University towns are hot retirement destinations for baby boomers longing to return to school, at least part time, but infrastructure hasn’t always kept pace. Traffic in the increasingly popular Charlottesville, some longtime local residents say, has increased palpably in recent years, and the city’s and county’s fathers have been slow to make the necessary improvements and expansions. Instead, they have focused on cleaning up and gentrifying downtown areas.
From what we observed during a four-day stay last year, they have done a terrific job of that but, of course, an attractive downtown brings more people into the city, exacerbating the traffic problems. Only recently have the city and county begun to seriously consider creation of a regional transportation authority to deal with the problems.
The 25-year old Downtown Mall, which replaced a formerly seedy commercial area, features 120 shops, 30 restaurants and no cars, although parking garages and lots are within a block or two. A free trolley service runs between the university and The Mall and picks up people along the way. The Mall is great for people-watching, and the food we had at three of its restaurants was good to outstanding. (The best was Zo-Ca-Lo, which serves inventive fare with a slight Latin embellishment; the Downtown Grille and Blue Light were good but not as inventive.) 
The Mall is eight blocks long, bracketed at one end by a big Omni Hotel and indoor ice rink, and at the other end by an amphitheatre that attracts top talent like country and western stars Dwight Yoakum and George Jones, as well as the Black Crowes and Bruce Hornsby. With the opening last August of the new $130 million, 15,000-seat University of Virginia basketball arena, even more headline acts will be coming to the area (and more non-students will be able to attend the basketball games).
The Mall has sparked construction of condos and the refurbishment of existing apartments in the surrounding neighborhoods. At The Randolph, a five-story condo building two blocks from The Mall, the price range is $350,000 to $800,000 for 1,200 to 2,200 square foot units. A few townhouses and condos in the downtown area passed the $1 million threshold for the first time recently.
Of course, Charlottesville might be just another one-horse town if it weren’t for its anchor and major reason for being, the University of Virginia, one of the best public universities in the nation. The school’s undergraduate population includes nearly 1,000 students from 90 countries, and this adds a cosmopolitan tone to the city.
The university also appeals to the non-traditional-aged student, with a roster of interesting courses, public lectures and other sponsored activities. We spoke with Sondra Stollard, dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, who described intellectual activities that span degree programs, certificate programs and an innovative “Community Scholar” program. More than 1,000 Community Scholars from the area, including talented high school students and senior citizens with a passion for a particular subject, attend selected UVA classes with undergrads.
The school’s “personal enrichment program” provides a wide array of subjects for those who want to explore their inner child-literature writer, landscape architect, or Monticello expert (Jefferson’s legendary home is just a few miles away and a must side trip for those visiting the city). Dean Stollard says these courses have “a strong academic bent, no fluff,” that they last a semester and that many “sell out fast.”
The Jefferson Institute for Lifelong Learning (JILL), which UVA helped develop as an alternative to its own more intensive and expensive curriculum, offers day courses for those who have transportation issues or just want to spend their evenings at home. Many JILL courses are taught by former UVA faculty, as well as by local business people. Recent course titles included “Writing Your Memoirs,” the canal and people of Panama, and the poetry of Alexander Pope. JILL’s students range in age from the 30s to 80s, with most in their 60s.
The golfing communities we visited in the area, none more than 40 minutes from the city, offer a wide range of lifestyles, housing options and pricings. The farthest from Charlottesville, at 30 miles, is the Wintergreen Resort, which offers two-season recreation, with an emphasis on golf and skiing (we reviewed the community here on Feb. 23). On some days during the winter, you can do both. Residents don’t seem to mind sharing their space with resort guests; indeed, many current residents first came for a weekend and later purchased a home in Wintergreen. One other unique and commendable feature of the resort: More than half its 11,000 acres will remain natural forever.
The three other communities we visited are closer to the city. Old Trail, in Crozet, which we reviewed here on March 8, is the least established, about 18 months old and still in development mode. Its golf course will always be daily fee, and so it doesn’t offer a private club experience. Its attraction is in the variety of housing it offers, the services planned within walking distance of all its homes, and its proximity to Charlottesville (20 minutes).
Keswick Estate is the most exclusive of the area’s communities, offering two-acre lots at up to $900,000 and homes that average over $2 million. The course, an Arnold Palmer re-design of a Fred Findlay classic, is for the exclusive use of Keswick’s members, many of whom are residents, as well as guests of the 48-room mansion on the hill that overlooks the community.
Glenmore, at about 20 minutes from the city and an hour from Richmond, presents a more traditional golf community on a piece of property with enough elevation changes to provide lofty views from the golf course and many of the homes. We thought the John LaFoy-designed course was challenging and scenic and the community an attractive mix of housing options.
We'll review Keswick and Glenmore, as well as the terrific and private Farmington Country Club, in the days that follow.
