Events, Entertainment and Shopping Make Downtown Vibrant
With a beguiling mix of historical charm and modern attractions‚ Charlottesville lays claim to having one of the country’s most successful and vibrant downtowns.
The success didn’t come easy. The city bricked over the former Main Street and turned it into a pedestrian-only zone in the late 1970s‚ but the area struggled to find an identity – and prosperity – for more than a decade.
“Some people said it was because the Downtown Mall lacked an ‘anchor’ department store. Some said it was because it was hard to park. Really‚ it was just growing pains‚” says real estate developer Chuck Lewis‚ whose properties include York Place.
That showplace downtown property blends attractive commercial space – including a restaurant‚ a tailor‚ a hair salon‚ an Irish shop‚ a jeweler‚ an art gallery and a coffeehouse co-owned by Lewis’ son-in-law – with two floors of stylish residential spaces.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s‚ Lewis and other developers who embraced the idea of making the open-air mall a hub of arts and entertainment invested in that vision. A hotel‚ a six-screen movie theater and an indoor ice rink were some of the results.
Now‚ the six-block-long mall and pedestrian sections of three side streets offer live theaters‚ the hands-on Virginia Discovery Museum‚ dozens of restaurants and sidewalk cafes‚ and farmers’ and artisans’ markets.
An amphitheater on the east end of the mall is the scene of regular entertainment‚ including the warm-weather “Fridays after 5” weekly concert series; “Court Days‚” a twice-a-year juried arts and crafts show; the annual Dogwood Blues Festival; and First Night Virginia‚ a family-oriented celebration on New Year’s Eve.
And with more than 100 specialty shops along the brick-paved‚ oak-lined pedestrian walkways‚ “we also have the kind of retail that is a visual adventure for shoppers‚” Lewis says. “You go in and you’re having such a good time that you want to take a little souvenir with you – the purchase is incidental to the experience.”
Success is boosted by convenient parking in nearby garages and lots‚ as well as free trolley service connecting the mall to the University of Virginia along West Main Street.
“It all works together to make it a destination for a wide variety of people from all over Charlottesville‚” says Mary Loose DeViney‚ vice president of Tuel Jewelers‚ a family-owned shop that has been in the heart of downtown since 1945. “People come down here to eat‚ to enjoy the entertainment‚ to shop‚ to use professional services like bankers‚ lawyers and doctors – or to do all of those things.”
DeViney says Tuel Jewelers has had opportunities to move to Charlottesville’s enclosed shopping mall several miles north of downtown or to another site‚ but “we never wanted to leave. … We have always felt like we were part of a community.”
Steven W. Blaine‚ a civic leader and real estate attorney with LeClair Ryan‚ which has offices downtown‚ agrees that assembling the right mix of businesses has been crucial to success. “Downtown is working because it has really succeeded in attracting a wide audience‚” Blaine says. “Just about anybody can find something to do down here.”
Perhaps the real measure of the area’s success‚ he says‚ is that the prosperity is spreading away from the pedestrian mall to surrounding blocks.
David Toscano‚ a lawyer who served on the city council from 1990-2002 (and was mayor for two of those years)‚ worked to foster downtown development during his tenure. “I think one reason it has really worked here is that we have had a unique blend of government money spent on infrastructure combined with the efforts of private entrepreneurs with a vision‚” Toscano says.
One of the things developer Lewis values most about downtown is its diversity. “What all of us share is a commitment to the community‚” he says. “Whatever differences may arise in planning or executing those plans‚ we all believe we can make a difference.
“In a town this size‚ money isn’t all that talks. Ideas talk. Commitment talks. Dreams talk. Here‚ people reach out together – not only in business partnership‚ but in creative partnership.”
