One of the goals of the extension of Hillsdale Drive from Greenbrier Drive to Hydraulic Road was to help encourage redevelopment of shopping centers designed for the 20th century.
“The new street alignment will begin to break down the block structure east of U.S. Route 29 and shape future development parcels in the area toward a more urban form,” reads a section of the Hydraulic Small Area Plan adopted by Albemarle and Charlottesville in 2018.
Since then, the Great Eastern Management Company has moved ahead with plans to redevelop the Seminole Square Shopping Center by converting retail spaces into destinations for recreation, such as the cvilleSmash pickleball complex now open for business and the soon-to-open Cocos Adventure Factory. The company has an approved site plan for 300 apartment units on the site of a now-vacant grocery store and is seeking to secure financing…