Monthly Archive for January, 2011

Kluge Development No Longer Kluge’s

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 31, 2011 in In Brief. 9 Comments

The bank owns Patricia Kluge’s would-be housing development now.  #

City, County Assessments Released

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 31, 2011 in Development, Government and Taxes. 13 Comments

A lot of us county residents headed to Albemarle’s GIS website on Sunday after Jim Duncan pointed that out assessments were available. (Mine didn’t change.) As Brandon Shulleeta points out in today’s Daily Progress, county property values are down only slightly this year, by 1.24%. The city released their assessments, too, and they saw a 0.63% increase. Both rates were buoyed slightly by commercial assessments, since residential assessments were somewhat lower. These changes are nothing like the enormous increases that we saw just a few years ago, during the real estate bubble, nor are they like the big drops we saw when it burst. Assuming that real estate tax rates don’t change much—not necessarily a fair assumption—then both localities are basically looking at flat funding, and we’re all looking at paying the same amount in real estate taxes that we paid last year.

Another Minor Property Foreclosed On

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 28, 2011 in In Brief. 1 Comment

Halsey Minor has defaulted on his mortgage on Carter’s Grove—Colonial Williamsburg is foreclosing.  #

Downtown to Get a Huge Sundial

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 25, 2011 in In Brief. 5 Comments

The Mall is due to get a huge sundial in front of City Hall. I like the sister cities video teleconferencing idea better.  #

City Hunting for Time Capsule

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 25, 2011 in General News. 8 Comments

The city is getting closer to figuring out where they buried a time capsule 50 years ago, Ted Strong reports in today’s Daily Progress. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Charlottesville’s founding, a steel box was buried somewhere in the city, but the city neglected to keep a record of where. A group of children attended the burial in 1962, charged with reminding the city where it was buried come 2012; good idea, but it didn’t pan out. Luckily, some folks’ memories have been jogged, and it’s been narrowed down to an area next to the Charlottesville Circuit Court. But somebody seems to remember that it was moved for construction, and it’s not clear exactly where under the sidewalk it is, if it’s there at all. Anniversary celebrations don’t start until next year, so there’s still another year to track it down.

If we bury a new one, maybe this time GPS coordinates?