Apple Comes Calling to C-Ville

About 25 years ago the city council voted to brick over Main Street in Charlottesville (Virg.) and turn it into a pedestrian mall. Over the years the seven-block stretch has added shops and restaurants, along with an amphitheater that’s home to music and other shows. Now developer Halsey Minor has broken ground on a 100-room, five-star luxury hotel along the street, hoping to attract up-scale retailers to fill empty spaces. As quoted on the C-Ville.com Web site, Halsey claims that he’s been “approached” by Apple about a retail store, along with Anthropologie and others. The town of 40,000 is smaller than most Apple store host cities and out of the way, but is home to the University of Virginia, enrollment 20,800.