Albemarle Place plans revived

By Brian McNeill

Published: September 10, 2008

Rumors of Albemarle Place’s demise, it seems, were greatly exaggerated.

Albemarle Place, a massive mixed-use development slated for construction near the intersection of U.S. 29 and Hydraulic Road, is moving forward again after more than a year of dormancy.

The project’s development company, Edens & Avant of Columbia, S.C., has been negotiating with Albemarle County and is expected to file a site plan in the coming months.

“It’s coming along,” said Mark Graham, director of Albemarle County’s department of community development. “They’re moving forward.”

Edens & Avant has signaled its intention to break ground on the project sometime in 2009, Graham said.

Albemarle Place is planned for 65 acres of vacant land near the 7-Eleven on Hydraulic Road. Once completed, the project will feature 1 million square feet of residential space and 900,000 square feet of retail and office space. Its buildings would surround a 10,000-square-foot foundation, according to plans.

Questions about the project’s status arose after one of Albemarle Place’s major tenants, Whole Foods, announced earlier this year that it was pulling out and would instead build its new grocery at the site of the demolished Terrace Theater near Kmart and Gold’s Gym on Hydraulic Road.

Further speculation about the project’s difficulties arose when Albemarle Place’s Web site was taken down in fall 2007.

Graham said the developer intends to keep the scope of the project the same, but is seeking to amend its proffers to the county.

The developer, he said, wants to pay for different transportation improvements than the original agreements. It also wants to change how the construction is phased, Graham said.

One reason that the project had come to a standstill was that the area’s water and sewer lines lacked the capacity to handle a huge influx of new residents and businesses.

Gary Fern, executive director of the Albemarle County Service Authority, announced Wednesday that construction on a new large sewer line called the Meadow Creek Interceptor could begin as early as February and would add enough capacity to support Albemarle Place.

“The sewer will be ready when [the developer is] ready,” Fern said.

Steve Boyle, vice president for development at Edens & Avant, said it is too early to announce any tenants of Albemarle Place, but added that he expects it to include a theater, hotel, grocery, pedestrian shopping area and open space.

“This is an enormous project,” Boyle said. “It’ll transform how retailing is done in Charlottesville. It’s been talked about for too long. We’re going to make it happen.”

Edens & Avant’s Web site touts Albemarle Place as an “elegant mix of Main Street retail, residential living, Class A office, and upscale hotel.” It describes Charlottesville as the “Napa of the East Coast.”

Edens & Avant purchased the property a year ago from Ezon Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Albemarle County’s property tax records are unclear about the sale price.

Albemarle Place is Edens & Avant’s largest ongoing development. The firm is also building a 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Merrifield, a fast-growing part of Fairfax County, as well as shopping centers in Front Royal, Haymarket and Manassas.

Developers have sought to bring Albemarle Place to fruition since at least 2003.

“This project has become stigmatized because of all the false starts,” Boyle said.

Over the past year, Boyle said, Edens & Avant was planning quietly and waiting until the project was further along before making any public announcements.

Boyle said he believes Edens & Avant will succeed where others have failed because his firm has more of a local presence than past developers.

“Nobody was really invested in it on a day-to-day basis,” Boyle said. “I think that’s partly why it never got off the ground.”

Tom Gallagher, a vice president for development at Edens & Avant, works in Charlottesville three days a week. The company also has two other staff members in the area working on the project.