The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Benefactors Buy Violet Crown To Save The Movies; Is It Smart To Buy A Downtown Movie Theater Bldg?

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Benefactors Buy Violet Crown To Save The Movies Is It Smart To Buy A Downtown Movie Theater Bldg? Virginia Film Festival Starts 38th Year In CVille The Flats Apartments On West Main Sell For $107M Is UVA Student Housing The Best Real Estate To Own? Planning Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg Resigns Economic Impact Of UVA Football Is Significant If You Need CVille Office Space, Contact Jerry Miller Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

You bring me a water once we're alive. Thank you kindly for joining us on the I Love Seville Show, guys. My name is Jerry Miller. It's a Wednesday afternoon in downtown Charlottesville, and a lot is happening downtown. A lot is happening downtown. You have a movie theater building that's now been sold. It's been sold to a group, thank you, a group that could best be described as benefactors, what, philanthropic, if you may.

I mean, they're doing this to save a movie theater in downtown Charlottesville. And don't get me wrong. I love movies. I love, I love movies. But who's going to make a convincing argument that the movie theater business is one of upside and potential? And what you're buying here is literally a building that has very, very little utility or purpose besides

streaming movies on a projector on a big screen. There are large cavernous rooms. What's the repurpose potential here? I'm going to catch heat for doing that. I get it. I'm fine catching that heat. I also

think how this has been characterized by the media locally as iconic and woven into the fabric of our community. this business is disingenuous. If it was iconic, institutional, and woven into the fabric of this community,

this business model would not be struggling. Prove me wrong. I'm comfortable on that hill, and I understand that hill will yield negative feedback for me. I'm just going to shoot you straight on the program today. A lot we're going to cover on the broadcast, ladies and gentlemen, including the flats, the apartment building on West Main Street, now has a new owner. This is the home to one of the beloved restaurants that we enjoy patronizing Mexicale, right?

This was previously home to World of Beer, now home to Mexicale, which is a fantastic restaurant owned by River Hawkins and Johnny Arnalis. We're going to put into perspective the flats selling for a heaping amount of money. Every time this apartment tower trades, it trades for eye-popping numbers, including when initially corn caps shawl and River Bend exited their position on West Main Street. I mean, it's just eye-popping numbers, $107 million now to a business trust connected to the inland real estate group of companies of Oak Brook, Illinois. an out-of-market real-state group buys the flats for $107 million. Absolutely bananas. We'll talk about that

on today's show. We're going to talk planning commissioner Rory Stolzenberg retiring. Stolzenberg has joined us on the I Love Seville show many times in the past. This is my own two cents. It's no coincidence that

Rory Stolzenberg is retiring immediately after the new zoning ordinance lawsuit has been settled. Prove me wrong, Rory Stolzenberg. He's one of the most significant proponents and one of the most significant drivers of the new zoning ordinance, Rory Stolzenberg.

We now have a green light for the new zoning ordinance, a lawsuit that's settled because the city is willing to do a traffic study, hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the city realizes that hundreds of thousands of dollars traffic study is more affordable than continuing our lawsuit well into 2026, deep into next year. And now that the lawsuit is behind us, the main driver of the zoning ordinance has surprised a lot of people with his resignation from the Planning Commission.

We'll talk about that. I'm going to talk Virginia football. They're on the road Saturday at North Carolina to face Bill Belichick on the North Carolina tar heels. but what I saw on homecoming weekend, homecomings against Washington State was a PAC Scott Stadium. I haven't seen Scott Stadium rocking and socking like it has this year with Florida State and Washington State in particular in a very, very long time. And the economic impact of what Tony Elliott and Virginia football are doing

are as significant as just about anything economy-wise locally. Now, you have categories like tourism and weddings and vineyards and breweries, categories like the defense sector, categories like real estate that are so broad that, of course, a seven home, seven games scheduled for Scott Stadium in Charlottesville cannot compete. But I'll ask you this question. seven Saturdays a year

when this team is good like it is now 60,000 fans in attendance in the city there's few things that can drive this kind of impact locally and that's Charlottesville that's something Charlottesville can champion

perhaps it should now that the team is doing well why don't we see a push from the CACB to further glorify and magnify this football team and the economic impact it could have with hotels, restaurants, retailers, food and beverage, you name it. I want to talk about that on today's show. Virginia currently a 10.5 point favorite against North Carolina kickoff set for Saturday at Keenan Stadium and Chapel Hill 12 o'clock high noon on the ACC network. A lot we're going to cover on the broadcast, including the Virginia

Film Festival. We work hard for you. The only thing we ask and return is you like and share the show. William McChesney and Carol Thorpe, thank you for liking and sharing the show. Ginny Who, thank you for the retweet. That's the only thing we ask and return. You hammer that like button. You subscribe to our YouTube

channel. I would like to give Conan Owen and Sir Speedy of Central Virginia some attention. Conan Owen and Sir Speedy of Central Virginia some attention. Virginia or who you contact for any logo application, visibility, or scalability from a marketing collateral standpoint. Direct mail, folders, pamphlets, trifold, signage, window decals, merchandise, uniforms, awnings, tickets, lanyards, backstage passes, political signs, Conan Owen, Sir Speedy, Central Virginia,

who our firm uses? He's a Darden graduate, and this is a locally owned and operated business that does well by its customers. Ladies and gentlemen, Vanessa Parkell and James Watson, thank you for liking the show. We appreciate you guys tremendously.

Judah Wickhauer's studio camera, please. Then I'm going to weave you in on a two-shot. I think today's show is going to offer a friendly debate for the viewers and listeners, and when a friendly debate is done in spirited capacity, With respect, I think it offers engaging content for our viewers and listeners. You are, I think, going to make an argument here that these benefactors,

it was a wise move and it was a wise investment to buy Violet Crown. I am going to have the stance that it was not. My stance is going to pepper me with verbal arrows and verbal. verbal anger and bitterness from the few many that love Reddit that are singing the praises of this local institution. And I'm going to push back on those people saying it's a local institution woven into the fabric of downtown Charlottesville by saying it's a business model that's been struggling for some time and certainly since the pandemic. If it was a local institution, it wouldn't be struggling. We'll have that conversation on today's show before we start

maybe this is what you find most intriguing I ask you this question to start every show what intrigues you the most and why I think it's an interesting argument I'm not sure why what am I getting at I'm not sure how whether it's struggling or not

makes it a good or bad candidate of being a local a local spot part of our part of the fabric of our you know of the downtown mall just because it struggled a lot of places struggled saying that you know saying that millers struggling on the downtown mall because i don't say millers is not struggling it was during the pandemic i would get i would that you that was during covid you can you be okay here's a question for you for the viewers and listeners can you be a local trophy, a local institution, and be a struggling business that has very little customers?

I think that's a question that we'll probably get some responses. Viewers and listeners, can you be called a local icon and have few customers? I would think the answer is yes. I mean, we've seen local icons close recently. Did they stop becoming local icons because business went downhill? Dears and listeners, what are your thoughts? Put them in the feed. We'll relay them live on air.

We'd like to hear your thoughts. What we know is three benefactors. Do you think benefactors is the right description for me to use? Yeah, I think that works in this case. Essentially saying that they've stepped in to potentially protect it from from the previous owners of the land who clearly wanted to get rid of it. I would not use the term

business women when describing the purchasers of the violent crowd building. And why I would use the term business women when describing the three ladies who purchased the violent crowd building? It's because you think they made a bad business decision.

You're buying a building that probably's sole purpose is only showing movies in auditoriums on projectors and big screens at a time when movies are being released directly to streaming services like HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. Well, then it's a good thing that it's already filled with a movie theater. A tenant who is documented by the previous owner of the building in struggling from a performance standpoint.

and landlords would know that. Okay. How would they know that? Because they're the landlord and they're collecting leases and they're keeping an eye on traffic flow to breed or the opposite of breed a road trust in their tenant being able to pay their lease moving forward. And in some cases, leases have certain expectations written in them,

of showing, and I'm not saying this lease does, but I'm just talking as being a landlord. A lot of leases say you have to show us your performance standards. A lot of you have to show us the top line revenue you're generating. You have to maintain a certain level. A lot of leases are like that. Some of them are percentage leases where they're taking, and I'm not saying this is.

It probably is not. But the previous owner of the building indicated to the media when Jeff Levine, the real estate developer, was considering purchasing violent crowd to build an 18-story building. The previous owners, who just sold to these three manufacturers, said legitimately this movie theater business is struggling. You don't think any of that had to do with making themselves look like, you know, the place needed to be sold.

Okay, can I, let me try a different way. I feel like they wanted to get, I feel like they wanted to get out of this in any means. They did get out. I know that. And you know why the owners of the real estate got out of this? Why do you think they got out of this? Because they put on a big show of selling this place and tearing down the theater. They got out of this because they don't have high expectations for a business model here having success.

Okay, but the tenant had a lease through whatever it was. I believe it might have been 27 if I saw something correctly. and it looks like now the new owners, the three women, have negotiated an extension of the lease. They've negotiated a lease. We don't know a lot of the details here. We may never know. We will eventually know the purchase price. If the purchase price is not out there already, it will be public record.

Okay. This is going to be millions of dollars and purchase money. Yeah. Okay. And I'm going to ask you the viewer and listener this question. and I want you to take sentimentality and the romantic notion

of see you at the movies as friend of the program Jodi Kilbasa says, we'll see you at the movies, the executive director of the Virginia Film Festival, which is about to celebrate which anniversary the Virginia Film Festival? 38th year. The 38th year. Jody Cabal says a phenomenal evangelist for the film festival.

Jody, I hope you hear this. Love Jody Colbasa. But I want you to take your romantic notion your sentimentality, the nostalgia you have of putting your hand in a popcorn box while being in second or third grade and watching Home Alone with your mom and dad and your brother at the movie theater a few weeks before Christmas. When you, and I'm speaking first day,

I remember one of my most significant movie memories was like third grade, second third grade. I was like eight, nine, ten years old maybe. went to go see Home Alone 1 We were in Williamsburg, Virginia Probably at Williamsburg Crossing where the movie theater was We went there with mom and dad and my brother

Got a big tub of popcorn Got sodas And we watched this This kid Who was synonymous in age With my brother and I roughly McCauley Calkin Kevin from Home Alone

Have this journey of being left at his house and then having to fend off blundering moron idiots, the wet bandits, the sticky bandits eventually in Home Alone, too, as they tried to rob and rampage his Chicago mansion. And he came with every trick in the book, the handlebars that he used to slide on a rope to the treehouse in his backyard, he had the blow torch, he had the burning hot knob, with the M from a callister that was burned and singed into the hand.

The tarantula, remember the tarantula that he put on Joe Pesci's face? I don't remember the trancho. The swinging paint cans from the second floor down to the staircase that clobbered them in the face. Remember this? I mean, it was just, it was magic. The race cars, they jumped barefoot into the house on top of glass ornaments, sending shards of glass into their bare feet. One comes up the basement door, one's trying to come in the front door. The front door was iced over because he'd sprayed water

and let the water freeze on the staircase that was 10 stairs high. And then Pesci's character falls and breaks his back. I mean, it was just one of the most special moments I've ever had in the movies. I remember it to this day, and it brings a smile to my face. It makes me nostalgic of this wonderful time as an impressionable 8, 9, or 10-year-old with my dad, my mom, popcorn, my brother, and sodas in Williamsburg. I'll never forget it. And to this day, one of the few movies that I've purchased on the streaming services

that are in my Fire Stick, my Amazon Fire Stick Library, Home Alone is one. Color of Money with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise is another. I love that movie. I have four or five movies that I own. I think the founder with Michael Keaton and the McDonald's Story is another one. I, to this day, am trying to share the special wonders of Home Alone and Kevin McAllister with my now seven-year-old and soon-to-be-three-year-old. And we watch it a dozen times around the holidays. Oh, good Lord.

Okay? But that version of Jerry that has this romantic memory and notion of watching Home Alone as a second, third, fourth grader in Williamsburg is able to stay on one side of the fence and then the common sense version of Jerry, the business person, and you don't even have to be a business person about this, realizes that the movie business has monumental headwinds, and also realizes that this building that these three benefactors purchase, the only utility for this building is a movie theater. You have large rooms, basically auditoriums, halls, right? That have no windows, very low ceilings, concrete walls. What can you make into this if it's not movies? And maybe one of the benefactors is so filthy, wealthy, filthy rich that's spending

four, five, six million dollars deep throat, what do you think this traded for? John Blair, what do you think this traded for? The 2025 assessment is six and a quarter million. Okay, the 2025 assessment is and a quarter million? Yeah. Okay. Do I think it traded for six at a quarter million? I do not.

Should we put a bet? A prop bet? A bottle of scotch here on the over, under, on six and a quarter million? No. Okay. Anyone think this traded

over $6.25 million? Deep throat, where's your money on $6.25 million? Over or under $6.25? John Blair, where's your money? James Watson, where's your money? Neil Williamson, where's your money?

Jody Carbone, Where's your money? William McChesney, Vanessa Parkhill, James Watson. Where's your money on the 2020-25 assessment of $6,250,000? Is the sale below or over $6.25, the purchase price? I'm taking under. What do you take it? For the sake of a talk show. Okay. I'm going to say over. Okay. You're going to take, for the sake of a talk show, you're over. Okay. I'm going to say it's under. Okay. Deep Throat says this. My inside market knowledge, what's the firm number for your inside market knowledge, deep throat? Firm knowledge.

Give me an exact number. $4.75 million? Deep Throat says? 4.75 right there. And if the owner of this real estate is looking to exit, it's because they're not bullish on the tenant or the field that the tenant is operating within. Okay.

Now, I hope that the ladies that made this purchase who are going to hear me talking about them, especially when I say their names on this show, and their names should be highlighted. Writer and editor, Rachel Baker. Audio producer Annie Galvin and theater and events producer Lindsay Meck. Lindsay Meck.

Annie Galvat and Rachel Baker. I applaud you for pursuing your passion. Yeah. And I applaud you for investing millions of dollars into something you believe in. One of the buyers wax

nostalgic herself and said, I remember going to this movie theater as a kid. She said, I remember taking my young daughter to a film festival that showed cat movies. And I want to preserve, I want to preserve this experience for other youngsters and Charlottesvillians for years to come. If you have access to capital and you're so filthy rich that $4, 5, 6 million is not that big a deal, then more

props to you. I got no problem with people being benefactors or philanthropists or humanitarianists. My standpoint, this is burning money. Deep Throat says 4,750,000 is where he thinks it's traded at. He also thinks the owner of the real estate is selling for reasons unrelated to the business, that he's just onto other stuff. That's Deep Throat, who has inside knowledge on this deal. Philip Dowell and Scottsville says under William McChesney says he'll take the over on $6,0.250? Neil Williamson, his photo on screen. Jerry Miller, I disagree with you, Neil Williamson says,

the president of the Free Enterprise Forum, my friend, a man who knows Captain America, a man who is asking Captain America to show up on Real Talk on Halloween Day at 10.15 a.m. And Captain America may be joined by Batman Robin, and we're told potentially Hellboy will also be on set, as will Alfred. Neil Williamson says these women, like you, negotiated a sales contract, established an LLC,

negotiated a lease extension, are clearly business women. You may think they are ill-skilled businesswomen, but they clearly mean business. If you consider yourself a business person, you should recognize these investors as the same. Respect that, Neil Williamson. What's the definition of a business person? I guess he's right. Anyone can go into business. And if one of your funders or one of your investors or some family money, you have so much money at your disposal that you can burn $4, $5, $6 million, fine.

This seems more like charity to me than it is business. This seems more like a benefactor than me than it is business. It seems more like philanthropy to me than it is business. Definitely not that. Okay. From a downtown standpoint, in the moment, this is best for. for downtown, because what would crush downtown as it heads into a 50-year anniversary is the closure of a movie theater, which is a N-cap or a lynch bin, a draw for downtown.

What would also crush downtown as it's trying to reestablish its identity is a two-year construction project around an apartment tower. Long term, what was probably best for downtown was the hardship of two years, of multifamily housing and then having 200, 300, 400, 500 units on the downtown mall of apartments that young professionals could rent and then live, work, play on the mall. Long term, that was the best. But getting to that apartment tower, and I'm not saying it has to be Jeff Levine, 18 stories, the tallest building in the city by far. It doesn't have to be that big. But in the end, the best scenario for downtown, big picture, was an apartment building,

at Violet and Crown, and my bet eventually, and I will even put a timestamp on that bet as a prop bet, this is a difficult one because it's years down the road, if I had to put an over under of seven years of that movie theater still being in operation as a movie business, I would say not a chance in hell. Seven years from now the technology is going to be so robust, ubiquitous, and affordable that people are going to have movie things. theaters in their homes. We're not even going to be watching on a screen.

We're going to be watching in three-dimensional capacity in our living room while wearing glasses. Okay. You thought the, what are those glasses you put on to see a movie that was three-dimensional? What are those called again? 3-D glasses. You thought 3-D glasses, 3-D movies were cool? Imagine wearing Meta's Ray-Ban glasses 18 months from now, 24 months.

from now, 36 months from now, and they're like 50 bucks a pair, because Meta's play is not the profitability of hardware, the glasses. Meta's play is to get content in front of your eyes where they can then monetize content through ad revenue. That's what Meta does, right? We know that's how Meta's turned into one of the most powerful businesses in the entire world, influential. They have eyeballs and people engaging with their content. And because of of those eyeballs and people staying sticky on their platform, engaging with their content, they're able to monetize that human behavior. This hardware play, these meta-glasses, all it is is another vehicle to get their content,

better yet the content we create that we publish on their platform free of charge for them to be able to monetize it. I mean, it's a genius effing model. They go to the Judah Wickhowers and the Jerry Millers of the world, the Neil Williamson's of the world, the Carol Thorpe's of the world, the James Watson, of the world, the Philip Dowles of the world, the deep throats of the world, the John Blair's of the world. And this is what

meta does. Spend hours on our platform. Give us your best ideas, your pictures, your videos, your most intimate moments, your family pictures, the pictures of your kids, date night. Talk to us about your love life, your sex life. Talk to us

about your politics. Talk to us about what you hate. Talk to us about who you slept with. Talk to us about who who is your friend and who you want to cut their nuts off and put all those ideas on our platform and give it to us for free. And then we're going to take the content you create,

your most intimate content, and we're going to exploit it for financial gain. Sell your information. That's really what they're doing. Meta's glasses are a play to exploit their content. To exploit our content. Oh, yeah. They're all about exploitation.

All we are going to do for movies, 18 months from now, 24 months from now, 36 months from now, is put those glasses on, sit in our tidy whitties, that's what Judah enjoys sitting in, bath robes for me, Lulu Lemon,

athletic wear from my wife, on our couches in our living room, eating the food and beer from our fridge, eating and drinking the food and watching the movie with glasses on in three-dimensional capacity like this. Like, oh, my God. And that, the price of those metaglasses eventually will be equivalent to the price

of three movie visits. Mark it down. James Watson watching the program. Carol Thorpe takes the over on 6.5. 6.25. So right now we have Carol Thorpe and William McChesney on the over and a boatload of people on the under, and Judah,

and a boatload of people on the under. James Watson says, I do believe the downtown mall is going to revitalize over the next decade. James Watson also says, particularly with all the biotechnical and pharmaceutical jobs moving into the area, it's

reasonable to think any property in the downtown mall is going to appreciate significantly in value, particularly particularly upon a mall revitalization. 100%. Essentially, the dirt under every building is somewhat priceless if the mall begins to boom again, which I believe it will.

However, somebody's got to hold onto it for at least a decade. That's James Watson's comment. There's a viewer and listener that's watching this program that I think his message, James Watson's message, should resonate with this viewer and listener when it comes to downtown mall real estate. And that viewer and listener knows exactly what I'm talking about right there. Curtis Shaver makes a really good point.

This is Curtis Shaver, his photo on screen. I love Curtis Shaver. He says, we are going to be in the movies and the very near future. That's absolutely right. 100% right. Do you want to play Dwayne the Rock Johnson? Johnson? Do you want to play Kevin in Home Alone? Do you want to play Nicholas Cage and Conair? Do you want to play Leonardo DiCaprio and The Departed? Do you want to play Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and Goodwill Hunting?

Do you want to play Madison Ivy and Lotta Curves? Jude looks confused on that. Somewhere Curtis Shaver is laughing at. that. And somewhere a dozen other guys are. Madison, Ivy, and the movie, a lot of curves. Do you want to do that? Eventually, 24 from 36 months from now, you're going to be able to put on some glasses, and you're going to be the character. And you are going to be running the script of Vincent Chase and Entourage, or E from Entourage. Judah might want to be Turtle or Johnny Drama from Entourage. Who would you rather be? Johnny Drama or Vincent Chase? I don't know those characters.

Oh, my goodness, gracious. Curtis Shaver, did you laugh at the Madison, Ivy, and Lot of Curves reference? William McChesney, what kind of contacts and do the purchasers have? What social circles are they in that would bring folks to the west end of the mall? Bob Yarborough, photo on screen. As someone who used to chase good stories for a living as an editor of a business magazine, I love this story. It's a romantic story.

It's a story of romance. It's not a story rooted in finance. Curtis Shaver wants to play Leo and Wolf of Wall Street. Who wouldn't? Until I guess you'd go to the slammer. But he's made a comeback. Not Leo, but the character in Wolf of Wall Street. John Blair's photo on screen.

I'm going to go old school Seville. I lived in Charlottesville for parts of the 1980s and 1990s. It is worth noting that the biggest movie theater in the area in the 1980s was on Greenbrier Drive located near Barnaby's, which was the 1980s kids' birthday spot in the city of Charlottesville. I remember going to that when it was a dollar theater. I'd note that the Greenbrier Theater was torn down in 2000. I only point this out to say that the Violent Crown location has only been a movie theater for 29 years. Whether it's a good investment or not, I don't think it's truly iconic from a Charlottesville perspective. A thousand percent agree with that. One thousand percent

agree with that. Deep Throat says, I think it would be cool to have a cinema as the ground floor commercial tenant with five to seven residential stories on top. That would be cool. I'm going to catch

verbal arrows for my take on Violent Crown. And I want this to be reiterated a second time. I have no beef with people acting as benefactors. And if you have money to burn $4, $5, $6 million,

and you don't care about a return on investment on it? Okay, I don't see how you can say that with a straight face. We are also, we also have on our lineup, on our PTIs, the sale of the flats at West Village. The value of the land having jumped, from 6.77 million. Oh my gosh, please don't tell me you're comparing. Go ahead.

I apologize for interrupting. I'm just saying. I've been working on interrupting you. Go ahead. We're talking about a piece of property that's gone from just under $7 million 11 years ago to selling for over $100, what, over $100 million just recently. Not to get into that, but the fact of the matter is we're talking about downtown mall property, whether or not the theater remains open they've extended the they've extended the lease and I would imagine made put in some some provisos to ensure that they continue to get paid and if the place does go under I mean there's clear interest Levine wanted to build it into something

and down the road, who knows, what, two, five, ten years from now, they could, they could do a lot better selling this than the money they put into it. The flats is 2.24 acres, 43,616 square feet of building space, and has a 2025 assessment of $92 million. Yeah. The assessment of the theater, Violent Crown, was 6.25 million. Yeah, but we're talking about... This is not a comp, the flats to the movie theater. I'm not saying it's a comp. Okay.

But we are talking about land in Charlottesville massively going up. How about this from somebody that's in the business that's asked for anonymity? This is not deep throat. It's someone who understands real estate and the commercial real estate world. Like, the Pope knows holy water. Okay. Like Marty McFly knows DeLoreans. Like Jerry Miller knows Minutemen.

Like Judah Wickhauer knows buttoned down sweaters and denim in the summer. Okay. He says this. My back of the napkin envelope says the purchase price was between $4,750,000 and $5 million, which confirms deep throats. guess on what this purchase price is or was. He also says major props to these benefactors having the business skills and hustle to pull this together. But Jerry, you are right to lean into the term benefactor because this is surely philanthropic. If this is not money to burn without recourse,

they are going to have a hard lesson in a couple years once the operating lease does not perform. Then the real play will be even cheaper dirt for what will end up being housing or office or flex space in the future. Hope this impressive group of new owners can carry this as philanthropy. It's the only way it works. Someone in this ownership group has access to money to the level that $4 to $5 million, they don't care if they ever see it again. Yeah. But you know what? I respect the hustle. I respect the dream, the romance of it.

I think it's phenomenal for Jodi Kabasa and the Virginia Film Festival. I think it's phenomenal in the short term for the downtown mall as it celebrates its 50-year anniversary next year. No doubt. Is it what's best for the downtown mall in the future? no, apartments there are, where young professionals, 20-somethings and 30-somethings can live there

and studio apartments and go stumble around the bars and the restaurants and the music venues and the retail outlets. That's what's best for them all. But in the short term, this works. And another thing that's curious to me, another thing that's curious to me is when you consider the most important, eight blocks in the central Virginia region, the downtown mall. Think about how much of the vitality and the vision and the momentum and the development

and the trading, the buying and the selling, the deal flow is on that side of the mall. Jeffrey Woodruff with the code building. Jeff Levine trying to buy the violent crown to build an 18-story apartment tower, only to say, no way I'm going to do this. There's just too much of a headache with... Charlottesville to do it. He is doing a hotel project where the Artful Lodger is, right? Arfell Lodger was sold, right?

Think about the common house being for sale right now. For sale with a lease back for the common house. Browns is for sale. The locksmith business, that's for sale over there. There's multiple opportunities to purchase things on Water Street. Right? think about how little development is happening little deal flow little vision little momentum is happening on the other side of the mall the ting pavilion side on the ting pavilion side you have operation hope the outfit that assimilates convicts into society you have charltsville parks at recreation right you have draft tap room open vacant for how long you

had the Blue Ridge Country store go out of business to be purchased by the family that owns Bagby's. They're now open. Brecky. With Brecky, right? Commonwealth Skybar is still vacant. Lease $11,000 a month. Alan Kajeen, the bi-coastal

attorney owns that real estate. You got vacancy right behind Commonwealth Skybar with the storefront asking $2,500 to $3,000 a month. I'm going to make a comment here that's going to get me into trouble. Are you ready for this? You watch the show because

you know I shoot you straight. There's a guy locally in Charlottesville that went from a prolific food and beverage entrepreneur to me asking in very kind and gentle capacity.

Dude, what's going on with your business now? And it's Stefan Freeman. And I'm not trying to throw shade here. Okay. Stefan at one time had Ace Biscuit and Barbecue still owns it. It's still open. He bought it right before Brian Ashworth and his family were going to close the doors at Ace. So he bought it for pennies on the dollar. He had Little Johns running in an operation, 2.0 version of Little Johns on the UVA corner. He had Bonnie and Reed with Chris Humphrey's the chef, a seafood joint in the old Brasbury-Sizan location. he's the guy behind draft tap room one of the two guys behind draft tap room he's got Vite Spirits

that he owns bought it from Ian Golomsky the UVA chemist he's got the sushi joint sushi by Yoshi in the back of Vite spirits he owns old Metropolitan Hall which he bought from Travis Wilburn

public record he bought it and at one time we were touting him as one of the most prolific food and beverage entrepreneurs and a venture capitalist that is now pursuing a living trying to sell booze and food

and experiences to consumers. Now you have draft tap rooms still not open. You have Bonnie and Reed completely closed. You have Little Johns completely closed. Old Metropolitan Hall never opened.

after purchasing it from Travis Wilburn. There are three vacant storefronts on the downtown mall right now that are owned and managed by the same person. Not trying to hate, not trying to throw shade. There's three, Bonnie and Reed, old met, draft tapering. There's one on the UVA corner in Little Johns.

I'm just going to ask this question, What's going on? I hope it's a question that Chris Engle is asking. The Economic Development Director for the City of Charlottesville. Conan Owen watching the program. I don't see that location viable as a theater. It's essentially a retail space and all retail lives and dies by sales per square foot.

That, if the movie theater, theater and business closes, that might have to be a tear down. It might have to be a tear down. What are you going to do with cavernous, massive auditoriums that have no windows and slanted floors? That's what it is. You strip the chairs out, the projector out, and you try to whitebox it. You have a massive cavernous room that has no windows and slanted concrete floors. Yeah.

Give some love to Charlottesville Sanitary Supply. 61 consecutive years in business. Charlestful Sanitary Supply is online at Charlestful Sanitary Supply.com. They're located on East High Street. Charlottesville Sanitary Supply is five generations of family. Well, excuse me, the Vermilions are five generations of family in Amar County. The business is three generations owned and managed.

The Vermilions are classy people, classy people, honest people, men, women of integrity and virtue. Anything sanitary related you can buy on Charlesville Sanitary Supply.com or on their store on East High Street. We encourage you to support businesses that want another 61 years that can help go another 61 years. Curtis Shaver loved the Madison Ivy and lot of curves

referenced by yours truly. Somewhere I'm going to get chastised by my wife on that. all right when we're off the movie business the movie topic do we highlight the film festival because it's a second give the film festival some love what do we got Virginia Film Festival

starting today and they are starting their 38th year here in Charlottesville because it's even though it's called the Virginia Film Festival

it was it was originally taken on by UVA and so it's been here the whole time good stuff the next headline is one that we will spend a couple days on I want to dig a little deeper and consider my thoughts on this storyline but it's significant Sean Tubbs good reporting on this today

by Sean Tubbs in the Seville Weekly I'll tell you what Sean Tubbs is carrying the Seville weekly yeah from a contact standpoint. He's carrying the C-Vo Weekly. Whatever He's carrying a lot of... Bill Chapman and Blair Kelly are paying you, Sean Tubbs.

It is not enough. I hope you hear that, sir. You need to negotiate a better rate. National investment firm has purchased the flats at West Village. This is the apartment building, massive building, on West Main.

West Village, where the Mexicale restaurant is located, $107 million. It's the Flat Set West Village is what it's called. Yeah. It's on West Main Street. 107 million, ladies and gentlemen, a business trust connected to the inland real estate group of companies out of Oak Brook, Illinois. This group, this team, this ownership team, manages.

more than 95,000 student beds, 95,000 intended for students in 146 countries, including 82 college and university markets across 35 states. They already own the Larkon, Maine, which traded hands in April of 2017, for 59.5 million. So this company, this outfit with ties to Brooke, Illinois, has 107 million. 107 million position at the flats and a 59.5 million purchase in April of 2017 for the Larkon, Maine. The flats are 2.24 acres, 43,616 square foot, a 2025 assessment of $92 million with a tax bill of $903,258.158 this year. The Larkon May, how to pay yearly taxes of $587,817.

This one company is responsible for roughly $1.5 million in real estate tax collections. $1.5 million a year for the city of Charlottesville, ladies and gentlemen. This is as significant a real estate trade as you will find in Charlottesville, and it comes at the same time that we've documented very carefully, cautiously, and accurately that the Verve is coming online, 12-story apartment building, the Bloom next to Moes, the Verve is next to in the Shadows of Scott Stadium, Bloom is next to Moes Barbecue, and a 119 unit student apartment tower on Jefferson Park Avenue. She's insane.

So much multifamily is coming on the market right now. while UVA is building housing for second years on grounds. I thought we were in a glut of multifamily of student housing, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe with this whole AstraZeneca, pharmaceutical, Paul Manning, biotech, Merck, Eli Lilly, the supply chain that comes off biotechnology, the whole data science school,

maybe this multifamily construction is completely viable. Maybe it is. Could be. I do agree with the point that James Watson made, the opportunity to purchase real estate now, and the upside that's coming with the real estate, is going to be significant. Now, the question is, what you purchase now, do you have the firepower, and do you have the sustainability to cover 24, 36 to 48 months of debt service? That's your question.

As it's heading north, as it's improving and rebounding, how long does it take the rebound? That's what I'm not certain about. We'll spend some time on this $107 million transaction on tomorrow's show. It is a significant move. The new company says that vacant storefront, that's a part of the flats that's never had a tenant in it. It's already filled. We'll be filled soon. No, I hope this is good news for front of the program.

Johnny Ornales, I hope this is good news. Yeah. Hope this is good use for Mexicali and River Hawkins. They do a phenomenal job. Mexicali is banging. Great restaurant. Hope it's good news. I do know that the storefronts, is it with the standard,

the apartment tower across the way where Potbelly Sandwich Shop was? When that building was created, those storefronts, Some of them have never been filled. It's crazy. And it just shows you the value of the student apartments. I'll make a convincing argument on this show that this type of housing, the UVA student housing, is the most valuable real estate in Charlottesville, Almarl County,

the most upside stock of housing or real estate possible. For you to be able to charge per bed or per room the tune of $1,250 to $2,000 a month and have mommy and daddy their Amex card on file billed on the first of the month every year, oh my God. You're basically taxing wealthy parents. You're hitting wealthy parents. UVA is a school of one percenters, folks. You're hitting wealthy parents, 12.

$1,000 to $2,000 a month on auto pay every month. John Blair's got a comment that I'm going to get to. He says, first off, $4.5.5 million is his guess on the purchase of Violent Crown. So the insider guesses, the sharps are on the under of the $6.25 million with the Violent Crown purchase. well below assessment. The folks in the know are taken well under. John also says, I'd offer this. Vanderbilt now has a lower acceptance rate

and higher median SAT than Cornell and Brown. Why? Because of Southeastern Conference football and basketball. When you look at that price for the flats, I think you have to grasp the following. If UVA has a winning football team and a basketball team that makes the NCAA tournament, then luxury student housing is the play in Seville. We're really seeing kids take sports into their college decisions. UVA can also probably surpass Brown and Cornell in the coming

years. 100%. That's why I put on my next headline what John Blair is saying. Like, look, he's a smart guy. That's why the next headline I had was the economic impact of UVA football. I literally put this on the PTIs on screen because I wanted to weave Virginia foot success, not into just 60,000 people seven Saturdays a year going to Scott Stadium and then the businesses around Scott Stadium, the hotels, the restaurants, the bars. If the football team and the basketball team that are now backed by hundreds of millions of dollars of donor money and NIL money, I'm told the Virginia football team, just the roster is between $30 and $40 million. Just paying the players is between $30 and $40 million a year.

That doesn't include the coaching staff, $30 to $40 million a year, okay? Then the players, on top of the money they're getting from the NIL, the collective, $30 to $40 million a year, they're then making money on top of that with branding positions, marketing positions like from Good Feet Store, for example, Jonathan Cotton, the Good Feet Store, who loves to position his brand with athletes. If football has success, this is not just about driving him. Meals tax and TOT, logic tax, transient occupancy tax. This is about driving the value of real estate in Charlottesville and Almorel County.

A top 15 football team, a team that contends for ACC championships, a basketball team that contends for NCAA tournaments, ACCC championships, and final fours, drives without question, tangible value for real estate in Charlottesville. We'll look back on this $107 million purchase that seems astronomical, a nine-figure purchase, and be like, these dudes from Illinois got an effing steel. And look at the history. What was the history of the sale? Do you have that open?

Yeah. Can you let us know the history? Yeah, let's see. The value of the land and the building jumped from 6.7 million in 2014 to 35.6 million a year later. So 2015. So that's what, seven? It went from 7 million to 2014 to 35.6 million a year later. I think that's when Coran Kamshall exited his position there.

A river bend development. I think that's when Corrin got out there. when it goes from 7 to 35, a 5x. And a company then known as peak campus development bought the property in November of 2016 for 77.5 million. Crazy. So in two years,

it more than 10xed. Now 10.7... I made a comment on one show. I hope you hear this. I won't say who it was, but I made a comment on one show, one past show, that there's five billionaires

that live in the Charlottesville area. And I was corrected by someone who would know, someone who's never left the comment on this show, never left the comment on the show, never had a comment posted on this program. This is not deep throat, it's not John, that's not anyone in our ranking, our family tree. Someone that listens to the show every day

and sends me text messages about what we talk about. He told me in person, you said there were five billionaires with the bee that live in this area. He says, that number is not even close to the reality. And it's well above 30. Wow. We don't understand the level

of what actually is happening here. I don't even, I try to, you know, what I do, I try, I don't even understand it. And I'm talking to these people. All right, I think that's the show. Better than yesterday's show. It was extremely disappointed with yesterday's show. Extremely disappointed with yesterday's show. Feel better about today's show.

we'll close with this Rory Stolzenberg has retired from the planning commission surprise resignation he still had a boatload of time left in his term yeah like two years into 2027 two years Rory Stolzenberg a man who seemed to live for being on the planning commission

Rory Stolzenberg surprising resignation I would love to hear his thoughts on Is it a coincidence that he resigned, a mere 72 hours, a mere 96 hours, a mere 120 hours after the new zoning ordinance lawsuit was settled? The NZO, which he drove, he was the face of the new zoning ordinance. Rory Solzenberg, Matthew Gilliken, were the face of the new zoning ordinance. There was a lawsuit with nine plaintiffs

funded by a number of people some who listen to this show they decide in shocking capacity to drop the lawsuit because the city's agreeing to a traffic study. I'm amazed.

Now there's no lawsuit. And Rory Stolsonberg resigns. What makes you, if he's... Deep throat straight up said something that I was going to ask. Do you reckon he's resigning because he is now going to embark on developing the land he purchased on locust.

Remember when I wrote something on the I Love Seville show and he asked me to take the address out. After writing it on the I Love Seville show, I Love Seville, Rory Stoll, Zenberg. Let's see.

The headline is and he's going to be frustrated with me for saying this. I took the address out, though, Rory. I initially had the address in there. The headline is Charlottesville, Plating Commissioner, and Crossfire following city home purchase. I Loveceville.com forward slash Rory Stolzenberg. I will put the comment in the, I will put the link to the story in the comments section of my personal Facebook page,

in the comments section of my LinkedIn, where this show is. airing upon, and I encourage you to read it. He reached out to me and said, I'm not happy that you wrote this. Just take the address out, and I gave it some thought, and I took it out. And he's got a question, deep throat that I'm wondering, is he preparing to develop this locust property that he's calling as his personal residence that was purchased right before the new zoning ordinance? I mean, here's, I'll read some of the paragraph. Charlottesville Planning Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg's recent home purchase on Park Street has drawn the ire of housing watchdogs and motivated taxpayers to question the frequency and transparency of City Hall's disclosure of holdings, holding regulations for elected and appointed officials. Stolzenberg, a talented software engineer and one of the most vigorous supporter and the most vigorous supporter on the Planning Commission of upzoning the city of Charlestville, purchased a home on Park Street for $899,000 on August 18th.

This was a year or two ago. through a nondescript single-member limited liability company called two-acre wood LLC. The 1.9 acre parcel has a three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 3,463-square-foot, single-family detached home built in 1959 and a lot. The home was purchased a few months before up-zoting will most likely be approved by city council. So this was 2003 when this was done. I should have put a timestamp on there because I'm now referencing it nearly two years later. This is the key to this paragraph.

When upzoning is approved by city council, Stolzenberg's purchase will benefit from enhanced development entitlement, which will significantly increase its value. Currently, the property is zoned R1, a zoning classification intended for single-family homes only. Following an approved upzoning, Stolzenberg's purchase will be upzoned R-B, which will allow up to six units built on the 1.98 acres. Are we seeing a planning commissioner resign because of a purchase he made a couple of years ago through the LLC, two-acre wood LLC? A lot of people don't buy personal residences through LLCs. Time will tell. Is that to develop nearly two acres on Park Street into six units? That's the content you get on the I Love Seville Show, and that's why you watch.

We'll highlight Oak Valley Custom Hardscapes. I'll tell you what, Rory, if you want a hardscape company to help you with that. Oak Valley Custom Hardscapes is who you call. They're phenomenal. They'll take anything, ladies and gentlemen, that's Hartscape, an idea or a vision you have, and realize it. And the quality of life that you're going to get from having Oak Valley Custom Hardscapes, do something at your house. my gosh, it's going to be a generational impact on quality of life.

Fire pits and stuff around pools and patio and Bluestone. It is spectacularly executed. A downtown mall office in the mall, the old Wells Fargo building. Tim Hess, the local content, dude's a gem. One of the best of what he does. we'll talk Stolzenberg's retirement and we'll talk the flats purchase

on tomorrow show I am hearing I'm getting some resistance from the folks who made the movie theater purchase we'll decipher that now that we're going off air Judah Wickauer your truly jury Miller

the I love C-Mill Show Thank you. Thank you.