CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A Charlottesville City spokesperson confirmed Friday that the hotel property at 201 E. Water St., commonly known as the Dewberry, is under contract. This comes a month after the city sent developer John Dewberry, who owns the under-construction building, a letter giving him 60 days to provide a written plan stating whether he intends to complete construction, sell the property or tear down the incomplete structure.
City Communications Director Afton Schneider told Cville Right Now the property is now under contract but had no other details about the potential sale.
“We look forward to turning the page on this difficult chapter of the downtown mall’s history,” she said. “There are no specific proposals or agreements for financial support in place.”
Attempts to reach John Dewberry and Dewberry Capital, which owns the property under its real estate subsidiary Deerfield Square Associates II, LLC, were unsuccessful.
The city sent its initial letter on Aug. 19. On Wednesday, the city sent a follow-up letter repeating its demands, Schneider said.
“We look forward to seeing the contract closed,” Schneider said.
In the Aug. 19 letter, City Attorney John Maddux wrote to Dewberry, “Your company acquired the shell at public auction in 2012 for $6.25 million, and you told the community at the time that you would turn your attention to Charlottesville once your Charleston project was complete.
“The Dewberry Charleston opened in 2010 and ten years have passed since then,” Maddux wrote. “The building on Water Street remains a concrete and steel frame, without windows, without elevators, or basic building services in the center of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.”
The letter mentions an agreement brokered by former Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer in 2017 that involved some city incentives, including some designated parking in the Water Street garage. The city didn’t own the garage at the time, and City Council did not agree to it.
“Nothing has been submitted to the City for this property since,” Maddux noted.
