer says he thinks Divers is doing a “very good job” in collecting the lodging tax, but says, “I wonder if we can do better.”
Reporters know one of the greatest tools for keeping the public informed is FOIA—the Freedom of Information Act. As Virginia Code notes: “The affairs of government are not intended to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy since at all times the public is to be the beneficiary of any action taken at any level of government.” Federal and state FOIA laws ensure that public meetings and information are truly available to the public.
Sunshine Week, an annual event to promote freedom of information and open government, falls around father-of-the-Constitution James Madison’s March 16 birthday. Smart Cville and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government hosted a FOIA panel March 25 for people appointed to boards and commissions, and we figured it’s never too late to share some FOIA highlights.
“We organized this event because we value transparency and knew others, within government and outside, have similar values,” says Smart Cville founder Lucas Ames. “If we’re truly committed to transparency and openness, it’s important that we take steps to promote those ideals, including educating local citizens who sit on boards and commissions that fall under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.”
Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, regularly fields FOIA questions, and ran down a few of the most common.
1. How to request: A FOIA request doesn’t have to be written, but it’s a good idea. An email can read: Under the Freedom of Information Act, I’m requesting all records from DATE to DATE that deal with X. Please provide an estimate to fulfill this request.
2. Fees: People aren’t always aware that they can be charged for copies of documents, particularly those that involve a lot of staff time to pull together. Government bodies can give you an estimate—but you have to ask for it, says Rhyne.
3. Response: A government body has five days to reply. Typical exemptions to FOIA: police investigative files, personnel records, working papers.
4. Not exempt: Messages dealing with public business on personal devices and in personal accounts. Government employees’ salaries must be disclosed.
5. Meetings: FOIA also mandates that the public be notified of meetings of elected and appointed officials, and these meetings are supposed to be open to the public. But the law does not require public comment, which surprises a lot of citizens, says Rhyne. Public notice of a meeting is required, except for staff meetings. Three or more members of an elected or appointed body cannot meet for coffee to talk about public business unless the public is notified.
Quote of the week
“In Charlottesville and around the globe, we stand firmly in stating: There are not very fine people on both sides of this issue.”—Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney on the racist threat that closed city schools
In brief
Albemarle ditched
Last spring, Governor Ralph Northam was here to tout construction software company CoConstruct’s $485,000 investment that would create 69 new jobs in Albemarle County. On March 22, CoConstruct announced it was moving to downtown Charlottesville and will lease 40,000 square feet in the five-story office building under construction on Garrett Street. 3TWENTY3 bought the property from Oliver Kuttner for $5.4 million in October.
Crozet crash
Jack Looney
The National Transportation Safety Board released its 1,600-page report on the January 31, 2018, collision of an Amtrak train and a Time Disposal garbage truck. The NTSB concluded the truck went around downed crossing arms and driver Dana Naylor, who was acquitted of criminal charges last month, was impaired by marijuana and gabapentin, a drug used to control seizures or relieve nerve pain, for which he didn’t have a prescription.
Farm scuttled
Developer Justin Shimp’s plans to build the controversial Hogwaller Farm, an apartment complex and urban farm concept that would straddle Charlottesville and Albemarle, were put on hold when City Council voted 3-2 to deny a rezoning request necessary to build an on-site greenhouse. Shimp says he’s planning to pursue a similar opportunity on the property, according to Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Equity loans
Charlottesville launched its Business Equity Loan program earlier in March for existing businesses whose owners are socially disadvantaged either by race, ethnicity, or gender. The city allocated $100,000 to the Wes Bellamy initiative, and applicants who have been in business for at least six months can apply for loans from up to $25,000, according to Hollie Lee, an economic development specialist.
The Starlight Express was using the Meatpacking District in New York before it became hip.
Courtesy Dan Goff
Oliver Kuttner saw a need. In the early part of this century, it wasn’t easy to get from Charlottesville to New York. Amtrak did not have daily service—and with connections, a plane ride could take almost as long as driving.
So real estate/light car developer Kuttner partnered with David New. They gutted a Trailways bus, added 22 leather BMW seats, a state-of-the-art sound system, upgraded toilet, and free snacks and beverages. The Starlight Express with luxury motorcoach service to Manhattan was born.
As he readied the Starlight for its first trip in October 2004, New described its drop-off point in New York City, the Meatpacking District, as a “hot, up-and-coming area.”
Oliver Kuttner and David New started the six-and-a-half-hour luxury bus shuttle service to Manhattan when there weren’t many other options to get there. photo Jen Fariello
A generation of Charlottesvillians boarded the deluxe coach at 5:30pm on a Thursday or Friday, and stretched out for the ride that arrived around midnight. The service made weekending in the city both convenient and, at $149 roundtrip, affordable.
On October 10, Starlight’s current operator, Dan Goff, got a text that Megabus was coming to town. He immediately pulled the plug.
“We’ve been DISRUPTED!” says the notice on its website.
Goff, who owns a limousine and bus company and who bought Starlight in 2010, had already noticed signs the New York shuttle was in trouble. He’s always seen a bump in ridership when fuel prices went up. “The canary in the coal mine earlier this year was that fuel prices went up, but ridership didn’t,” he says.
He suspended service for three months during the summer, and had just resumed it October 4. The news of Megabus proved to be the death knell. “Charlottesville is barely big enough for us,” he says.
Megabus is owned by Coach USA, which is owned by a Scottish company called Stagecoach Group. Its website shows service beginning October 14 with $79.99 one-way fares for nearly nine-hour trips.
The international company is “capable of buying business for awhile with $5 fares,” says Goff.
“I’m not crying,” he says. “Starlight was never our primary business.” But he admits it is difficult to say goodbye.
And with Hurricane Michael slamming into the Gulf Coast this week, Kuttner is reminded of Hurricane Katrina, when he and New loaded a bus with supplies and drove to Pearlington, Mississippi. “The storm surge there was 28 feet,” he says. “We saw dead people—six or seven—lying on the roof of a Walmart. It was total devastation.”
The Starlight Express heads to New York in 2009. File photo
Most of his Starlight memories are happier. While he and New operated it, “It was almost a small family business,” he says. “I drove when there wasn’t a driver or when I wanted to go to New York. I liked driving.”
“It was pretty exciting to put it all together and pull it off when a lot of people said it wouldn’t work,” says New. They started by running the service for a three-month trial period to see if it would work. “People came out of the woodwork,” he says. “So many people in Charlottesville have a New York connection.”
Rosemary Miller remembers Bodo’s bagels and Orangina as snacks in the early days. “When we lived in New York, it was my favorite way to get back and forth,” she says. “Friendly drivers, a stop to get off and get food, and there was always some familiar face onboard.”
Says New, “It took a lot of the pain out of getting from Charlottesville to New York.”
Ceilings soar and light floods in Ten Flavors’ new digs in the Treehouse, a space designed for designers.
STEPHEN BARLING
Oliver Kuttner doesn’t do bland. And he doesn’t like building the same thing over and over. Hislatest project, the Treehouse on the corner of Garrett and Second SE streets, is testament to that.
“I wanted to do a small building,” he says. “I wanted to make that corner interesting.”
The result, beside his Glass Building, is a 17,000-square-foot, three-story, light-filled structure that soars into the trees.
“I like playing with elevation,” says Kuttner. “You get more for less.” That was a lesson he learned with the Terraces on the Downtown Mall, which has four stories—and nine levels. The Treehouse is a three-story building with a mezzanine and basement, but inside, with its tall ceilings, it feels larger.
Ten Flavors’ Jim Gibson is a longtime tenant of Kuttner’s, who sold the building the design co-op had occupied for 30 years in 2013. But the designers had gotten used to tall ceilings and being on the mall. “We looked within a one-mile radius and couldn’t find anything,” says Gibson. “Finding open space is hard. Finding open space with tall ceilings is really hard. We were used to soaring ceilings.”
When Kuttner said he was going to build what would become the Treehouse, says Gibson, “We had no idea what this building would look like. It was a leap of faith.”
Keeping the faith paid off with a location two blocks from the mall, 16′ to 18′ ceilings and walls of windows with natural light flooding into a building that is quite unlike anything else in town. “It’s a funny, polarizing design,” says Gibson, and the reaction to it has been mixed.
“Some say it’s the coolest thing in Charlottesville,” he says. “Others said, ‘Who designed that?’” For the designers at Ten Flavors, says Gibson, “We’re all familiar with the shock of the new.”
Gibson describes the “wildly creative way” Kuttner went about building, redoing something if it didn’t work out. Ten Flavors occupies the second floor, and he says the space on the third floor that will hold WillowTree’s 150 or so employees is “even more quixotic.”
Kuttner wanted to prove that there could be height without an intimidating mass at the sidewalk, and he says there was some experimentation, with architect Gate Pratt helping in the early stages.
Initially Kuttner wanted the exterior to be a living surface of plants, but he backed off that idea. “I was opening myself up to a lot of maintenance problems,” he concedes. And with his goal to spend half his time in Europe, says Kuttner, “I need to get away from maintenance.”
As for cost, he says, “I have no idea. It depends on how much you value your time.” One area in which he invested heavily was thermal mass. “I spent a huge amount on insulation,” he says.
The Treehouse and an apartment building—the micro apartments to which the city gave a cold shoulder—will be some of his last projects here, says Kuttner. He’ll do the apartments by right with 80 units. “It’ll be extremely popular,” he predicts. And he’s selling land behind the Treehouse, which will become a nine-story office building.
Speaking of mass, that project, with four floors of parking and five of offices on top of 200 parking spaces, is squeezed in behind the Treehouse and Glass Building, and shaves off the back section of the latter, according to plans from Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. It also turns the parking spaces in front of The Bluegrass Grill & Bakery and The Bebedero into a plaza for seating.
While the parking/office nine-story combo inevitably will change some of the views from the Treehouse, for those inhabiting what Gibson calls Kuttner’s “strange but beautiful” building, there’s a certain joy in coming to work in something that’s not a low-ceiling cubicle. “The thing I’m most grateful for,” says Gibson, “is the opportunity to get a space this out-of-the-ordinary.”
