Title: Dairy Market
Location of Proejct: Charlottesville, VA
Project Completion Date: June 2021
Firm Name: Cunningham | Quill Architects

Short Description: The Dairy Market is the revival of a community landmark located in the 10th & Page neighborhood of Charlottesville, VA. Starting 1912, Monticello Ice Cream Company began as a one-room ice cream business that grew into a renowned dairy business that supported generations of local dairy farmers and Charlottesville residents for over 70 years. The Monticello Dairy was an iconic community destination – popular for its ice cream parlor, event space, and festive holiday displays. The Dairy Market, formally the Monticello Dairy, demonstrates how the re-use of historic structures contributes to the social, economic, and environmental value of our neighborhoods.

Architect's Statement: Design Opportunity:
The design opportunity was to adaptively re-use the historic Monticello Dairy and transform it to a community resource that championed local small business and entrepreneurs.

When the Monticello Dairy closed in 1984, the building became a mix of underutilized and poorly maintained retail and industrial uses. The retail uses offered little opportunity for start-up businesses or supporting minority entrepreneurs and by no means served as community destination that supported an equitable 10th & Page neighborhood.

Today, the Dairy Market, includes the Dairy Market Food Hall and new Class A office building addition that functions as community resource that supports small businesses and minority entrepreneurs involved with the Virginia farm-to-table culinary industry, Virginia tourism industry, and Charlottesville’s commercial business industry.

Dairy Market Food Hall:
Inspired by the Monticello Dairy’s historically strong presence within the community, it was important to keep the spirit of the historic building by removing non-contributing additions and preserving and restoring the original historic Monticello Dairy building. The front façade went through an extensive restoration process that included steel window restoration, façade repair, brick repointing, fenestration repair, and structural repairs.

A new terraced landscape with enlarged patios, new building signage and architectural lighting was provided to encourage outdoor dining while providing a buffer from the local street traffic. This design strategy not only creates indoor-outdoor experiences but refocuses attention back to the historic façade and the main entrance while allowing guests to feel welcome both day and night.

Inspired by the 1920’s Monticello Dairy signs and branding, a feature wall located within the entrance greets visitors to the market; the removal of a second floor better showcases the repurposed clerestory windows that allow natural light to pour into the foyer and food hall. Expressing the food hall’s new steel framing and structural supports was intentional in blending the industrial theme throughout the Dairy Market interiors.

Office Building Addition:
The scale and massing of the office building incorporates a series of setbacks designed to emphasize the historic edges of the of the historic Dairy Market. The office building’s exterior is a combination of materials that complement the historic architecture and celebrate its original industrial function, as well as clearly define the new addition. The use of a slightly glazed iron-spot brick provides a clear delineation from, the Virginia red brick found on the Dairy Market building. Traditionally found on historic civic building, verdigris patina copper panels and gray zinc panels further celebrate the Dairy’s industrial past.

Large expanses of energy-efficient glass curtainwall admit ample natural light into the new offices. The treatment further defines the stylistic shift from the historically influenced market to the modern-day addition - and provides a literal window to the present-day business activity inside.

Within the office lobby is a new monumental stair detailed with blackened steel, granite steps, and white oak handrails that allows easily access the food hall. Exposed concrete walls and polished concrete floor along with white oak paneling and tear dropped lighting were used to complement the historic building detailing and features. Discovered during construction, historic bricks stamped “Old Virginia” were reused and are now featured within the office lobby.

Design for an Equitable Community:
Our project promotes an equitable 10th & Page neighborhood by offering small business owners the opportunity to grow their business within their community. This people-centered development provides an economic base comprised of a diverse mix of businesses that are part of the Charlottesville hospitality and tourism industry.
The project’s greater reach will offer the next generation of small business owners a location to hone their skills in managing and owning a small business. This former industrial site is now an active destination that hosts community events and sponsors community organizations through the Market Monday dine-out-for-donations program.
When the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the tourism industry, the Dairy Market was awarded a $20,000 grant by the Virginia Tourism Corporation Recovery Marketing Program, which further demonstrates the project’s impact in creating equitable communities in Charlottesville.

Design for Sustainability and Resilience:
The former brownfield site is now a thriving mixed-use development that achieved LEED Silver v4 BD+C Core and Shell certification. The historic structures of the Monticello Dairy were not only restored and adaptively reused, but many portions of the non-contributing additions to the Monticello Dairy were sustainably deconstructed and salvaged. Based on the LEED Silver v4 BD+C Core and Shell project scope the predicted EUI was 79.4 KBTU/SF/YEAR. The Measured EUI includes the COMBINED actual yearly Core and Shell building and Tenant (Dairy Market and Office building Tenants) energy use of 83.8 KBTU/SF/YEAR.