About Friends of Cville Downtown

The Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville has merged with Friends of Cville Downtown, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 2021. Our mission is to make Charlottesville a better-than-ever, more inclusive place for everyone by working with City government and the Community to craft strategies and programs that stimulate Downtown social and economic vitality. Learn more about Friends of Cville Downtown at FriendsofCville.org.

P.O. Box 253

Charlottesville, VA 22902

434.295.9073

info@friendsofcville.org

Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions

Where can I find handicapped parking?
— Handicapped parking is available on Market and Water Streets, which run parallel to the pedestrian Downtown Mall. Closer to certain parts of the outdoor mall, additional handicapped parking may be found on 2nd Street SE/NE (ONE WAY from Water Street to Market Street), 4th Street NE/SE (ONE WAY from Market Street to Water Street) and many of the side streets which do not access the Downtown Mall, but end at the Downtown Mall.

What are the Downtown Mall hours?
— The Downtown Mall is an outdoor, pedestrian mall that can be walked from end to end and is lined with more than 250 retail shops, restaurants, cafes, and service-oriented shops, such as salons. Hours vary amongst many of the businesses, so please consult the individual businesses. You may also visit FriendsofCville.org for a linked listing of many of the shops that are located on Charlottesville’s Historic Downtown Mall.

Does the Downtown Mall host special events throughout the year?
— The Downtown Mall is home to many spaces that are used to host private events and special public events throughout the year. Information regarding these events can be found on the Cville Downtown Calendar, on the City of Charlottesville website, and on websites for individual businesses.

Is there a Lost-and-Found for the Downtown Mall?
— Currently, there is no Lost-and-Found for the Downtown Mall. You may contact the businesses you visited or the City of Charlottesville Police Department at 434.970.3280 to make inquiries.

For a printable PDF page of these Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions, please click here.

Friends of Cville Downtown GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE AVAILABLE

Need the perfect gift? Purchase Friends of Cville Downtown Gift Certificates and give your loved ones an uncommon shopping experience in Charlottesville Downtown! Click here to learn more.

JOIN US TODAY

Membership Categories
Every gift is tax-deductible! Business Memberships are $200!

• Friend—$50         • Hero—$100
• Member Business—$200         • Silver—$1,000
• Gold—$5,000         • Diamond—$10,000
• Platinum—$15,000         • Titan—$25,000
• Founder—$50,000

Friends of Cville Downtown strives to provide a high level of service to our Member Businesses. In addition to providing marketing opportunities, leadership roles, and an influential forum for turning ideas into actions, we strive to keep our Member Businesses up-to-date with recent news, information, and events happening Downtown. Membership benefits include:

MEMBER RECOGNITION
At Friends of Cville Downtown, we strongly support our Member Businesses in all their events and marketing campaigns. And in our own marketing, we feature Friends of Cville Downtown Member Businesses and give them top priority in Downtown recommendations.

WEBSITE
Friends of Cville Downtown Member Businesses enjoy an enhanced listing on our Website, now including a direct link to your own Member Business website.

NEWSLETTER
Bi-monthly, we send out a newsletter highlighting Friends of Cville Member Businesses’ events, festivals, activities, programs, concerts, plays, and more going on in Downtown Charlottesville. Over 1,500 people use the newsletter to stay up-to-date with local events. In each issue we highlight five Member Businesses as well. The newsletter is posted to our thousands of Facebook and Twitter followers as well.

SOCIAL MEDIA
We have a large Facebook presence with 17,000+ likes, Instagram presence with 2,000+ followers and Twitter presence with 4,500+ followers that we use to promote the Downtown Mall. For Member Businesses, we offer free advertising to a wider, but still relevant audience with our “Membership Spotlight” campaign and eye-catching posts. We also advertise special events, sales, and campaigns of Member Businesses for free.

DOWNTOWN GIFT CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
Gift Certificates can be purchased online, in-store at Darling Boutique and Magpie Knits and at a self-service kiosk in York Place. They make great gifts and encourage traffic! To learn more about Cville Downtown Gift Cards, please visit the Gift Cards page.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH AREA MEDIA
In past years, we have partnered with various radio, print and television publications to create promotional packages and advertising discounts for Cville Downtown merchants.

MEMBERSHIP EMAIL LIST
Every Friends of Cville Member Business is connected on a membership email list to encourage communication and promote partnerships and networking. This list has not been, and never will be, sold.

You can become a Member Business here. Please send any questions to info@friendsofcville.org

Friends of Cville Downtown — Cabinet

Alex Bryant, Membership and Inclusivity
Susan Krischel, Beautification and Sanitation
Susan Payne, Public Health and Safety
Scott Hamler, Communications and Public Relations
Bruce Wardell, Transportation and Infrastructure
Dean Andrews, Economic Development and Strategic Planning

Friends of Cville Downtown — Advisory Board

Elizabeth Cromwell, Charlottesville Chamber
Stephen Davis, Community Investment Collaborative
Andrea Douglas, Jefferson School—African American Heritage Center
Pace Lochte, Assistant VP, Economic Development, UVA
Cristine Nardi, Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Ravi Respeto, Cville United Way
Nickolas Urpi, Emergent Financial Services
Elizabeth Beasley, Equity Center, Director of Community
Partnerships, UVA

About Friends of Cville Downtown

Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions

Friends of Cville Downtown GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE AVAILABLE

Friends of Cville Downtown — Executive Committee

Friends of Cville Downtown — Cabinet

Friends of Cville Downtown — Advisory Board

Friends of Cville Downtown — Member Businesses — 2022