Tower gets conditional OK

During its Tuesday meeting, Charlottesville’s Board of Architectural Review reinforced the idea that the devil is in the details.

“[Ten percent] or 15 percent of design is headache,” said Michael Osteen, Planning Commission liaison to the board.

The architectural board largely favored design site plans for a nine-story condo tower on the corner of West Main Street and McIntire Road — the board voted 6-2 to conditionally approve the plans crafted by architectural firm Morrison Seifert Murphy — but reiterated that numerous project details will need to be brought back for final board approval. Among these are brick color, wall detailing, windows, balcony logistics and signage around the site.

Board Chairman Fred Wolf said it was expected the design would undergo intense scrutiny before being approved.

“Most projects of this scale go through multiple reviews to get all the final details worked through,” Wolf said.

This was the second time the board discussed design for the 301 W. Main St. site. Before construction can begin, design plans for the 79-unit condo development have to be endorsed by the architectural board because of its mixed residential and commercial uses, which is not allowed by right in the locally designated historic district.

The proposed project — which has a three-story unit in front of a six-story tower — would have retail stores on the first floor and residential space beginning on the second floor. The project has been in the works for quite some time, according to Mary Joy Scala, Charlottesville’s preservation and design planner.

This is not the first time a project has been proposed for the coveted corner. A two-story CVS was proposed for the site, which last housed RSC Equipment Rental, but the architectural board rejected the idea nearly two years ago.

Scala said the board felt the CVS was not appropriate for the prime location.

“Everyone is happy I think that this proposal was made for this corner,” said Scala, referring to the mixed-use tower. “It called for a significant building.”

Wolf echoed those sentiments during the board’s meeting.

“I think looking at it from the context of a mall extension from downtown, it could hold that corner quite well,” he said. “We’ve been wanting to have a structure of this scale.”

But not all board members agreed. Eryn Brennan, a historian at the University of Virginia, said she thought the building was too imposing for the site and inconsistent with the feel of the area.

“I think it’s just too big,” said Brennan, who dissented along with board member Rebecca Schoenthal on conditionally approving the site’s design.

Last fall, councilors gave their support to construct the tower, after Richmond developer Bob Englander volunteered $300,000 to the Charlottesville Redevelop-ment and Housing Authority. Englander also offered a larger community benefits package to go with the project, including $200,000 for landscaping and streetscape improvements and an undisclosed amount for a traffic and pedestrian study of the intersection.

City spokesman Ric Barrick said the project falls directly in line with the city’s plan to redevelop the entire West Main streetscape, stretching from downtown to UVa. The city has allocated $1.75 million over the next five years for the project.

“Part of a city design, you want to make sure your economic engines are connected,” Barrick said. “Downtown is one of those engines and the university is another.”

He added, “The city does view this particular project as very valuable to revitalize that whole corridor.”