VPM Daily Newscast: Dec. 13, 2024
The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Dec. 13, 2024:
‘Dewberry’ building in downtown Charlottesville up for sale
Reported by VPM News’ Dean Mirshahi
A building in downtown Charlottesville that has sat, unfinished, over the past 16 years is for sale, a move that could finally help turn the run-down property into the luxury hotel it was meant to be — or potentially into housing.
The incomplete hotel property at 201 E. Water St. on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall has faced an array of issues since breaking ground in 2008.
The Daily Progress reports those include when construction stopped in 2009 after the project went into bankruptcy and a 2017 deal to give the current owner tax breaks was rejected by the City Council (also per The Daily Progress).
Residents and city officials have described the structure — bought at a public auction by real estate developer John Dewberry in 2012 — as an eyesore in need of a change.
Joan Fenton, who owns a business downtown, told VPM News she thought a hotel would help drive tourism in Charlottesville, while City Councilor Michael Payne said the best outcome would be to turn the building into apartments.
Hanover, Ashland split over data center park proposal
Reported by VPM News’ Lyndon German
Hanover County’s board of supervisors unanimously rejected a proposed 131-acre data center park that would straddle the border between the county’s Beaverdam District and the town of Ashland.
The seven-member board shared multiple objections to the development — despite Ashland Town Council's October decision to approve the project’s rezoning request and a positive recommendation from Hanover’s planning commission in November.
Developers went through multiple iterations of the project to address concerns over power generation, obscured viewsheds and environmental impacts before Ashland approved it, but those measures weren’t enough for Hanover’s supervisors.
“At first glance this project looked pretty attractive,” Beaverdam District Supervisor Jeff Stoneman said. “But I really feel like a project like this is more of an industrial use [and] think this area is going to be too strained to accommodate this.”
In other news:
- Virginia K-12 enrollment plateaus at 1.3M, still down 3% since pandemic (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
In case you missed it:
- Douglas Development buys vacant Dominion office tower for hotel-housing conversion (Richmond BizSense)*
- Youngkin says mental health investments have exceeded goals, pledges $70M in additional funding (The Virginian-Pilot)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
