
fifeville home | maps | toolkit | 2006 neighborhood plan | see-ville
Charlottesville's Fifeville area includes Baker/North Baker, Blue Ridge Commons (a privately subsidized 202 unit
housing complex), Forrest Hills and the Orangedale neighborhoods. Fifeville is
centrally located within the city. It is southeast of the U.Va. Health Science Center and adjacent to the West Main Street corridor. The northern boundary is
the CSX railway property. Its southeastern boundary is Ridge/5th Street from CSX to Rock Creek and the
southwestern boundary is Valley Road Extended via Rock Creek.
Major
streets include Cherry Avenue and the new 9th and 10th Street connector. This newly built road
runs through the center of Fifeville and serves as a primary link to the
University of Virginia Hospital and West Main Street. Fifeville is primarily residential,
but also hosts commercial activity along Cherry Avenue to many locally owned
businesses, such as the Korner Restaurant, Salvation Army Thrift Store, and
Ron's Garage, to name only a few. The housing types vary from multi-family to
small and medium sized dwellings. Both detached and attached units, meaning
townhouses and stand-alone houses, are located in the Orangedale section.
Orangedale was developed in 1979.
Blue Ridge
Commons, formerly Oak Ridge Gardens, was built in 1970 as a private
subsidized housing complex unit. Baker/North Baker consists of a few streets
located in the northwestern section of the neighborhood.
While some
of the housing in Fifeville was built in the early part of the 20th century,
there are areas in the western section of the neighborhood where housing was
built during the 1950's as a subdivision called "Pinecrest".
"Pinecrest" was built to house University of Virginia faculty, staff at the hospital,
and retirees seeking one-story ranch style houses. Fifeville is an area that
has undergone several studies.
These
studies include: the Fifeville Neighborhood Opinion and Attitude Survey and
Action Plan completed by the Charlottesville Department of Community
Development in 1989, which resulted in Fifeville being designated as a
Community Development Block Grant priority neighborhood. The West Main
Street-University Hospital Neighborhood Study: Area B completed by the
Department of Community Development in 1988 also served as a catalyst for
improvements to the Fifeville neighborhood. Realignment of the Ninth - Tenth
Street corridor, and rezoning critical commercial land in the neighborhood to
transition zone are just some of the changes which came out of this study.
From a
historical point-of-view, it is important to note that much of the housing in
Fifeville consists of large early 20th century dwellings. Fifeville was
originally developed for railroad workers at the turn of this century. Forest Hills Park and neighborhood were originally
part of the Oak
Lawn
estate. In 1945 Mr. and Mrs. J. Hubert Carver bought a large parcel of land and
began subdividing and naming the area Forest Hills. The major educational and
recreational facilities located in this neighborhood are Buford Middle School, Smith Pool, the Boys and Girls
Club along with Fifeville, Tonsler and Forest Hills Parks. There are a number of additional
vital organizations located in this active neighborhood, such as the Independence Resource Center, the Youth Alive Center, and the Ronald McDonald House.
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