What’s Happening with Charlottesville’s Historic Coca-Cola Building?

Martin Horn has been busy breathing new life into an historic property. A well-known fixture, the Coca-Cola Building on Preston Avenue dates back to 1939, and has been expanded twice since its original construction. Today, the 38,000 square foot building is undergoing a complete renovation, while preserving its Art Deco roots and charm. Under the direction of Riverbend Development, the building will be home to Kardinal Beer Hall and Garden (from the team that launched Beer Run in 2007) and Blue Ridge Cyclery.

The oldest part of the building is two stories and includes the special room where the secret recipe Coke syrups were kept. The tiles in that room show the wear that pure Coke syrup had and are being saved.  The first floor bay windows allowed passers-by to watch the bottling process. As part of the renovation, the windows on the second floor are designed to look like the original steel windows, but they are insulated glass and much more energy efficient.  The windows around the perimeter of the building are being replaced to look like the originals.  Much or the original roof structure and timber frames remain, as well as the Art Deco Coca-Cola sign and cornice. History and architecture buffs will be interested to know there is a very similar sister building in Winchester built in the year after the Charlottesville building.

The budget for the renovations is approximately $2.75 Million.  The project is expected to be complete in early summer, 2015.