New owner for KFC franchise on Emmet Street and 42 other Charlottesville property transactions from August 2024
Also: Company pays $500K for just under an acre of undeveloped land on 5th Street Extended in Charlottesville
I am very far behind on my periodic postings of property transactions in the City of Charlottesville. I have been doing these since January 2021 and they have so far been the sole “premium” item that comes with a paid subscription to Charlottesville Community Engagement.
The production of these is pretty simple. I am perhaps the most prolific writer of articles about land use in the Charlottesville area. When I was at Charlottesville Tomorrow, I began to do research into property transactions to have a better sense of some of the bigger dynamics going on. Here are two stories that kicked off the work.
Even when I was not in journalism, I still looked at property transactions to look for certain items such as times when the University of Virginia Foundation purchases land for eventual use by the University of Virginia. When I became an independent journalist, I decided to make it part of my beat and so I look at every single transaction.
To be able to do this work, I need a steady income. One source of that income is through Substack, which makes up more than half of my revenue. It’s been over a month since I’ve posted one of these, so I’m going to just get to it without too much fanfare. If you’re a new subscriber who hasn’t paid yet and want to remain an unpaid subscriber, wait a week and I’ll post it to Information Charlottesville.
I check every property against the city’s new development portal to see if anything has been planned.
I look at each transaction’s percentage above the 2024 assessment and previous years, mostly with 2020. I want to point out just how much assessments have increased in the past five years. Those comparisons are not adjusted for inflation.
I do not name individuals or families that purchase properties and I don’t identify specific properties in these cases. I do name corporate purchasers and give those addresses.
I’m reluctant to provide any trends because I’m still learning certain skills. I’m aware that people want this information, and perhaps I’ll get there. Thank you to paid subscribers for providing a way for me to keep the journey going.