Last night, a team of architects from Philadelphia’s Wallace Roberts & Todd unveiled their plan to give the east end of the Downtown Mall (and much of downtown) a new look and some new features. Council approved the design process back in December, and this is the result of that. The initial goal was to design a CTS bus transfer station, but the plan now includes a mall expansion, planing trees along West Main, dead-ending South Street and installing a parking garage under the amphitheater. Some people are unhappy with the plan, though, notably because it can’t possibly be accomplished with the $3M in federal grant money that has been allocated. Jake Mooney has the story in today’s Progress.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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Why do we continually allow people who have no plans of ever living here or staying here to “redesign” the town?
It usually ends up as an air-conditioned nightmare, then everyone gets used to it until we
get “redesigned” again.
What a f*cked up cycle.
Right. Because it’s completely unfathomable that anyone who was not born and raised in Charlottesville could ever have an idea that would improve the mall and/or its environs. It’s not of consequence that the firm who did this work has experience in designs of this sort all over the country and all over the world. Forget that the study–and that’s all it is at this point–was commissioned by city council and was presumably done with input from local people. This must automatically suck because it wasn’t done by a local.
Charlottesville really needs to get over itself and realize that it is not the center of the universe and that there are other people out there who have ideas that might be good ones.
I couldn’t agree more. Always bring in outsiders. Consultants. Ever notice how many city positions are held by people from out of state. All that stuff for the mall sounds a bit too much.
MJ