Development Company Has Big Plans for Berkmar

2007-11-10: Daily Progress

A development company renovating a former amusement center on Berkmar Drive hopes the improvements are just the start of an office, retail and apartment/condominium complex in Albemarle County.

Making Green from Green

2007-10-17: Bacon's Rebellion

When the Belvedere development in Albemarle County starts selling houses early next year, don't be surprised if you see a lot of Prius cars in the driveways and overhear residents boasting about the small size of their carbon footprints. This new project, now under construction on 207 acres just outside of Charlottesville, is designed for people who want to live their environmental values.

SOCA Announces New Facility in Belvedere

2007-10-12: C-VILLE

After denying a 10-acre soccer facility in northern Albemarle County—and breaking the hearts of shin-guarded kids, who are legion—the county Board of Supervisors is backing a new facility for the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville Albemarle (SOCA). The facility, slated to cost roughly $5 million, will sit smack-dab in the middle of the Belvedere development off of Rio Road.

Developer Aids Charlottesville Soccer Organization's Fieldhouse Dreams

2007-10-11: WVIR - NBC 29, Charlottesville

For a year, the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville and Albemarle, or SOCA, has battled the county over getting land. Now, a developer is stepping up in a big way.

Amusement Park for Kids to Become Dermatological Playground

2007-08-27: c-note - Charlotteville VA Business News

What was once a retreat for kids, or maybe for their parents as their kids bounced from video game to video game, or literally bounced in the indoor moonwalk, is to become a retreat for seekers of beauty and comfort.

Belvedere Slated as LEED-ND Pilot Neighborhood

2007-08-21: Green Building Community

Stonehaus announced that Belvedere, its InterActive Neighborhood in Charlottesville, VA, has been accepted into the LEED for Neighborhood Development Program conducted by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Plans to Build the Fountain of Youth

2007-08-17: WCAV, CBS 19, Charlottesville

Some say beauty is pain, and many people in our area agree. But, Dr. Bonnie Straka, of Signature Medical Spa, is hoping to make your next trip to the dermatologist seem like a spa treatment. Dr. Straka, is the mastermind behind a massive construction project off Berkmar Drive that will give Albemarle County a serious face lift.

Belvedere Plans Prompt Question: What's LEED, Anyway?

2007-08-14: C-VILLE

Developers with the Belvedere project, an upcoming 700-unit, mixed-use neighborhood off Rio Road, told us that it's the first in Central Virginia to be accepted into the LEED pilot program for neighborhood development.

Neighborhood Promotes Healthy Living

2007-07-31: WCAV, CBS 19, Charlottesville

Belvedere, which is being developed off Rio Road by Stonehaus, has been named part of the LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program. This program certifies developments that encourage healthier lifestyles by putting everything within walking distance.

Neighborhood Accepted into Eco-Friendly Program

2007-07-31: Daily Progress

All of the neighborhood’s homes will be Energy Star and Earth Craft certified, guarantees of each home’s energy efficiency.

Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED Pilot Program

2007-07-30: SmartBrief

Belvedere is the first neighborhood in Central Virginia to participate in this new LEED program, which has developed the highest benchmark system for environmentally responsible and sustainable development.

Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: Banker & Tradesman

Principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building showcased in Stonehaus's Inter-Active Neighborhood.

Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: EARTHtimes.org

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: BREITBART.COM

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: Construction Writers Association

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: Excite

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: Forbes.com

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: KRON-San Francisco TV4

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: Los Angeles Times

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: my way

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: PR Newswire

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: RBC Dain Rauscher Inc.

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Belvedere is the First Neighborhood in Central Virginia Accepted Into New LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program

2007-07-30: World News Network

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Ground Breaks Today on Mega Mixed-Use Green Project in Central Virginia

2007-05-10: Commercial Property News

The project will include 700 residences, 200 of which will be multi-family, two green office buildings containing an aggregate 65,000 square feet, and 20,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space.

Stonehaus Breaks Ground on Belvedere, a Progressive Neighborhood

2007-05-10: Green Progress

Stonehaus will be the first developer in the Central Virginia region to execute on the vision of a large-scale, progressively designed neighborhood grounded in both sustainability and New Urbanist design principles.

Stonehaus Breaks Ground on Belvedere, a Progressive Neighborhood

2007-05-10: EARTHtimes.org

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Environmentally Friendly Development

2007-05-10: WCAV, CBS 19, Charlottesville

Construction began Thursday on a new environmentally friendly neighborhood. The development, called Belvedere, is located on 207 acres off of Rio Road East in Albemarle County.

Breaking Ground on a Planned Utopia

2007-05-07: C-VILLE

Charlottesville may be a hotbed of green architecture—after all, it’s home to William (Cradle to Cradle) McDonough and legions of his followers—but it lacks actual green developments on a large scale.

Stonehaus to Preserve Free State Cemeteries of Black Families

2007-05-03: Daily Progress

The developers, Stonehaus, formally agreed Wednesday to restore and memorialize two family cemeteries, including the one where Bowles rests, making them part of Belvedere, a new 675-unit mixed-use development that will occupy much of what was once Free State.

Free State Land to House Belvedere Neighborhood

2007-05-02: WVIR, NBC 29, Charlottesville

A new housing development is taking shape on a historic piece of land in Albemarle County. Known as "Free State" back in the 1700's the 200-acres is just off Rio Road near Dunlora.

Developer Sees Green in Belvedere Community

2007-04-30: Daily Progress

The Belvedere project off East Rio Road in Albemarle County eventually will feature more than 700 energy-efficient homes in a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood.

Saving African-American Cemeteries

2007-04-03: WMRA, National Public Radio, Harrisonburg

The housing market in Virginia booms on, as developers continue to transform old farms into new communities. Old African American graveyards dot the state of Virginia, often unmarked and un-maintained. When these graveyards are bought by real estate developers, it creates an opportunity to recognize the land's past in its future.

3 Firms Named to Design Center

2006-08-23: The Daily Progress

A six-member jury selected three firms to design a community center for Belvedere, a 700-unit development planned for Albemarle County.

Hays+Ewing Design Studio, Stoneking/Von Storch Architects and Wolf Ackerman Design are the three finalists from a group of seven entrants.

ONARCHITECTURE - Critta's corner: Design, history, sway development

2006-07-20: The Hook, Issue 0529

At first glance, the recently approved 700+ unit development off Rio Road appears to be yet another example of suburban sprawl, of developers cashing in on Charlottesville's popularity, building expensive houses in exclusive communities and adding yet more cars to already clogged roadways. Do we really need another Dunlora right next to Dunlora?

Give "Belvedere" a second look, however, and things aren't quite as they appear. In fact, if all goes according to the developer's latest plans for the 207-acre property, Belvedere could be a model for the future of suburban housing, as well as the preservation of slavery's past history.