CHARLOTTESVILLE VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) With an eye toward the downtown mall’s 50th anniversary next year, the City Council is considering substantial upgrades to one of the area’s signature destinations.

At the council’s next meeting, on June 16, it will vote on an $8.7 million expenditure from the Capital Improvement Program Contingency Fund – and over $1 million would go to upgrade the mall.

“We’ve been talking with them for a while now about some kind of wish list items that we have for the downtown mall that we think would make it just overall better experience for everyone,” Hannah Keller of Friends of Charlottesville Downtown, told Cville Right Now. “We’re expecting a big influx of visitors for the 50th anniversary, so we really wanna bring the downtown mall to its best. We wanna make it shine because it’s a community asset and it’s the gem of our community and we want to be able to show it both to locals and visitors alike.”

Among the projects the City is eying is the construction of a new public restroom facility and refurbishing and replacement of bricks, particularly on the two cross streets where cars drive across the mall.

The bathroom project could carry a price tag of $280,000.

“It’s not anything that exists today and then the goal would be to figure out where we could place it where it is accessible and it is not intrusive to accessing a business that’s already been here all these years,” City manager Sam Sanders said. “The goal is to address the fact that we do not have restrooms that are open for a critical period of time, every night.”
The cost to repair and replace the bricks is estimated at $350,000.

“The two crossings where the cars go over are in need of significant attention just from overuse because cars is still rolling over them so there’s some significant improvement there,” Sanders said. “But we also know that there are some places where the bricks are loose and are sticking up and we want to address those from an ADA perspective.”

Sanders said some of the projects will begin as soon as next month, while others – including the addition of an ambassador team to assist visitors on the mall – would be further down the line.

Sanders office had previously earmarked up to $1.2 million for an ambassador program, which would place staff around the mall to help visitors with everything from getting directions to carrying packages to their cars, as examples.

Sanders hopes to procure an additional $235,000 for upgrades to lighting in a future vote.

“The main focus would be on some of the crossing the side streets because it does get pretty dark when it’s late and it gets dark,” Sanders said. “The plan would be to make sure that is well lit so that people feel comfortable and really just to add to the aesthetic of when you’re there for an evening experience, it’s lit up well enough.”

Keller said programs like Downtown Bloom and Magic on the Mall also contribute to keeping the area looking its best.

“We do programs ourselves getting the businesses involved in making the mall look vibrant and welcoming,” Keller said. “So, it’s just kind of making it shine.”

The council votes June 16 on the allocation of funds and Keller said she is cautiously optimistic it will pass.

“I think it makes sense,” Keller said. “I think the downtown mall needs some capital improvements and it sounds like everyone is on board with that and I think it will pass.”