Altered plans for the Shops at Stonefield in Albemarle County are moving forward. Albemarle's Architectural Review Board was pleased with what it saw Tuesday. But more tweaks will be needed heading into a final meeting on the plan later this month.
The main issue is that the development is in a prominent spot for Albemarle. Tuesday afternoon, the developer of the Shops at Stonefield went before the county's Architectural Review Board.
The development is located near the intersection of Route 29 and Hydraulic Road. The exterior materials for a Trader Joe's and 14 screen IMAX Theater now have less stucco. The buildings now have 54 percent metal shingle cladding.
Chairman Architectural Review Board Fred Missel said, "We're pleased by the progress. We think it's becoming more appropriate for the entrance corridor. One of the balances that we have is the obvious scale of this building. It's far bigger than probably anything we've viewed in the past."
Plans for a six story Hyatt Place Hotel are also moving forward with minor tweaks to the design. There are some other issues that still need to be worked out.
The ARB says there is a lighting issue with the theater, too many on the site. There's also a problem with the height of the parking lot lights. There are just a number of smaller issues that are being worked out as we move along. The next meeting is July 18.
