CHARLOTTESVILLE, JEFFERSON'S EDEN
From the Winter 2006 Issue
It’s a place with the magic touch. Always attracting the high and mighty: A trio of presidents – Jefferson, Madison and Monroe – and multiple modern icons. Sissy Spacek. John Grisham. Howie Long. Dave Mathews. Mary Chapin Carpenter.. There’s a reason they’re all drawn to this Virginia mecca. And why Frommer’s ranks Charlottesville as America’s Number One Best City to Live In.
Two views of luxury life offered at Kewsick Hall and Estate, just minutes from downtown Charlottesville.
COURTESY OF KESWICK HALL CLUB & ESTATE
A broad world of its own, that’s Charlottesville, Va.
Set in legendary Albermarle County amidst the pastoral foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this picturesque small southern town offers a vibrant community pursuing the Jeffersonian ideal of perennial renaissance of mind, body and soul.
Rich in natural surroundings and enduring traditions, Charlottesville teems with tangible attributes … the allure of historic architecture, outstanding educational facilities, an exciting downtown pedestrian mall, world-class shopping and boutique restaurants. Over it all is the unforgettable beauty of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia.
Monticello, completed in 1789, was Jefferson’s “essay in architecture” and because he envisioned an academic village where shared learning infused daily life, he opened his university in 1825. All of which sets a distinct tone that begins to explain life in Charlottesville. Like Paris, Rome and New York, the town has that intangible “center of the world” feeling that makes people want more. Every visit I make leaves me wishing to come back or call it home, and I’m not the only one.
For those Who Can Live Anywhere
“On a scale of one to 10, making the move to Charlottesville is a 10,” says Punkie Feil, long-time resident and veteran realtor with McLean Faulconer, Inc. Realtors.
The can-live-anywhere crowd is choosing to make this home because Charlottesville has so much to offer. It’s ranked as a “Best Place to Live” by Frommer’s, Outside Magazine, Kiplinger’s, Modern Maturity…and a host of others.
The reason: Four great seasons, renowned elementary and secondary schools, a thriving arts scene, the finest health care at UVA Medical Center, and every imaginable amenity. It’s no mystery, then, that a real estate phenomenon is going on right now.
NOT TO BE MISSED Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate on "Little Mountain."
Feil quotes local statistics of two percent annual growth in the last decade – but she and other locals agree it seems greater than that, especially in the last five years. Residents in Albermarle County number approximately 80,000 , while 40,000 live in the City of Charlottesville. Hardly a crush, that’s a bonus to new residents from teeming U.S. and international locales.
Eclectic Refinement
Because of shared affinities for Charlottesville, the university and Italy – plus a love of learning, travel, food, wine and conversation – Thomas Jefferson and Christina Ball would make good dinner table companions. A professor and food writer, Dr. Ball’s innovative Ecco Italia (www.eccoitaly.com) is found at the Euro-style Main Street Market in the heart of town. It’s a cultural clearinghouse for knowledge of Italian language, social customs, regions, history, cuisine and culture. It’s also a connecting point where area residents and visitors can get a feel for Charlottesville style.
One of the city’s “must see” destinations is the crowd-pleasing pedestrian mall in the heart of the downtown area with its brick-lined streets and soup-to-nuts quaint shops. CHARLOTTESVILLE/ALBEMARLE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
Sometimes Ball escorts her language students to Milano, a café in the building, where they order in Italian. Once a month, she and the owners of a Verity-Blue, a house- wares emporium in the mall hold a “serata,” the Italian equivalent of a soiree, to celebrate the wines and appertivos of some corner of Italy. She partners with Chef Howie Velie (owner of Magnolia, a restaurant, in nearby Scottsville) for regional cooking classes at the market’s Seasonal Cook demonstration kitchen.
Ball designed Ecco Italia to promote community and enhance the presence of all things Italian, a project Jefferson – who was helped to start his vineyards by an Italian friend and who was a great fan of the Italian architect Palladio – would approve. Ball’s clients come from all over the region, including nearby Glenmore in Keswick.
FOR INCREDIBLE FLAVORS Albermarle Baking Company: Feast and Gearharts Fine Chocolates - at the Main Street Market.
Market Wine Shop: You'll never look at a wine shop the same way again, 311 East Market Street.
Among her clientele is one savvy retired couple who left Manhattan to be urban pioneers in the nearby neighborhood of Belmont. The wife is a former magazine editor with Conde Nast, her husband a former executive with a Manhattan retailer. Each morning they stroll to the Main Street Market, sip an espresso, collect provisions and catch some conversation. Luxuries small and great, appreciated in eclectic surroundings by cultured folks, define the appeal of Charlottesville.
“I think people who come to Charlottesville are really, really surprised by the quality of everything.” says Carol Clarke of Montague Miller and Company Real Estate. “Even I am and I’ve been in town for ages.”
Boutique restaurants, antiques from around the globe, fine linens and ceramics, 20 book shops and everything in between is at hand here. A model for other cities, the downtown foot-traffic-only shopping mall is one of the nation’s most successful, while the Barracks Road Shopping Center offers a plethora of restaurants and shops in a open air setting. There’s hardly another place like the Market Street Wineshop, and other grocery stores pale in comparison to
Foods of All Nations.
Celebrities abound. From movie stars and writers to musicians and philanthropists. The Dave Mathews Band calls Charlottesville home, and even the Rolling Stones played UVa’s Scott Stadium in October 2005. To add to the cultural scene, the newly reopened Paramount Theater is awash in music, dance, drama and more.
On The Campus
For residents and visitors alike the grounds of the University of Virginia are a worthwhile pilgrimage. The Lawn which Jefferson planned between his pavilions of learning is one of those special places on earth like the Place de Voges in Paris or St. Marks Square in Venice.
The university simmers with the excitement of learning. Its libraries are open to the public, its galleries are a must-see, and a tantalizing variety of lectures and workshops dot the calendar. The University Art Museum, for example, recently hosted an American Studies Symposium entitled Art and Architecture 1600-1900, with a guest lecturer from Delaware’s Winterthur Museum.
Just as all roads once led to Rome, here all roads lead to and from Jefferson’s Rotunda, the heart of Charlottesville’s cornucopia of intellectualism, cutting edge intelligence and southern style.
In addition to its overshadowing Jeffersonian influence, it’s in step with trends across the country celebrating urban centralization. Town denizens here relish walking from home to bank, post office, business office, the corner market and to the movies with near-instant access to the downtown pedestrian mall.
Storybook streets and a rich mixture of architectural styles abound. North Downtown’s old established neighborhoods are filled with grand homes at grand prices. Urban revival neighborhoods attract singles, young families and the young at heart. As a result, condos are springing up, small, historic homes are being renovated, and cafes, tapas bars and music spots brighten the nightscape.
Loring Woodriff of McClean Faulconer Realty was the guide on a tour of Fifeville, an island of small historic homes begging for TLC. A Charlottesville native, she recently returned to her youthful home from the linen-and-silk-lined trenches of Ralph Lauren’s marketing department in Manhattan.
“Fifeville is what Belmont was five years ago,” she says. “I think these properties are even more valuable because of proximity to both the university and downtown. From here, you can walk everywhere.” Fifth Street’s Star Hill cottages mimic historic architecture in the neighborhood and illustrate popularity and appreciation. In 2004, the first phase of these 950-to-1,300-square-foot homes sold below $200,000. Those now on the market are going fast at close to $300,000.
Both Belmont and Fifeville are portraits of stylish urban pioneering for new builds and beautifully executed historic renovations. The result: scarcity of these properties is driving prices up.
Albermarle County Homes, Farms and Estates
Just west of the university is located the Crescent of Albermarle County along the U.S. 250 West corridor. At the gateway sits Farmington Country Club, where houses fetch in excess of $1.2 million. In the Ednam and Bellair neighbor hoods, splendid homes with lush yards start at about half that price. One of a kind describes White Gables Pavilions, new, luxury condominiums.
In a word, the response has been fantastic, according to Len Mailloux of Real Estate lll, who points out that the market for these homes is focused on the empty nesters and second home owners who are buying here. These upscale units start around $580,000.
ACCOMMODATIONS The Boar’s Head Inn – This fabled location’s original portion was constructed from an 1834 water wheel grist mill. Today the property of the University of Virginia, it is included in the National Trust’s Historic Hotels of America. The soothing atmosphere is classic Virginia and an ideal home away from home. Not to be missed: the inn’s newly renovated spa where a number of expertly rendered services are available. Area residents may join The Boar’s Head Inn state-of-the-art Sports Club, the state’s most expansive tennis facilities and famed Birdwell golf course. U.S. 250, 800-476-1988 200 South Street Inn – Elegance in the midst of lively downtown-south. 434-979-0200, 800-964-7008, The Inn at Court Square – Tasteful accommodations in the oldest existing house downtown-north. 434-295-2800, 866-466-2877
Lovely U.S. 250 continues east to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Surrounding it are meandering country roads that crisscross the area’s famous farms and estates in Ivy, Crozet, White Hall and Free Union – sleepy hamlets gaining in population.
While Jim Bonner, one of the area’s top producing agents and president of The Land Office, a division of Roy Wheeler Realty, points out that a cottage on small acreage might be found in this area for less than $500,000, he also notes a recent sale of $24 million for a 1,500-acre estate.
Keswick, the Land of Dreams
The historic Keswick district, east of Charlottesville, is the epitome of prime country estate living.
A gated community, Glenmore, offers a variety of property types plus Georgian-style clubhouse, tennis, swimming, fitness center and championship golf course. Undulating emerald green acreage is beautifully manicured, architectural styles are diverse and retirees and families with young children co-exist in a harmonious all- inclusive resort lifestyle. Housing starts around $400,000 with several homes selling for more than $1.5 million.
Romantic Keswick Hall, arguably one of the world’s most magnificent hotels and a property of Orient-Express with its world-wide reputation for excellence in all it does, stands as the centerpiece of Keswick Estates.
EQUESTRIAN ACCESS Keswick Hunt and Farmington Hunt clubs are two of the regions oldest and most prestigious. To learn about Viriginia Hunt Week, click here.
The property’s history pre-dates the Civil War, and for many years was the site of area horse country events. In 1990 Sir Bernard Ashley, a global entrepreneur, purchased and expanded an existing villa and today it and the land around it have been turned into a masterful enclave of luxury and leisure.
Those who can’t bear to leave, don’t have to because now they can live at Keswick Estates where homes are spaced well apart in an elegant, private world that pays every attention to gentile living, from use of Keswick Hall to the Arnold Palmer golf course and a new club with spa, sport and even impressive travel amenities. Locally marketed by Montague Miller
Realtors, home sites range from $385,000 to well over $1 million; homes are priced accordingly. The community has identified custom builders for the project and home styles of many traditions are acceptable on land with mountain, meadow, golf course and woodland views and flat and rolling.
