Gordon Sutton has expanded his locally owned fuel business into solar. Photo: Eze Amos
Eye of the Tiger
When attorney David Sutton purchased a small Charlottesville oil supplier on the verge of going out of business in 1982, the company had just two trucks to its name—and one had dry-rotted tires. But over the past four decades, Tiger Fuel Company has grown to become one of the largest petroleum distributors in the state. In addition to selling fuel to businesses and homeowners in Virginia and neighboring states, the company runs nearly a dozen gas stations, convenience stores, and car washes across central Virginia.
Last year, the family-owned business made a surprising pivot: It acquired Charlottesville-based solar company Altenergy.
“I’d been wanting to do solar at some of our facilities for a really long time, and had some good friends in the industry who were advising me on that,” says Tiger Fuel President Gordon Sutton. “For years and years, they [said] you could do it just for the feel-good reasons, but it doesn’t make a ton of financial sense. But about three or four years ago, they let me know that had absolutely changed.”
In 2018, Tiger Fuel hired Altenergy to install solar panels at its Preston Avenue and Ruckersville stores. Because the two companies had worked well together, Sutton decided to pursue a partnership, creating the petroleum distributor’s newest branch, Tiger Solar.
Tiger Fuel is now working to bring solar power to the rest of its convenience stores and bulk plants, and will use it for all future real estate projects. It’s also installed electric vehicle charging stations at its Mill Creek store, and plans to add them to more locations.
By transitioning to solar power, the company ultimately aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2025.
“It’s no question that the fossil fuel landscape is changing,” says Sutton. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”—Brielle Entzminger
‘What’s going on in there?’
Strolling along the Downtown Mall these days will lead you past the quaint restaurants and boutiques that have long been associated with the pedestrian drag. But in some corners, that small business entrepreneurial spirit has taken on a more cutting-edge sheen. Icarus sells custom-made knee braces from its sleek office space near the corner of First and East Main streets. Closer to the mall’s east end Skooma opened last year, promising a “boutique” dispensary experience as full marijuana legalization approaches. Its Apple Store-esque decor strikes an entirely different note than the head shops of yore.
Dave Johnson, founder of Icarus, holds one of the company’s knee braces outside his downtown office. Photo: Eze Amos
Meanwhile, though plenty of traditional office space still occupies the mall’s nooks and crannies, multiple companies have set up trendy co-working spaces, where individuals or small groups can purchase more flexible access to office space. In addition to hosting larger tenants, the CODE Building houses the Codebase co-working space, which could support as many as 200 workers. Vault Virginia, also downtown, rents conference rooms, suites, and a la carte access to individuals and companies alike. And Common House, on West Market Street, offers membership-based entry to its coffee-shop-vibe multipurpose rooms. The times they are a-changin’.—Ben Hitchcock
If you build it…
Charlottesville’s innovators have had an effect on the city’s skyline in recent years. As the area becomes more and more of a hub for entrepreneurship and the tech industry, all those new employees need workspace, and that’s led to major new developments geared toward office space.
WillowTree has been in to its facility in the old Woolen Mills warehouse since last year. The Charlottesville-based software development firm has worked on digital products for big companies like HBO and McDonald’s, and also put together UVA’s COVIDwise app last year. The corp is very much in the process of pitching Charlottesville as a destination for entrepreneurship: “The future of tech innovation? It’s not where you think,” reads WillowTree’s website, above a picture of its new Woolen Mills campus. Checkmate, Palo Alto.
Closer to downtown, Apex Clean Energy has recently moved in to new digs, too. Apex is a renewable energy company, which organizes and operates solar and wind farms across the country. It has projects close to home, as well: last year, then-Governor Ralph Northam announced that the state would buy the output from Virginia’s first onshore wind turbine farm, operated by Apex and located in Botetourt County. The company’s shiny eight-story Garrett Street office building is made of sustainably harvested massed timber, a construction method that limits carbon emissions. Apex says it’s the tallest timber building on the East Coast.
Then, of course, there’s the CODE Building, which now looms at the Downtown Mall’s west end. The state-of-the-art tech tower opened late last year. The building’s upper floors will be rented to large companies—Jaffray Woodriff’s Quantitative Investment Management has already claimed one, and local wealth management firm Investure has moved in to another. In total, the building could bring as many as 600 workers to the mall.—Ben Hitchcock
Mission driven
Charity Malia Dinko has always had a passion for helping people. After immigrating to the United States from Ghana in 2010, she started sending money back to her hometown village of Worikambo as soon as she landed her first jobs at Walmart and McDonald’s. Making minimum wage, Dinko began to feel like she was not making much of a difference, but soon had a shift in perspective.
Charity Malia Dinko has created opportunities for women in Ghana through her shea butter business. Photo: John Robinson
“One day I was driving to work, and at the stoplight there was a homeless man begging for money. I only had 25 cents in my car…but God just spoke to me and told me you should give that money to him because that money could add up,” says Dinko. “It got me thinking…whatever it is I can save up and send to my mom, it will help something. It’s better than nothing.”
After earning her associate’s degree, Dinko transferred to the University of Virginia in 2016. She created a micro-loans program to help people in Ghana start their own businesses, but faced challenges keeping it running. While taking classes for her minor in social entrepreneurship, Dinko realized she could start her own business, selling what millions of exploited Ghanian women were already making: shea butter. In 2018, Dinko officially launched Northshea, which pays women in Worikambo a living wage to produce shea butter. Since then, the company has lifted many out of poverty, as well as built a library in the village and sent school supplies to children there.
“The northern part of Ghana is one of the poorest areas…Many [women] don’t have jobs at all, and they’re migrating to the south and [most] end up being abused,” says Dinko. “What we’re doing here is allowing the people to stay home by creating jobs right there.”
In addition to selling raw shea butter from her facility in Ghana, Dinko uses the raw butter to make a variety of whipped body butters with essential oils. Northshea’s products are currently sold at Darling, Rebecca’s Natural Foods, and The Elderberry, as well as on the company’s website.
As her company grows, Dinko plans to improve the schools and health care in Worikambo. And soon, she hopes to get her shea butter on shelves in big-name stores, like Target—the bigger the business gets, the more she’ll be able to give back.—Brielle Entzminger
Organizers could be fined for events that happened weeks or months ago, according to City Manager Tarron Richardson. PC: Zack Wajsgras
Cracking down
Just days after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back, sparking national outrage and protests, City Manager Tarron Richardson decided to crack down on gatherings in Charlottesville—targeting those organized by Black residents.
While Richardson supports the right to “peaceably assemble” amidst the pandemic, he explained in a press release Thursday evening that “obstructing city streets and using parks without the proper permits will no longer be allowed.”
The city also will begin fining organizers for events that happened weeks or months ago. Rob Gray, who helped plan a Juneteenth celebration in Washington Park, received a $500 fine, and the Black Joy Fest and the Reclaim the Park celebration held last month at city parks are currently under review.
In a letter sent to Gray last week, Richardson claimed he had discussed the city’s ordinance on COVID-19 restrictions with him the day before Juneteenth, explaining that the city was not issuing special use permits for events held in public parks, and that gatherings of 50 or more were banned. But Gray refused to cancel his event, and agreed in advance to pay the civil penalty.
Though Richardson didn’t name names, it sure seems like the warning was meant for Black activists Rosia Parker and Katrina Turner, who planned a Friday night march from the city police department to Tonsler Park in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He threatened to issue them citations for not having a special event permit, but the pair took to the streets anyway, along with 30 or so other protesters.
“They won’t shut me up,” Parker tweeted shortly after the press release came out.
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Quote of the week
“Today, we are marching for criminal justice reform. Today, we are marching to end police brutality. Today, we are marching for the right to be seen as human.”
—Richmond activist Tavorise Marks at the August 28 Commitment March on Washington, held in honor of the 57th anniversary of the original march.
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In brief
FourFiveSignatures
After gathering the required 5,000 signatures, Kanye West has qualified for the November ballot as an independent presidential candidate in Virginia. But the Washington Post reports that some of those signers felt they were hoodwinked into signing in favor of West, and that representatives from the campaign misrepresented how their signatures would be used. It’s unclear how the controversy might affect West’s floundering run.
Tech check
Senator Mark Warner stopped by the new WillowTree offices in Woolen Mills last week to celebrate the completion of the 80,000 square-foot office renovation. Meanwhile, downtown, construction of the CODE building chugs along, with some new COVID-friendly tweaks—to keep ventilation going, the building’s windows will now actually open, a feature that wasn’t initially planned.
Jail cases
Seven inmates total have now tested positive for COVID-19 at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Pointing to severe outbreaks in nearby correctional facilities, Defund Cville Police sent a letter to the ACRJ demanding the jail ramp up its testing procedures, distribute more hygiene products to inmates, and halt all new admissions to the facility.
Harassment sentence
Daniel McMahon, whose online harassment and racist threats caused activist Don Gathers to suspend his 2019 City Council campaign, has been sentenced for his crimes. The Florida-based man will spend 41 months in federal prison and, upon release, serve a three-year probation during which he won’t be allowed to use the internet without court supervision.
The Court Square Historic Resources Subcommittee is considering inscribing enslaved woman Maria Perkins' letter on a new memorial.
Back to the drawing board
Three weeks after the Court Square slave auction plaque was stolen in the middle of the night, the hole left in the sidewalk has been bricked in, leaving little evidence that any memorial ever existed.
The city quickly removed unauthorized replacement plaques by local artist Richard Parks, but discussions are moving forward to install a temporary marker at the site, while a permanent memorial is being planned.
The above plaque was stolen from Court Square on February 6.
The Court Square Markers Historic Resources Subcommittee has been guiding the city’s efforts to install more legible and accurate historic signs on the city-owned buildings around the square. The committee was not initially charged with addressing the slave auction block plaque.
A better memorial there “was on our work plan,” said committee member Genevieve Keller, but the theft of the plaque “has moved it up on the agenda.”
On Monday afternoon, the subcommittee invited local African American leaders and historians to give input on the new marker’s design.
Everyone in the meeting agreed that the previous marker was woefully insufficient. “Everything else around there is big,” said Eddie Harris, parent educator at ReadyKids. “Just because [the history] is a little uncomfortable, it still has to be shown, in a big way.”
Installing a temporary marker is difficult—the marker has to be substantial enough to communicate serious emotional weight, but some at the meeting expressed concern that if the marker is too well-made, the city will be less likely to install a larger, more elaborate memorial down the road.
Security is a consideration, too. “I would urge this community to implore council that whatever structure is put up there be encased in some sort of glass,” said community activist Don Gathers. “Preferably bulletproof glass.”
The city’s initial suggestion, a waist-high obelisk with a plaque on the side, was rejected by subcommittee members and guests as not impressive enough. An idea that garnered more support was a six-foot-tall metal sign inscribed with the text from an 1852 letter written by Maria Perkins, an enslaved person whose family was splintered by sales in Charlottesville.
The subcommittee hopes to consult a professional exhibit designer and solicit further community input before presenting a finalized proposal for a temporary memorial to City Council at its regular meeting on March 16.
The subcommittee is considering using the following text from the above letter as an inscription on a temporary replacement memorial:
“Dear Husband, I write you a letter to let you know of my distress. My master has sold Albert to a trader on monday court day and myself and other child for sale also…I want you to tell Dr Hamilton or your master if either will buy me they can attend to it now…I don’t want a trader to get me…A man by the name of Brady bought Albert and is gone I dont know where. They say he lives in Scottsville…Tell I am quite heart sick….I am and ever will be your kind wife, Maria Perkins.”
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Quote of the Week
“Crimes like the Tessa Majors killing test the limits of forgiveness and redemption. But charging adolescents as adults makes the state crueler, not safer.”
—The New York Times Editorial Board, on New York state’s decision to charge 14-year-old Rashaun Weaver as an adult for killing Tessa Majors
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In Brief
Trail trial
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will be allowed to cross the Appalachian Trail. A lower court’s ruling that the pipeline couldn’t pass under the trail was a setback for Dominion, but reports from the hearing in Washington suggest that the court’s five conservative justices, as well as Stephen Breyer, seem sympathetic to Dominion’s case. The court will deliver a final ruling in the summer.
Sisterly love
Ahead of its May trip to Winneba, Ghana, one of Charlottesville’s four sister cities, a local delegation is collecting backpacks, pens, pencils, markers, erasers, watercolor paints, notebooks, binders, sanitary pads, flip flops, and disposable diapers for the West African city’s schools. Donation can be left at Church of Our Savior on Rio Road.
F*ck cars
WillowTree is not waiting for Charlottesville Area Transit to expand its bus routes: The rapidly growing local tech company says it will provide its own 20-person buses for employees to get to work at its new headquarters in Woolen Mills, according to a report by the online news site Technical.ly. Employees will also have access to kayaks for those who want to commute via the Rivanna.
Gaga for Wawa
Watch out Sheetz: Convenience store chain Wawa, a cult favorite in Philly and south Jersey, will open its first Charlottesville-area location in September at Proffit Road and Route 29. The company is in the midst of an initiative to open 40 stores in northern Virginia over the next 15 years.
Updated 2/25 to reflect that the Wawa will not technically be located within Charlottesville city limits, 2/27 to correct Mr. Harris’ job title (he is a parent educator for the Real Dads program at ReadyKids, not the organization’s leader), and 2/27 to clarify that the Court Square Markers Historic Resources Subcommittee only has jurisdiction over city-owned property in Court Square.
It’s 10am on the Downtown Mall, and already the sounds of demolition floodthe area. Pedestrians stream past Mudhouse Coffee and The Whiskey Jar, and a few glance at the tall fence erected recently across the walkway, and the signs that read, “Do not trespass. Construction site.” Machinery looms over the area and a loud boom echoes across the mall, making a few restaurant patrons jump in their seats. If you look closely, through a crack between the fence posts, you’ll see a giant dirt pit, 10 feet away from the bustling crowd of people, on a plot of land that used to hold the downtown ice rink.
The construction is literally remaking the west end of the Downtown Mall, displacing not only the ice rink (a new one is being built up Route 29 North), but also adjacent small businesses like The Ante Room, a beloved music venue, and Escafé, a longtime center of the local LGBTQ scene. What will rise in their place is the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs, a 167,000-square-foot office building dreamed up by millionaire hedge fund manager Jaffray Woodriff, that aims to be ”the nexus of entrepreneurial activity in central Virginia,” according to the building’s website.
The multi-million dollar project, which will include a green roof, podcast recording space, electric car charging, and ample bike parking, will bring a decidedly new look (and more than 600 tech workers) to the low-rise, red brick pedestrian mall. And it’s a not-so-subtle metaphor for the way a rising tech boom may reshape Charlottesville—for better or worse.
The CODE building, which will include a green roof, podcast recording space, electric car charging, and ample bike parking, will bring a decidedly new look (and more than 600 tech workers) to the Downtown Mall. (Rendering courtesy developer).
Tech businesses have flourished in Charlottesville since at least 2008, when companies like WillowTree, the mobile app development start-up, and ChartIQ, a “fintech” start-up that provides software solutions to financial institutions, were founded. An extensive network of “angel investors” and various initiatives at UVA aimed at nurturing entrepreneurship have helped other local start-ups get off the ground.
In recent years, however, what began as a gradual shift has gained momentum. In 2016, the National Venture Capital Association named Charlottesville the fastest-growing venture capital ecosystem in the United States. That same year, UVA launched its Seed Fund, a $10 million investment in UVA-based tech ventures. Start-ups, especially in biotech, have proliferated. WillowTree is reportedly one of the fastest-growing digital companies in the nation, and is expanding into a new, 85,000-square-foot headquarters currently being built at the site of the old Woolen Mills, just outside the city limits. (The company, for which former mayor and current City Council member Mike Signer serves as vice president and general counsel, did not reply to requests for comment.)
The city’s small-town vibe, pipeline of talent and resources from the university, and access to capital make it attractive to start-up businesses. “If you had a company, you’d bet that Charlottesville is the place to grow it,” says Paul Beyer, who founded the now-annual Tom Tom Festival in 2012 to celebrate and encourage innovation.
Woodriff (who declined to be interviewed for this story) is the latest tech leader who wants to see Charlottesville become a center for digital innovation. He’s offering a subsidized rate to start-up companies that rent space in the CODE building, and wants it to become a collision of creative minds. “You need to be able to get up from your desk and randomly bump into a wide variety of people who are bright and motivated,” Jaffray told Bloomberg’s Joe Nocera earlier this year. “Palo Alto has that. Bell Labs had that. And I’m trying to facilitate that in Charlottesville.”
In addition to CODE, Woodriff, a UVA alum, has given $120 million to establish a School of Data Science at his alma mater. He hopes that graduates will see the appeal of Charlottesville, and build their companies here. “I want people to come here and say, ‘I aspire to this,’ and not interviewing with Google,” he told Nocera.
Boosters say growing the tech industry will transform the economy, bringing in new jobs and revenue that could translate to better infrastructure and a higher quality of life.
But cities like Austin, Texas; Boulder, Colorado; and Palo Alto, California, all home to explosions in tech, tell a more complicated story. In those communities, tech has brought new jobs, new revenue, and new facilities, but it’s also come with increased traffic, gentrifying neighborhoods, and a loss of longtime residents and culture.Austin, for example, repeatedly makes lists for the worst traffic in America and has massive shortages of affordable housing. These new tech cities, while bringing in wealthy residents and vibrant cultures, have struggled to provide the same opportunities for their working classes.
”I think in the last 10 years, it’s been a real struggle for Austin to keep its identity and keep its soul, as downtown is being razed and converted into condos and high-rises, and you have people like Google and Facebook and Apple taking over the town with these buildings,” Austin reporter Omar Gallaga told The New York Times. “If you have all the artists and the creative people that make it interesting move away because they can’t afford to live there, then it becomes a different place.”
Jeyon Falsini’s Ante Room provided a space for little-booked music genres like hip-hop, metal, and garage rock. Photo: Eze Amos
Jeyon Falsini, former owner of alternative music venue The Ante Room, is sitting at The Southern Café & Music Hall on a Tuesday morning. He leans back in his creaking bar chair, running a hand through his floppy hair. “This town has a way of making the news a lot,” he says, tapping the counter. “Charlottesville on the outside is all sunshine, sandals, and daydreams, but on the inside it’s as red in tooth and claw as the Amazon itself.” He laughs. “It’s cutthroat.”
Falsini has experienced the downside of the tech boom first-hand. As owner of The Ante Room for almost six years, he oversaw the most diverse range of music bookings in Charlottesville’s modern history. The venue was known for up-and-coming artists as well as genres—metal, garage rock, and hip-hop—that weren’t catered to at other area venues. Falsini likened the wide variety of artists to his own passion for music. “If you’re open-minded enough,” he says, “You can work with any genre of music.”
The dark, low-ceilinged space, with its trademark bathroom doors painted to resemble playing cards, quickly became a favorite community hang out. Since The Ante Room closed its doors in 2018 for the CODE building’s construction, music fans have felt the loss.
The demolition of Escafé, the similarly beloved restaurant/bar next door, has also hit hard. “The obvious thing Escafé added to Charlottesville was an openly gay bar, though that liberality spread to include a range of people who felt more at home there than anywhere else,” says songwriter Brady Earnhart, who hosted a monthly showcase and open mic there, and talked to C-VILLE shortly before the bar closed for good. “It was a broadly and effortlessly diverse crowd.” Owner Todd Howard said he’d initially hoped to move Escafé to a new location, but couldn’t find the right spot.
Falsini, who is now the assistant manager at the Southern, says he, too, has been unable to find a new space for a sequel to The Ante Room. “How am I going to stop it?” he says, referring to the influx of tech companies. “I’m just trying to swim above water. You can’t stop them, they’re already here.”
The closing of these two venues is one example of the kind of culture shift that can accompany the arrival of a tech boom in a small city like Charlottesville. At only 10.5 square miles, we have a fundamentally limited infrastructure, with many businesses fighting for a coveted spot on the historic Downtown Mall. The price of commercial real estate has been rapidly increasing over the last few years, and developers have expressed concerns over inventory shortages in the city. This won’t stop when the tech industry moves in—rather, it’s likely to get worse, says housing advocate and Democratic City Council candidate Michael Payne.
“If the tech industry moves in and you see land speculation, and rents and land prices start to skyrocket, soon you can’t afford your rent,” says Payne, talking about commercial real estate on the Downtown Mall. “Then you’re going to have a business that can afford [it], which is oftentimes an expensive chain, or a business owned by a wealthy entrepreneur. It’s a risk to our small businesses, too. It’s not just an affordable housing thing, it’s a small business thing.”
And it’s more than a physical space or cost issue. Wealthy individuals want businesses and buildings that cater to their interests, and that can change the culture of a neighborhood. “Think about restaurants like Mel’s or Riverside,” Payne says. “You know, these are staples of the local community that had been here for decades, that people love, but I can perfectly envision people in the tech industry moving here, and being like, ‘What is this? We want something where we can get an $8 coffee.’”
In a contentious thread on Twitter last August, some locals complained about a new luxury apartment building, Six Hundred West Main, whose “neighborhood guide” for future residents included gourmet food store Feast! and the cycling studio Purvelo, but left out local black-owned businesses, including Mel’s. “That map is basically the cheat code for gentrification 2.0,” wrote Niya Bates, director of African American history at Monticello.
“The danger is that Charlottesville itself just sort of becomes this playground for rich people working in the tech industry,” says City Council candidate Michael Payne. Photo: Eze Amos.
Charlottesville is bracing for a population boom. By 2040, the area is projected to add an additional 6,000 people in the city and 33,500 in the county, according to the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, bringing our total population to more than 196,000. That poses a challenge for housing and other infrastructure, like transportation.
At the same time, the city is also grappling with an affordable housing crisis that’s been building for years. Since 2011, rents in Charlottesville have risen from an average of $931 per month for a two-bedroom apartment to $1,325 per month. In August, The Daily Progress reported that of 895 full-time city employees, 338 cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment without being cost-burdened.
A number of luxury housing developments, like C&O Row, 550 Water, and Six Hundred West Main, have sprung up near downtown, as the city grows increasingly wealthier. According to the Orange Dot Report released last year, the number of Charlottesville families earning more than $150,000 jumped by 96 percent between 2011 and 2018.
An influx of highly-paid tech workers could exacerbate the problem. “Wealthy people and people graduating from college in the tech industry, they will want to live on a Charlottesville property. They will want to live as close to the Downtown Mall as possible,” says Payne. “The danger is that Charlottesville itself just sort of becomes this playground for rich people working in the tech industry.”
That could push middle-class and low-income residents into surrounding counties to find housing. It’s a phenomenon that’s happened in cities like Austin, where the majority of the city’s working class has been priced out to the edges of the city.
In Charlottesville, says Payne, “This is already happening, where there’s a lot of people living in Buckingham and Greene and Nelson, who commute into the city because nothing else is affordable.”
Elaine Poon has noticed this housing change intimately. The managing attorney for the Legal Aid Justice Center, she says that residents, especially in traditionally black neighborhoods, have been noticing changes for the past 10-15 years. “There is an uproar, but it’s coming from a historically silenced community,” she says.
“Provision of affordable housing and protection for existing housing most of all, if it’s affordable, is the most powerful weapon against gentrification,” she says. “But it can take a long time and we’re so behind the curve already. It’s going to be really hard”
UVA alum Jaffray Woodriff wants to help make Charlottesville an innovation hub. Photo: Eze Amos
With all the fears that an impending tech boom comes with, there’s no denying some of the obvious benefits: New, well-paying jobs and a healthy boost to the economy would bring revenue to the city and could improve residents’ quality of life across the board. WillowTree alone is expected to generate 1,412 area jobs between 2019 and 2025, according to a study by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, and spur $70.5 million of value-added economic activity for the Charlottesville metro area in 2019.
Julia Farill, director of human resources and brand strategy at the data science company CCRi, points out that growth involves jobs beyond those in tech itself. “As a tech company grows, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re hiring all really wealthy people…you’re opening up positions that are providing jobs not just for external tech-type people but also other people in the community,” she says.
Charlottesville Vice Mayor Heather Hill believes that developing and hiring local talent for these industries could also curtail some fears. She stresses education, like an emphasis on STEM in public schools, and programs at CATEC and Piedmont Virginia Community College that train community members for tech jobs. “We need our local job-seekers to be able to earn their ways to these jobs to afford to live here,” Hill says. “I don’t think we’re valuing our local resources enough.”
Hill says growth, if properly managed, could be good for the city. “I see that there could be a lot of benefits about this. There’s an opportunity for this type of growth to be a big success if we work together.”
In addition, she points to groups like Smart Cville, a newly formed nonprofit that seeks to use technology to improve local communities. In 2016, Smart Cville launched Civic Innovation Day, an annual event focused on gathering community members to brainstorm how technology can improve Charlottesville and address its current challenges. And just last month, the organization opened its Center for Civic Innovation, a space on Fourth Street that focuses on bringing people together to focus on common community problems, like transportation development and localized flooding.
“We need to be open to the fact that the community will change,” says Tom Tom founder Paul Beyer. Photo: Ryan Jones
The growth of the tech industry remains a polarizing topic, especially in Charlottesville. “Cities are really complicated,” says Tom Tom’s Beyer on a recent afternoon in his downtown office. “You have legacies of discrimination, lack of affordable housing, and criminal injustices. Those are the cities that we live in as Americans.”
Tom Tom’s offices are located in the Pink Warehouse, a local landmark on Water Street that has been home to dozens of artists over the years (Dave Matthews Band famously played its first official gig on the rooftop there in 1991). Posters of Tom Tom festival events line the walls of his office.
Beyer was born and raised in Charlottesville, and he recognizes the problems of growth in a city that has a history of displacing its African American residents. But he sees the construction of new buildings and commercial real estate as a benefit for a city that needs to expand, and argues that tech companies will bring the revenue and means to make it happen. He and others seeking to make the city an innovation hub also believe that the influx of tech companies could improve upon the city’s existing culture. “We need to be open to the fact that the community will change,” he says. “Creativity, architecture, and the population could flourish with growth.”
Chip Ransler, the executive director of HackCville, also sees the CODE building and new companies moving into Charlottesville as an opportunity for the city to change. If you love the city that you live in, he says, you’re going to want it to evolve. “It’s a transformative gift.” Ransler says. ”We like this area, there’s good and bad, it’s a great place to be. Anybody who is somewhat invested in this town is going to want to see this town fleshed out.”
But what that looks like on the ground, and how welcome it is, depends a lot on who you talk to. It could mean upheaval for residents of neighborhoods like 10th and Page, Starr Hill, Fifeville, Belmont, and Woolen Mills, all of which are within walking distance of either the CODE building or the new WillowTree headquarters, and have seen the effects of rapid gentrification over the past 15 years.
In historically black neighborhoods in particular, “If you walk around some of these neighborhoods, a lot of them do not look the same way that they looked three to five years ago,” says Legal Aid’s Poon.
Walking around 10th and Page, it’s clear that black residents are being forced out of one of the city’s largest continuous African American neighborhoods. More affluent white families have been tearing down houses and adding expensive additions, driving up property values (and taxes) and driving residents out. The community feels in flux—modest houses with lawn decorations and rocking chairs next to new, modern homes with fenced-in yards.
Advocates like Poon are not optimistic about the impact of an incoming tech population on these neighborhoods.
“When I ask the activists that I work with,” she says, “I think a lot of them think that it’s too late.”
Tech companies are not a monolith, and the potentially negative consequences of becoming an innovation hub are not inevitable. CCRi, which started out with just three employees in 1989, and now has 140, has tried to grow mindfully and sustainably, Farill says. The company was co-founded by her father, a longtime professor at UVA, and its leadership is committed to staying in the community.
But individual tech companies may not be thinking about the big picture impact of their industry on the city, she says. “The incentives of a company change, depending on what’s happening for that company.”
That may be where local government needs to step in, to protect whatever we don’t want to lose. As Farill puts it, “The doomsday scenario for having a lot of wealthy people only becomes that if you let it.”
Sigora Solar tied for first place on our list. Contributed photo.
Charlottesville routinely finds itself on lists of the best places to live in the country. But it’s also a great place to work, judging by what people had to say about the following organizations.
For this look at the best places to work in Charlottesville, we used job and recruiting website Glassdoor’s ratings system, a 5-point scale based on anonymously submitted, user-generated employee reviews. We considered only those companies that had at least six reviews and a sizable local footprint (or were homegrown). While the top spot was a tie (between Sigora Solar and Griffin Group Global) every company on the list had an above-average rating. And you can find more reader-generated candidates online at c-ville.com.
#1. Sigora Solar (TIE)
Glassdoor company rating: 5.0 based on 10 reviews
What they do: Solar design, installation, and solutions.
Size: Most of Sigora Solar’s employees work remotely or in the field. At its main office, they have approximately 15 employees staffed.
Benefits: In addition to standard benefits (including health care, vision, dental, and life insurance options), Sigora employees can take advantage of at-cost solar for their home.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “This company and the employees exude tremendous passion for what they do. It’s easy to work for a company that believes in their products and service.”
Ciera Cannizzaro, Sigora Solar HR generalist, says it’s the people who make the work so rewarding. “Everyone is so knowledgeable and friendly,” Cannizzaro says, adding that the employees are like family.
Flexible work scheduling is also a perk. “We don’t have the traditional work schedule where it’s like 8-to-5, 9-to-5. A lot of people work remotely, so that flexibility is obviously a really good benefit for everyone, especially people who have families,” she adds. Company parties, like the one held in November at Carter Mountain, helps build those “Sigora family” bonds.
#1. Griffin Group Global (TIE)
Glassdoor company rating: 5.0 based on 10 reviews
What they do: Cybersecurity and digital identity protection.
Size: 24 total employees, with 19 in the Charlottesville office.
Benefits: Benefits include “better-than-industry-standard” comprehensive health coverage, plus generous paid time off plans and domestic partner accommodations. Also included: flexible work schedules, work-from-home days, and company-sponsored philanthropy where employee volunteers don’t miss a day of pay.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “Griffin truly empowers employees. Their management is open to ideas and provides a framework for incorporating new ideas quickly to prove them and improve them. The technology is leading edge.”
Bill Heapes, Griffin Group Global chief operating officer, describes the company’s culture as “a learning environment in a high-tech business” where employees “thrive on everybody understanding our corporate goals and mission, and everybody has an equal voice in contributing.”
“The leadership has come from the government side, where we have a lot of institutional knowledge and discipline in our process management,” adds Heapes. “But that, combined with the flexibility of bringing in new technology, having people learn and understand it—Lunch n’ Learn-type sessions where everybody has the opportunity to bring what they know from their past experiences to the table. Everything is considered before we move forward.”
Photo: Amy Jackson Smith
#3. Tiger Fuel
Glassdoor company rating: 4.9 based on 23 reviews
What they do: Petroleum energy products distribution, oil and propane tank service and maintenance, and operation of The Markets chain of convenience stores.
Size: Approximately 260 employees.
Benefits: In addition to health insurance and vacation benefits, Tiger Fuel offers: financial wellness support, an employee assistance program, subsidized corporate gym membership, Tiger Card Fuel benefits, discounts on apparel from L.L.Bean, and a holiday bonus for every employee, among other perks.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “When you work for Tiger Fuel, you become part of the Tiger family. Great benefits, amazing atmosphere, friendship, [you’re] not just a cog on the wheel, [you’re] an important part of the business and it shows.”
Ryan Whitlock, Tiger Fuel director of human resources, gives all the credit to its employees for creating a positive work culture—and to the company’s owner and president for setting the tone. “They bring strength to the company and passion for customer service,” he says.
Photo: John Robinson
#4. ChartIQ
Glassdoor company rating: 4.9 based on 12 reviews
What they do: Fintech (financial technology company) providing software solutions to large capital markets companies.
Size: 50 employees.
Benefits: In addition to health, vision, and dental, benefits include catered lunch every day from local restaurants, unlimited vacation policy, flexible hours, and a dog-friendly office.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “So many pros to working at ChartIQ, including the top-notch talent we’ve been able to attract,
a leadership team that trusts its employees to responsibly manage a policy of flexible work hours and PTO, a relaxed work environment, opportunities for growth, location in downtown Charlottesville, inspirational leaders, and a customer-first approach.”
Even though the company is seven years old, ChartIQ still considers itself a “growth- stage startup,” wrapped in a “profitable, stable company that’s been around for a long time,” says Christian Hall, chief operating officer.
A focus on work-life balance, a laid-back work environment, and a “beautiful, open, big office space near the [Downtown] Mall,” are other perks, says Hall. Employees are also encouraged to have lunch together every day, a tradition that dates back to the company’s founding.
“We plan to continue having lunch together because it’s been that way forever,” he adds. “It basically feels like a gathering at someone’s home every day, which isn’t just a benefit, it literally sets the tone for the office culture.”
Photo: Stephen Barling
#5. WillowTree
Glassdoor company rating: 4.8 based on 183 reviews
What they do: Digital and mobile technology design and development.
Size: Approximately 320 employees between its Charlottesville and Durham locations.
Benefits: Benefits include fully paid employee medical premiums, paid parental leave, annual professional development budget, tuition reimbursement, and a monthly gym membership stipend. Working at WillowTree also comes with such office perks as snacks galore, fresh-on-tap kombucha, nitro cold brew coffee, and beer, plus paid lunches twice a week.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “The best thing about WillowTree is the energy in the space. I work among the most positive and talented people I have ever met. They inspire me to do my best work at all time. I don’t ever feel like I’m solving a problem on my own.”
“We focus on building a team of people who not only love their craft but who also value and respect their colleagues,” says Christy Phillips, WillowTree’s chief talent officer. “Our Glassdoor reviews almost always focus on the enjoyment people get from working with talented, kind people as a top reason they love working here.”
Photo: Amy Jackson Smith
#6. Room Key
Glassdoor company rating: 4.8 based on six reviews
What they do: Hotel and travel search site.
Size: 22 Charlottesville employees.
Benefits: Benefits include health coverage, bonuses, funding for personal development–conferences as well as continuing education–quarterly hackathons, snacks on snacks, a beer keg, and access to a conference room “dedicated to competitive Mario Kart.”
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “One of the best assets of Room Key is and has always been the quality of its tech team. Open, mature, respectful, no egos, highly knowledgeable, friendly, just a great place to work, learn and contribute.”
“It’s like a mostly sane Silicon Valley start-up with a heart,” says Doug Lawson, head of product and design, who praises Room Key’s employees for being “smart, motivated, super-creative and nice to work with” and who “pull together well as a collaborative team.”
#7. Locus Health
Glassdoor company rating: 4.7 based on 17 reviews
What they do: Remote care solutions, primarily for pediatric patients.
Size: 23 employees.
Benefits: In addition to a competitive salary (based on experience), Locus Health offers medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, paid time off, employer life insurance, and a gym subsidy.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “The combination of a team that creates cutting-edge technology and actual health care professionals, as well as business gurus, make this such an interesting place to learn and grow as a professional.”
Its mission is one of the biggest reasons why Locus Health is a great place to work, says Rick Skinner, senior vice president and chief technology officer. “We make a product that enables babies to leave the hospital safely in the care of their parents. And so all of us at Locus really identify with that mission. We’re doing something that really has some intrinsic value,” he says.
#8. 2RW Consultants
Glassdoor company rating: 4.5 based on 12 reviews
What they do: Sustainability minded MEP/FP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection) engineering systems and energy consulting services.
Size: 72 employees.
Benefits: At R2W, employees get medical, dental, and vision, plus long-term disability and term life (with 100 percent employer-paid premiums for employees), employer contribution to health savings accounts, SIMPLE IRA with up to 3 percent matching contribution, banked paid time off, and company-sponsored holiday parties and outings.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “The team is young and fun. They have the perfect balance of light-hearted, easy-going culture and rigorous deadline-driven ethic. Very smart people who welcome new ideas and want to make everyone a better employee and engineer.”
“I think consistently, when we’ve surveyed our employees, the number one thing that people like about working here is that they love the people and they love the work environment,” says 2RW Marketing Director Denise McFadden.
2RW’s focus on sustainability also unites employees around a purpose for the common good. “I think that really resonates with people,” McFadden adds. “They like that that’s a part of what we do, because we are really in business to do more than just earn a paycheck–we’re trying to do something good for people, for society, for the planet, and it’s nice to have that greater goal.”
#9. CCRi (Commonwealth Computer Research, Inc.)
Glassdoor company rating: 4.5 based on 10 reviews
What they do: Applied data science and software engineering.
Size: 130 employees.
Benefits: In addition to customary benefits like health and retirement, CCRi offers free access to two employee assistance programs, a financial wellness program, gym and yoga discounts, professional develop opportunities, flexible work schedules and time-off policy, plus lots of daily snacks (including a free cereal bar in every building, monthly bagel breakfast, and coffee and espresso bars). They also have a community Vive, massage chair, and other office amenities.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “There is never a shortage of friendly, intelligent, and ambitious people at CCRi. The amenities and environment are laid-back and very friendly, but there is never a shortage of tough problems to solve.”
Flexibility is one of the top benefits of working at CCRi, says Julia Farill, human resources manager. “We value flexibility, and we’ve made a lot of choices as a company to try and foster that so people have a lot more control over their life and their work-life balance,” she says.
CCRi also has a collaborative, meritocracy-focused, “kind of quirky” culture, she says.“We want to hire the best people we can find that are really smart, creative problem-solvers, and then keep them happy for a whole career.”
#10. Southern Environmental Law Center
Glassdoor company rating: 4.4 based on 15 reviews
What they do: Environmental protection legal and policy nonprofit
Size: 59 employees in the Charlottesville offices, and 149 total.
Benefits: A snapshot of benefits at the SELC: affordable health, dental, and vision, generous paid time off, fully covered life, short-term, and long-term disability insurance, retirement contribution (not match), up to a total of 12 weeks parental leave following childbirth or adoption (six weeks fully paid by SELC), and opportunities to visit the places the organization works to protect.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “While the mission brings most people to SELC, I have stayed because of the people, the benefits and the work/life balance. Having genuinely nice colleagues who go to work excited about what they do makes SELC an incredible place to work. . .”
Sarah Francisco, director of SELC’s Virginia office, credits its team of “intelligent, hard-working people pursuing a shared mission” for making the organization a top-notch place to work.
“We set ambitious goals, have high standards, and work with dedication alongside wonderful co-workers,” Francisco adds. “This creates a special mix of professionalism, collegiality, teamwork, and camaraderie. We celebrate successes together, and everyone is valued and recognized for their contribution.”
Photo: Sanjay Suchak
#11. University of Virginia
Glassdoor company rating: 4.3 based on 765 reviews
What they do: Higher education
Size: The university employs about 30,000 people total (not including the College at Wise)—that number includes roughly 16,000 faculty and staff and approximately 12,000 Health System employees.
Benefits: UVA’s benefits (“total rewards”) package includes health insurance, retirement plans, flexible spending accounts, paid time off, education benefits, back-up care for children and elderly family members, and wellness benefits.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “Consistent work-life balance (best I’ve ever experienced), kind and supportive coworkers, beautiful campus, excellent benefits, meaningful work, opportunities for professional development.”
The University of Virginia is the largest employer in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area, and it needs no introduction as one of the premier higher education institutions in the country. While jobs vary widely, UVA consistently earns accolades: In 2018, it landed on Forbes’ ranking of “America’s Best Employers” (#66) and “Best Employers for Women” (#36). Earlier this year, it made Forbes’ list of “Best Employers for Diversity” (#54). UVA’s continued growth and reputation for stability, as well as its suite of benefits and career development opportunities, no doubt contribute to its status as a top place to work.
#12. CoConstruct
Glassdoor company rating: 4.3 based on 41 reviews
What they do: Construction project management software for custom home builders and remodelers.
Size: Approximately 99 employees.
Benefits: A sampling of benefits includes generous holidays plus paid time off, flexible work schedules, paid leave for new parents, regular happy hours, and paid training.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “I’ve never seen a shared ethos enacted every day from the top down the way it is here. I felt it the first moments, even before I could really even define it. This company cares deeply about their core values and strives to live them out every moment. . . and is probably the single most important point of differentiation here.”
Donny Wyatt, CoConstruct founder and CEO, points to the company’s five core values as the foundation for its work culture, which contributes to a palpable “energy” in the office. Those distinct core values—like “understand why” and “show personality”—are “very much us” and enable employees to excel as individuals and as a team, says Wyatt. “When everybody’s in, and we all have a common vision of what we expect from ourselves, and others, and how we act, it actually provides a lot of comfort and freedom to people to be themselves,” he adds.
Photo: Martin Kyle
#13. Crutchfield
Glassdoor company rating: 4.2 based on 37 reviews
What they do: Online and catalog retailer of consumer electronics.
Size: More than 600 employees at locations in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Wise County.
Benefits: Benefits include health, dental, vision, disability (long and short term) and life insurances, paid leave, 401(k), flexible spending accounts, paid time off, paid holidays, employee assistance program, adoption assistance programs (both for children and pets), pet insurance, and registration fees for fitness events.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “The whole company has employee appreciation days twice a year plus other fun company-culture-building events that I always look forward to. . . The different departments are happy to work together, and anyone with a good idea or concern is heard, no matter what their job is.”
Crutchfield has steadily burnished its reputation as an award-winning, customer service-oriented business since its founding in 1974 by Bill Crutchfield. A shared belief in a set of core values and a focus on training, career development, and employee engagement contributes to a high level of satisfaction, says Chris Lilley, Crutchfield’s chief human resource officer.
“We take great care employing the right kind of people here—people who respect each other, who have the capacity to be empathetic, and care for our customers, and for each other,” says Lilley. “It’s really as simple as that and it comes from Mr. Crutchfield at the top.”
Greg Mika Images
#14. Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
Glassdoor company rating: 4.1 based on 11 reviews
What they do: Not-for-profit health care.
Size: 1,600 employees.
Benefits: Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 403(b), pension plan, and paid annual leave— as well as tuition assistance, scholarships, free on-campus gym, and discounts on local area services.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “Friendly co-workers, patient-centered work environment, focus on safety and quality. Culture is centered around ‘caring tradition.’ Employees of all levels involved in improvement efforts and decision-making.”
Founded in 1903, what is now Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital has a long history of employing generations in the greater Charlottesville-Albemarle community. And Johnsa Morris, chief nurse executive at Sentara MJH, gives all praise to its employees for making it a place where “you can put your passion into action and turn your calling into a career.”
Morris says the hospital has a culture of teamwork. “We are also fortunate to work in a beautiful location that offers a healing environment,” she says. Each day we can take advantage of our beautiful mountain scenery and walking trails. We are able to offer flexible schedules and, through our scholarship programs, we have the opportunity to continue to learn and advance in the organization.”
#15. Red Light Management
Glassdoor company rating: 4.0 based on 55 reviews
What they do: Music industry artist management.
Size: unavailable
Benefits: Red Light did not respond to requests for comment or information on their benefits.
What people are saying on Glassdoor: “This company has all the connections and networking you could ever ask for at your fingertips. Be ready to work hard and play hard.”
I mean, wouldn’t you want to work for the organization that gave us the Dave Matthews Band? Founded in 1991 by Coran Capshaw, Red Light Management’s diverse roster of talent also includes Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Enrique Iglesias, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton, Anita Baker, Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child), and Phish, among others. Its website highlights a “progressive work environment” and the opportunity to work with “an industry-leading team.”
"Crying Nazi" Chris Cantwell weighs in, Denise Lunsford defends, Rick Moore judges
Awkward moments: Fields trial edition
When we crammed more than two weeks of trial proceedings into a 4,000-word story, some of the finer details didn’t make the cut. So we’d like to take this opportunity to share a few of the not-so-fun facts of the James Alex Fields, Jr. trial, in which he was found guilty of 10 counts, including first-degree murder.
Defense attorney Denise Lunsford and ex-husband John Hill took on the case together.
Lunsford argued her case in front of Judge Rick Moore, whom she fired as a county prosecutor when she took office as Albemarle commonwealth’s attorney in 2008.
When it was time for final defense witness Josh Matthews to take the stand, he was nowhere to be found. Judge Moore entered a capias and directed the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office to find him. Matthews arrived hours later, and after his testimony he was arrested for failure to appear.
“Crying Nazi” Chris Cantwell, who got that moniker after his visit to Charlottesville for the Unite the Right rally, just couldn’t stay out of the spotlight. Online news source Mic reported November 28 that he threatened independent reporter and activist Molly Conger, better known on Twitter as @socialistdogmom, who was covering the trial. “You will pay for your lies,” Cantwell wrote on Gab, a popular social media site among white supremacists.
Former Richard Spencer bodyguard Gregory Conte, who previously came to town to protect the Crying Nazi during some of Cantwell’s earlier court proceedings, was spotted jotting notes on a legal pad in the courtroom. He now has multiple bylines for stories related to the Fields trial in Russia Insider—whatever that is.
Because of limited seating in the courtroom and bad acoustics, more than a dozen reporters each day watched a livestream of the trial from the Levy Opera House. Technical issues left them in the dark several times.
Speaking of bad acoustics, the Charlottesville Circuit Court is a nightmare for documenting trials. None of the many videos and exhibits were visible to the gallery because the monitor faced the jury, not the public. Local media organizations have offered to donate equipment to bring the courtroom into the 21st century, to no avail.
On the 11th day of trial proceedings, after Fields was convicted and before he was sentenced, he sported a fresh high-and-tight haircut—the alt-right’s signature fashy style.
Quote of the week
“Please know that the world is not a safe place with Mr. Fields in it.”—Al Bowie, a car attack victim, in a victim impact statement to the jury.
Heavy weather
Snow was expected on December 9, but the volume was not. Charlottesville picked up from eight to 12 inches, while Wintergreen reported a whopping 21 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Facebook strikes again
Local company WillowTree tried to run a Facebook ad promoting equal pay for female engineers, but the ad, which featured a photo of a woman wearing a hijab, was rejected. The reason? WillowTree does not have Facebook’s special authorization to run ads “related to politics and issues of national importance.”
Pipeline blues
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stayed a crucial U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit for the heavily opposed, $6 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, causing Dominion to suspend all construction along its 600-mile route. And Attorney General Mark Herring and the Department of Environmental Quality are suing the folks building the other gas pipeline approved in the state—the Mountain Valley Pipeline—for repeated violations of state water laws.
House challengers
UVA professor Sally Hudson is challenging David Toscano for his 57th District seat. eze amos
David Toscano, the House of Delegates minority leader, has a challenger for his 57th District seat, which he’s held since 2005. UVA Batten School professor Sally Hudson announced a run last week on Twitter, and will face Toscano in the Democratic primary. And Tim Hickey, who works as a Greene County educator, has thrown down a challenge—also on Twitter—to Delegate Matt Fariss, R-Rustburg, who represents southern Albemarle.
Machete murderer
Walter Amaya was sentenced to 30 years active jail time for the July murder of Marvin Joel Rivera Guevara, who was hacked 144 times before being dumped in a creek at Woolen Mills. Three other men have pleaded guilty in the MS-13 gang-related slaying.
This historic Woolen Mills property will become the new headquarters for WillowTree, thanks to developer Brian Roy's four-year dream of restoring the mill. Photo by SkycladAP
What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, the housing bubble had burst, the hottest area in real estate was foreclosures, and the Downtown Mall was littered with vacancies. Today, the county development scene is “white hot,” according to Albemarle Director of Community Development Mark Graham, and in the city, Director of Economic Development Chris Engel says the commercial market is “healthy and robust.”
Still, developer Keith Woodard’s washing his hands of his downtown West2nd project has roiled the landscape. City Councilor and architect Kathy Galvin offers a more nuanced description of development in the city in the wake of the West2nd implosion: “Confused: from bad to really good.”
The good news for the Charlottesville area is that people still want to live here. “We’re seeing the continuing trend of people who want to be close to urban centers,” says Nest Realty’s Jim Duncan. And he’s not just talking downtown Charlottesville. People are flocking to Crozet, U.S. 29 North, Pantops, and the 5th Street Station area anchored by Wegmans—the county’s designated growth areas.
“If you live and work on 29 North, there’s no reason to go to Charlottesville,” he says.
More than 150 projects that involve moving more than an acre of dirt are underway in Albemarle, according to Graham, and Crozet alone has eight active construction sites, he says.
Last year, 851 residential units, which include apartments, were permitted. This year, he says, by August the county had issued permits for 900 units.
And unlike the boom in 2005 through 2008, Graham says most building is taking place in the designated development areas. “Before, we saw a lot of McMansions being built in the rural areas.”
Since the 5th Street Station build out, “commercial development has cooled a bit,” says Graham, and 85 percent of what’s being built in the county is residential. “A ton of apartments are being built.”
In the city, Galvin provides a brief history of development this century. In 2003, neighborhood development focused on “expediting development reviews instead of long-range planning.”
During the redevelopment of West Main in 2012—and the construction of the behemoth Flats—“that’s when many of us realized our zoning was out of sync with our vision,” says Galvin in an email. “The public wants new rules of the game that give us more affordable housing, better buildings, and healthy, attractive places. Turn around times for development review must improve, but we have to get these rules right.”
Engel points to the 450,000 square feet of office space that will be available in the next few years in a city that hasn’t seen Class A offices built in the past 10 years. With 39,500 jobs and unemployment low, “We’ve become a regional job center,” he says.
Where those workers will live is another matter. Affordable housing continues to be an issue while luxury condos and rowhouses continue to be built.
The city would like to see more affordable and workforce housing, says Engel.
And there are a few. Galvin lists affordable housing projects that provide “healthy, well-connected neighborhoods” for residents with walkable streets and close-by essential resident services and amenities, like childcare, parks, and community spaces: Friendship Court’s resident-driven master plan for redevelopment without displacement; Sunrise Park on Carlton and Southwood in the county; Burnett Commons III; and Dairy Central on Preston.
West2nd fallout
Realtor Bob Kahn doesn’t see the “robust year” in commercial real estate slowing, despite interest rates ticking up.
The black eye in city development, he says, is Woodard’s “unfortunate cancellation” of West2nd after a Board of Architectural Review rejection that proved to be the “last straw” in Woodard’s five-year quest to break ground on a city parking lot that houses the City Market.
With West2nd’s demise, the city loses the affordable housing units Woodard planned to build on Harris Street, as well as nearly $1 million in real estate taxes, says Kahn. “The city really did a disservice to our community with that. There are no winners.”
He believes it will take years to get another project built on that lot with all the stakeholders involved and city “mismanagement of entitlements” pertaining to height, rezonings, and special use permits.
“It certainly doesn’t send a positive message about the economic vitality of downtown and will certainly hamper development on that lot with all those stakeholders,” says Kahn.
Engel’s perspective is not so dire. “We’ll see,” he says. “Stay tuned.”
With the City Market, residential, retail, and office components, “those types of projects are very complex” and make lenders nervous, he says.
Woodard did everything the city asked for in 2013, but it took five years instead of five months to approve, says Galvin. “In those five years, construction and financing costs rose, and Woodard needed another floor to pay for the increase. This project had to provide structured parking, housing, office space, and a plaza for the market all on a two-acre site, and build affordable housing off site.”
The good news for development in the city, says Galvin: “Most investors will not have that daunting a program or buy land from a public entity whose stewards are subject to staggered, four-year election cycles.”—Lisa Provence
With additional reporting by Samantha Baars, Bill Chapman, and Mary Jane Gore
Old mill, new purpose
Woolen Mills
Brian Roy, Woolen Mills, LLC
About 5 acres
120,000 square feet
Mixed office and commercial use
Approximately $18-20 million
Brian Roy has been nursing his vision of a completely restored mill—the Woolen Mill—for four years. He put in time solving problems with sellers, such as a flood plain difficulty, before his company, Woolen Mills, LLC, purchased the property. His dream is nearing fruition with the recently signed contracts with local tech giant WillowTree, which jumped ship from Charlottesville to Albemarle, to complete the office and commercial space.
Woolen Mills’ Brian Roy’s dream of a completely restored mill is nearing fruition, thanks to recently signed contracts with WillowTree, which will leave its downtown offices and anchor the redeveloped building at the end of East Market Street in Albemarle County. Photo by Amy Jackson
“We held an event for WillowTree employees, and began to work on a plan,” Roy says. “It’s been a work in progress to shape the space that would fit their needs the best. It’s great to have the opportunity to preserve this property.” Better yet, the county and the state are sweetening the pot with over $2 million in incentives to partner with Roy and WillowTree—and its 200 current jobs and 200 projected positions.
The builders, Branch and Associates, want to get started as soon as possible. Branch estimates it will be a 15- to 18-month project that could be completed roughly by the end of 2019 to March 2020, hinging on the start date.
“We’re very excited about this job of restoring a historic building,” says Michael Collins, project manager at the Branch Richmond office.
In early September, the design was about 70 percent complete, Collins says, and he hopes to be clearing space around the site by November.
The space will also house a restaurant, brew pub, and coffee shop, all affiliated with local coffee shop Grit, says Roy.
When asked about any concerns at the site, Roy immediately says,“The windows.” Ten thousand will need to be replaced with modern double-panes for efficiency, but in the original frames, for authenticity.
Rehabbing the rehab center
Musculoskeletal Center
UVA Health System
195,000 square feet
Outpatient care
The site of the former Kluge Children’s Rehab Center on Ivy Road is so discreet that some passersby haven’t noticed that the building John Kluge pledged $500,000 to get his name on, according to UVA Health System spokesman Eric Swensen, has been demolished and a new comprehensive facility that consolidates UVA’s outpatient orthopedic care is set to rise from the ashes.
The new Musculoskeletal Center—sounds like naming rights are available here—broke ground September 10. It will hold six outpatient operating rooms and allow surgical patients to recover for up to 23 hours before they’re shipped home. It will also house imaging services—MRIs, X-rays, CT scans, ultrasound, and fluoroscopy—as well as comprehensive physical and occupational therapy services. Surrounding fields and walking trails will boost that wellness-environment feeling.
The $105-million center is expected to open to patients in February 2022.
Banking on office space
Vault Virginia
James Barton
25,000 square feet
38 offices, event spaces and board room
Perhaps no one is more excited about the unveiling of Vault Virginia than C-VILLE Weekly staffers, who have endured construction overhead for the past year. What seemed to be unending jackhammering in the former Bank of America building has produced an array of office spaces on the Downtown Mall that are part of the latest trend of collaborative workplaces.
James Barton. Photo by John Robinson
The 1916-built structure already houses Sun Tribe Solar, and by the time this issue hits stands, construction mercifully will be complete. “We’re fully ready to occupy,” says James Barton, who hatched the Vault as well as Studio IX.
The new spaces include the marble and stone from former financial tenants, a theme that’s incorporated into a deluxe women’s bathroom with marble countertops and its own soundtrack.
One of the perks of membership, says Barton, is access to conference rooms and event spaces. And those renting the former board room can offer a private meal overlooking the bank’s grand hall that’s now Prime 109, home of the $99 steak.
Barton isn’t worried about the sudden influx of shared office space, especially Jaffray Woodriff’s 140,000-square-foot tech incubator, now dubbed CODE—Center of Developing Entrepreneurs—that will be built on the site of the Main Street Arena.
Creating the Vault hasn’t been without its struggles, and builder CMS filed a $316,000 complaint over an unpaid bill, but Barton and CMS attorney Rachel Horvath say that’s been settled.
“We had great investors come in early and great investors along the way to take this iconic building and give it a purpose for this community,” says Barton.
The influx of office space will make downtown Charlottesville really attractive to businesses that attract top talent and “show Charlottesville has the style and infrastructure,” says Barton.
“This should be the envy of cities trying to create this type of dynamic,” he says, that of a “vibrant, integrated community.”
More incubation
Center of Developing Entrepreneurs
CSH Development
0.99 acres on the Downtown Mall
170,000 square feet
Office, retail
Local angel investor Jaffray Woodriff wanted to build a spot for entrepreneurs and innovators to come together to bounce ideas off one another and scale their startups. And while many in the community wished he’d wanted to build it elsewhere, he bought the buildings that housed the beloved Main Street Arena, the Ante Room, and Escafé to redevelop it and make his vision a reality.
The Center of Developing Entrepreneurs, a 170,000-square-foot tech hub that will replace the Main Street Arena, is at the center of several major transformations on the Downtown Mall.
CODE will allocate 23.5 percent of its square footage for tech/venture space, and 26 percent goes toward a common area for events and presentations. An unnamed anchor-tenant will use 35 percent of the space, with the remaining saved for smaller offices and other retail.
The folks at Brands Hatch LLC, which is owned and controlled by Woodriff, are keeping it green: Look for high efficiency heating and cooling systems and rooftop terraces. Construction is scheduled to be complete by the summer of 2020.
Apex of development
Apex headquarters
Riverbend Development
1.28 acres
130,000 square feet
Office and retail
Wind farm developers Apex Clean Energy have a different kind of development in the works: an office building planned in conjunction with Coran Capshaw’s Riverbend Development and Phil Wendel’s ACAC fitness club.
Apex Clean Energy is developing an office building on the north side of the downtown ACAC, and the new structure will also house rental office space for other companies, and ground-floor retail. Courtesy Riverbend Development
Filling in the semi-improved large parking lot on the north side of ACAC’s downtown location, the building will also house rental office space for other companies, and some ground-floor retail.
Architect for the project is the 1990s-era “Green Dean” of the UVA School of Architecture, Bill McDonough, who now specializes in sustainable corporate HQs around the globe.
Yes, they promise, club members will have access to the parking deck once complete. But during construction? Valet parking is one option being considered.
Behind the Glass Building
3Twenty3
Insite Properties
About .67 acres
120,000 square feet
Office space
Developer Jay Blanton of North Carolina-based Insite Properties probably gets this question a lot: “Where exactly is that office building you’re planning downtown?”
And casual observers should be forgiven because this by-right 120,000- square-foot structure did not need to go through any public entitlement meetings. There were really no vocal neighbors to speak of, and the exact site is hard to describe.
The nine-story building will replace the back half of the Glass Building where Bluegrass Grill has long been a tenant, but the grill and other food-related-tenants along Second Street will still be in place.
The 120,000-square-foot, nine-story 3Twenty3 building will replace the back half of the Glass Building. Courtesy Insite Properties
One prominent tenant (with 17,000 of 110,000 square feet leased) will be white-shoe law firm McGuireWoods, which will vacate what has become known as the McGuireWoods Building in the Court Square area north of the mall.
Expect to see cranes on the skyline soon, says Blanton, who plans to break ground in October and finish by early 2020.
Tarleton didn’t camp here
Tarleton Oak
James B. Murray, Tarleton Oak LLC
2.75 acres
86,000 square feet office space
56 apartments
A longstanding gas station and food mart on East High Street get the boot in this deal from venture capitalist/UVA Vice Rector Jim Murray.
Construction is scheduled to begin on the two-phase downtown project this year. A five-story office building and approximately 300-space parking garage will be built first, with a two-story residential building including nearly 60 apartments coming later atop the parking structure.
This project, called Tarleton Oak, will take the place of the current service station with the same moniker, which is named after the space’s first tenant—a humongous oak tree long gone to the mulch pile. Local myth put Colonel Banastre Tarleton camping there after his failed raid to capture Thomas Jefferson, but a historical marker now points to a spot down East Jefferson Street.
Live, work, eat
Dairy Central
Stony Point Design/Build
4.35 acres
300,000 square feet
Office, residential, and food hall space
The planned multi-phase renovation and expansion of the old Monticello Dairy building at the nexus of Preston and Grady avenues and 10th Street NW is underway, and the battery shop, catering operation, and brewery tenants already have decamped for other sites around town.
Phase 1 of the project promises a complete overhaul of the 37,000-square-foot original dairy space into Dairy Market, a 20-stall food hall (think Chelsea Market in NYC or Atlanta’s Krog Street Market) with around 7,000 square feet of open seating. Developer Chris Henry of Stony Point Design/Build traveled as far as Copenhagen to research best practices for what he hopes will be “the region’s social and culinary centerpiece.”
Behind the dairy, 63,000 square feet of office space on multiple floors will be added. Expect all this to open in January 2020.
A multi-phase renovation and expansion of the old Monticello Dairy building includes a complete overhaul of the 37,000-square-foot original space into Dairy Market, a 20-stall food hall, with about 7,000 square feet of open seating. Courtesy Stony Point Design/Build
Phase 2 is the residential component, featuring 175 apartment units that are a mix of both market-rate (read: expensive) and affordable units aimed at households earning less than 80 percent of the area median income. City planning regulations require five such units as part of the approval here, but the developers plan 20 (or more if certain grants are approved).
Asked how he plans to decide who gets to live in the affordable units, Henry says he doesn’t know yet, as there is little or no precedent for such units ever being built in the city. Most developers opt instead to make cash payments into the city’s affordable housing fund. This residential phase, along with 500 onsite parking spaces, should be complete by 2021.
Not West2nd
925 East Market Street
Guy Blundon, CMB Development
About .25 acres
20,000 square feet
of office space
52 luxury apartments
Originally a preschool, the property at 925 East Market Street inspired Guy Blundon and business partner Keith Woodard to launch new plans for the property.
They envision five stories, and the first level will contain office space, Blundon says.
“It’s downtown, near the Pavilion and the Downtown Mall,” he says. “There are beautiful views from all of the upper floors, in every direction.”
The developers of 925 East Market Street envision five stories, with the first level containing office space, and 52 luxury apartments with “beautiful views from all of the upper floors, says CMB Development’s Guy Blundon. Courtesy DBF Associates Architects
Another amenity will be a covered parking space. “You could live and work in the same building,” he says.
The city has passed a resolution allowing 10th Street to be narrowed to allow for sidewalk and landscape buffers, and specified that the building be open to the public in the commercial use areas, with handicapped entrances on 10th and Market streets.
Construction should begin soon. “I have been focusing on other projects, mainly in Richmond,” says Blundon, and up until recently, business partner Woodard had been busy with the ill-fated West2nd.
Infilling
Paynes Mill
Southern Development
7 acres
25 single family homes
Starting at $400,000
Site work just started off once quiet Hartman’s Mill Road in a historic African American neighborhood.
At about a mile south of the Downtown Mall, Southern Development vice president Charlie Armstrong calls the houses at Paynes Mill “a rare find” because most of them back up to private wooded areas.
Charlie Armstrong. Photo by John Robinson
The U-shaped community offers houses with three to five bedrooms, two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half bathrooms, and 2,147 to 3,764 square feet. Lots range from an eighth of an acre to a half-acre, and the first home is scheduled to be completed this spring.
Straddling the urban ring
Lochlyn Hill
Milestone Partners
35 acres in the city and county
210-unit mix of single family, townhomes, and cottages
8 Habitat for Humanity homes plus affordable accessory dwellings
Low $400,000s to north of $700,000
Located off East Rio Road, Lochlyn Hill will have architecturally diverse homes and a wide variety of lot types and sizes, with the aim of accommodating everyone from couples to families to empty-nesters. Courtesy Milestone Partners
Nest Realty’s Jim Duncan touts the hometown aspects of Lochlyn Hill off East Rio Road, which encompasses both the city and county and borders Pen Park, Meadowcreek Golf Course, and connects with the Rivanna Trails system. Milestone Partners’ Frank Stoner and L.J. Lopez redeveloped the historic Jefferson School, and are working on turning the Barnes Lumber site in downtown Crozet into a town center. Nest is doing the marketing, and all the builders are local, says Duncan.
He notes its location in the popular Greenbrier district, and its diversity of architectural styles. “It’s not just white houses along the street,” he says.
Crozet for rent
The Summit at Old Trail
Denico, part of Denstock
11.51 acres
90 apartments
29 affordable 1-bedroom units
From $1,100 to $1,600 per month
Development firm Denico conducted a market study in western Albemarle and saw a gap in the marketplace for apartments in that part of the county.
“Given the growth, zoning, and access to [Interstate] 64, we felt that building apartments in Old Trail was a good opportunity, says Robert F. Stockhausen Jr., a co-principal at parent company Denstock. “It is a nice alternative for families and others to have.”
While the firm had originally looked in other locations, Old Trail won out with its location and amenities: golf, walking trails, stores, restaurants, the Village Center, views of the mountains, parking behind units, and nearby I-64 access.
The one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments in Summit at Old Trail will feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, a private theater, clubroom, a business center, and rooftop sky lounge, says Stockhausen, as well as an amenity that sounds super swanky: valet trash service.
Bald eagles included
Fairhill
Southern Classic
120 acres
2- to 6-acre lots plus 60-acre preservation tract
$400,000 to $450,000 lots
Fairhill off U.S. 250 in Crozet is not a cookie-cutter development. With mountain views from “about every” one of the 13 lots for sale, and half of those near Lickinghole Creek Basin, the custom homes—once built—will be in the $1.2 million to $1.5 million range, according to Southern Classic owner David Mitchell.
“You get the best of both worlds,” he says. “It feels like rural living and it’s five minutes from Crozet.” Roads have been built and paving will take place in September.
Fairhill’s first publicity came more than a year ago, when an anonymous source tipped off the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department—and C-VILLE Weekly—that a pair of bald eagles had made a nest for their two eaglets along the Lickinghole Creek Basin, a popular site for birders and waterfowl.
A storm in February destroyed the nest, says Mitchell, and within a month, the eagles built it back. His permit requires him to keep an eye on the eagles for an hour every two weeks, and it has some restrictions about when work can take place, but those “are not the worst thing in the world,” he says.
Glenmore’s new neighbor
Rivanna Village
Ryan Homes
95 acres
290 units
Starting in upper $300s
Nestled next to Glenmore, Rivanna Village will be a community of nearly 300 villas, townhouses, and single-family homes—and they’re all maintenance-free, so you’ll never have to mow your own lawn.
So far, 27 villas have been approved, and the remaining 263 units are still in the proposal process.
The one-level homes are specifically designed with the bedrooms, a laundry room, kitchen, and family room on the ground floor, and the proposed neighborhood will have its own trails, dog park, sports courts, and picnic shelters.
Ryan Homes reps didn’t respond to multiple requests for information, but according to their website, the ranch-style homes are “intimate, but spacious” and “built to last.” So that’s good.
Urban Pantops
Riverside Village
Stony Point Design/Build
Retail and residential
8 acres
93 units
Four years in the making, Riverside Village on Route 20 north—Stony Point Road—was the coming-out party for development firm Stony Point Design/Build, run by Chris Henry (son-in-law of local baby-formula magnate Paul Manning).
This “village” along the river just south of Darden Towe Park features a little bit of everything: residential condos, detached homes, and side-by-side attached homes.
Riverside Village will feature a little bit of everything: residential condos, detached homes, and side-by-side attached homes. Courtesy Stoney Point Design/Build
Under construction now are The Shops at Riverside Village, where Henry promises wood-fired pizza, craft beer, and a cycling studio. Rental apartments, four of which will be affordable, will occupy the second story above the commercial spaces.
Henry, who originally had 18 acres, but deeded 10 to the county to expand the size of Darden Towe, points to the site’s mix of uses, river access, and residential density as examples of Stony Point’s commitment to “urban planning, placemaking, and walkability,” something his firm is already focusing on at other sites around the county and in the city at Dairy Central.
All tired up
Scottsville Tire Factory
McDowellEspinosa Architect, with the University of Virginia
61.47 acres
185,721 gross square feet
Pricing as of July 2017:
Plant and 41.31-acre lot (along James River): $1,169,600
19.97-acre parcel: $795,000
The tire factory at 800 Bird St. in Scottsville has been empty since early 2010, when Hyosung shuttered its plant there, and the Town of Scottsville is trying to drum up interest in repurposing the nearly 186,000-square-foot space.
Town Administrator Matt Lawless has partnered with architect Seth McDowell and UVA’s Andrew Johnston to imagine what might happen to the site now owned by land magnate Charles Hurt.
While the factory site is for sale as two lots, it does not have a buyer. The town surveyed residents to think ahead 20 years and invited ideas for uses for the old factory building. Among these were residences, health and fitness programs, a go-cart track, and swimming pools. Some of those ideas will make their way into early renderings.
McDowell, who is working with up to three UVA students on the project, says comment and feedback on what town leaders call “a key asset for the town” will begin with a September 27 town meeting.
The marketing survey showed that 75 apartments may be needed in the coming 20 years, and plant plans may include all 75 units, 40 or even 20 units in the space. It’s a question of whether it is possible to rezone for residential purposes in the industrial area.
“There’s not one set vision,” says McDowell.
Whatever happened to…
Blasted plans
Developers of Belmont Point on Quarry Road were excavating away for 26 single family homes starting in the upper $300,000s when they got stuck between a rock and a hard place. Literally.
In June, neighbors got wind that Hurt Construction had hired a company to blast through bedrock, some of which was within 300 feet of neighboring homes.
“There’s no chance the city is going to allow the blast,” says Andrew Baldwin with Core Real Estate and Development, who was developing the site. The subterranean rock affects six lots that will require chipping or homes on slabs without basements.
That decision, says Baldwin, will be made by owner Charles Hurt’s Stonehenge Park LLC and Southern Development. But Southern Development’s Charlie Armstrong says he isn’t buying lots until they’re ready for building. And Hurt did not return a phone call from C-VILLE.
Lawsuit hurdle
One of the few apartment projects in the downtown area that has affordable units is at 1011 E. Jefferson St., but the project has whipped the Little High Neighborhood Association into a lawsuit-filing frenzy because City Council denied the 17 plaintiffs their three-minute right to petition their government when the special use permit was considered during a July 5, 2017, hearing, according to the pro se suit. And one of the plaintiffs suing council is former councilor Bob Fenwick.
The suit, filed one year later, has run into its first hurdle, according to the response from the city. “We missed the deadline,” says Fenwick. “You have to appeal within 21 days.”
He adds, “That might be a big mountain. We figured this would probably be a learning experience.”
Little High neighborhood resident Bob Fenwick is suing the City Council upon which he once sat. Staff photo
Meanwhile, Great Eastern Management’s David Mitchell (who also owns Southern Classic) says the special use permit and the preliminary site plan for the 126-unit building have been approved and the company has submitted a final site plan. But there’s still more work to be done before the current medical offices on the 1.5-acre site come down.
“We have to find a place for the doctors to move and move the doctors before demolition can begin,” says Mitchell.
Dewberry stays dark
Charlottesville’s reigning eyesore, the Landmark, is approaching its ninth birthday. In the ensuing near-decade since construction stalled on the former Halsey Minor/Lee Danielson project, Waynesboro-born John Dewberry bought the property in 2012 and has continued to keep it in its skeletal form.
The Landmark. Photo by Matteus Frankovich/Skyclad AP
In December, City Council quashed plans to give Dewberry a $1 million tax break over 10 years, but Dewberry Capital allegedly is moving forward. In March, the Board of Architectural Review approved additional height and massing. Since then, who knows? Dewberry and his VP Lockie Brown did not return multiple calls.
Rising from the ashes
The owners of the Excel Inn & Suites that burned May 4, 2017, are working on a reincarnation that bears no resemblance to the 1951-built Gallery Court Motor Hotel that hosted Martin Luther King Jr., but which shares a similar name.
Earlier this month, the Planning Commission approved a special use permit to build the Gallery Court Hotel.
The Planning Commission voted 5-2 on September 11 to approve Vipul and Manisha Patel’s special use permit to build a seven-story Gallery Court Hotel replacement on Emmet Street, where the original flamed out. The new hotel will have 72 rooms, including a rooftop snack bar and ground-level cafe.
29 Northtown
Brookhill—located between Polo Grounds Road and Forest Lakes—could be the successful pedestrian friendly urban model of which the county has long dreamed. Its town center sounds like a mini-Downtown Mall with an amphitheater—hello Fridays After 5—a movie theater and restaurants, according to Riverbend Development’s Alan Taylor last year.
Added to the mix this year: A deluxe ice park that’s guaranteed to be a hit with displaced skaters from the soon-to-be demolished Main Street Arena.
Last fall, the county’s Architectural Review Board approved an initial site plan, and Brookhill’s first phase includes four apartment buildings. We’d like to tell you more about when those will be available to lease, but Taylor did not return multiple requests for information.
Correction September 25: The original version misidentified the location of Apex headquarters, which will be in the parking lot on the north side of ACAC.
Clarification September 26 on the Little High Neighborhood Association lawsuit.
The Albemarle County Police Department released its annual crime report for 2017 in June, and while we already published some of the most striking statistics, here’s what else caught our eye.
Between the years of 2016 and 2017, crimes rates increased in all but one category. The largest increases were in homicide and forcible rape, whose rates increased by a whopping 500 percent and 93 percent, respectively. The exception was robbery, which decreased by more than 50 percent.
1,805 larcenies, 1.4 percent increase
1,305 property crimes, 2.3 percent increase
146 breaking and enterings, 0.7 percent increase
74 stolen motor vehicles, 21.3 percent increase
37 aggravated assaults, 9 percent increase
27 forcible rapes, 93 percent increase
10 robberies, 52 percent decrease
6 homicides, 500 percent increase
Disorderly conduct was the most common call for service.
Disorderly Conduct: 1,223 calls
Mental Health: 575 calls
Noise Complaint: 560 calls
Drug Offenses: 529 calls
Trespassing: 427 calls
Vandalism: 403 calls
Domestic Assault: 321 calls
Shots Fired: 273 calls
DUI: 174 calls
DIP: 163 calls
Littering: 12 calls
The report’s demographic breakdown found that whites make up two-thirds of the arrests in the county.
White: 66.2 percent
Black: 32.3 percent
Asian or Pacific Islander: 0.8 percent
Unknown: 0.7 percent
American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.1 percent
Suicide stats
The county crime report included a new section for mental health. In 2017, Albemarle County Police received 575 mental-health-related calls, a 7 percent increase from the previous year. In 2015, there was a record 24 percent increase from the previous year. Deaths by suicide have decreased slightly over the past half-decade.
2013
Attempted: 18
Completed: 12
2014
Attempted: 17
Completed: 13
2015
Attempted: 10
Completed: 15
2016
Attempted: 18
Completed: 6
2017
Attempted: 11
Completed: 11
We’ve been duped
A human figure wrapped in cloth, tightly bound at the neck and feet and dumped at the McIntire Recycling Center over the weekend gave recyclers a scare—until police responded to the scene and cut the cloth to reveal a mannequin. Police are still investigating the body bamboozle.
WillowTree makes moves
Governor Ralph Northam dropped by August 27 to announce that WillowTree will invest approximately $20 million in an expansion and relocation to the old Woolen Mills factory, which will create more than 200 jobs. The new location will allow the 276-employee company to grow to 500, and the move is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Coach gets caught
A Monticello High School assistant football and girls’ basketball coach has been placed on administrative leave following his August 24 arrest for allegedly sending “inappropriate electronic communications” to a juvenile. George “Trae” Payne III is also a teacher’s aide at the school.
Change of venue
Attorneys for James Fields say he won’t be able to get a fair trial this November in the same town where he allegedly rammed his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of anti-racist activists, killing one of them and injuring many. They’ve asked to move his three-week, first-degree murder trial elsewhere, or bring in out-of-town jurors. A judge is expected to rule on the motion August 30.
Like a high school paper
Liberty University now requires its student newspaper, the Liberty Champion, to get approval from two to three administrators before publishing a story. Bruce Kirk, the school’s communications dean, told student reporters their job was to protect Liberty’s reputation and image, according to a story in the World magazine.
Heaphy’s new job
Tim Heaphy. Photo by Eze Amos
Former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy, a current Hunton & Williams partner who was hired to conduct the controversial independent review of how the city managed last year’s white supremacist events, will now have another notch on his resume. When UVA Counsel Roscoe Roberts retires at the end of the month, Heaphy, a UVA School of Law alumni, will take his place.
Quote of the week:
“We ain’t mad at you Spike Lee. We just want you to do the right thing.” —Unnamed young people in an open letter to Spike Lee, saying he used their images from the August 12 attack in his movie, BlacKkKlansman, without permission. They want him to donate $219,000 to fight white supremacy.
