The City of Charlottesville has officially had enough with John Dewberry, the owner of an unfinished development at 201 E. Water St. known locally as The Dewberry Hotel, which is actually just a hulk lacking windows, elevators, balcony railings and most basic services since work on the project came to a halt in 2009.
Construction began in 2008 on what was envisioned at the time as a nine-story, $30 million hotel, but the project ran into immediate problems during the 2008-2008 Great Recession when the project lender, Silverton Bank, failed.
Work on the hotel came to a halt in 2009, and the property ended up in the hands of Dewberry Capital, which won the building shell with a $6.25 million bid at auction in 2012.
“The unfinished Dewberry project has been a scar on downtown for far too long,” City Manager Sam Sanders said, in a release from the city government sent out to the media on Tuesday.
“The city continues to believe the best outcome would be for the owner to sell the property to someone ready, willing, and able either to finish the building or remove the existing shell and start over. What we are no longer willing to accept is an indefinite continuation of the status quo,” Sanders said.
City Attorney John Maddux has requested, in a letter dated Aug. 19, that Dewberry provide the city with a written plan within 60 days that identifies:
- Whether the owner intends to complete the building, sell the property, or remove the existing structure.
- Specific milestones and target dates for that course of action, including anticipated permit or site plan applications.
- Interim measures to secure and maintain the site and improve the exterior, including plans for the weathered vinyl wrap.
The city also intends to conduct a current inspection and structural evaluation of the property.
The most recent structural study in the city’s possession dates to 2017, and city staff will coordinate with the property owner to arrange access for an updated assessment.
“We want to see this property become an asset to downtown and to the community,” Sanders said. “We are giving the owner an opportunity to show us a realistic path to get there. If that does not happen, the city is prepared to evaluate the appropriate next steps available to us.”
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Chris Graham
