1 acre redevelopment in Fifeville on Cherry Ave

A & B to be redeveloped

A=Sunshine Mart, B=Ronnies Garage, C=Korner Restaurant/9th-10th Connector, D=UVa Medical Center

Sunsine Mart (A)

Ronnie's Garage (B)

Independence Resource Center Center east (right) of Sunshine Mart

Cherry Avenue Shopping Center across the street

East wing of Cherry Sopping Center

(Click thumbnail to open larger image 816x612.)

"Cherry project possible"
By John Yellig, Daily Progress staff writer, July 3, 2006

Cherry Avenue could be the next part of Charlottesville to be caught up in the redevelopment wave that’s been sweeping through town lately.

As nine-story buildings are proposed downtown, four-story ones are on the horizon in Fifeville.

A one-acre plot on the corner of Cherry and the Ninth-10th Street Connector is for sale as a “rare development opportunity.”

The listing touts zoning laws that permit a four-story, 45-unit mixed-use development with 4,000 feet each of retail and commercial space. The site is currently home of Ronnie’s Garage and the Sunshine Mini Mart.

A few blocks away on Estes Street, a 29-unit, four-story building with 835 square feet of commercial space is up for a site plan review by the city Planning Commission on July 11.

Construction of the building will require the demolition of at least three houses, each built around 1900.

Negotiations with a buyer for the Cherry Avenue property, listed at $5.95 million, are ongoing, Realtor Brett Jordan said. A site plan is being drawn up as well, but the building’s design will be up to the buyer.

The area is prime for redevelopment, Jordan said.

“There’s no other location in Charlottesville that has the developable potential that that area has,” he said. “There’s no area that’s that central.”

The Estes Street development does not appear to jibe with the wishes of current Fifeville residents as expressed in a recently released neighborhood plan.

“Residents felt Estes Street should remain residential and current development designation as a commercial corridor is inappropriate,” the plan states.

Resident Herb Stahl said traffic is a major neighborhood concern.

“There’s just more and more and more, but there’s not more and more space on the roads,” he said.

Jordan said whatever building goes up on Cherry Avenue would be developed with local input.

“There’s endless possibilities, but whatever we decide, we’ll take the residents’ desires into account,” Jordan said.

He added that working in concert with the owners of other Cherry Avenue commercial properties is also in the works.

“We’re trying to bring the major property owners together and trying to develop a mini-concept plan for the area and see if it can be possible to get the input of the community and build something really cool,” he said.

Contact John Yellig at (434) 978-7245 or eyellig@dailyprogress.com.