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Albemarle ARB approves Flow Mercedes showroom design, requires landscaping and paint adjustments
Summary
The Albemarle County Architectural Review Board approved a certificate of appropriateness for a new Flow Mercedes-Benz showroom at 1313 Richmond Road, endorsing a revised brick base and recommending darker paint and additional shade trees; the vote was 4–0 with one recusal.
The Albemarle County Architectural Review Board on a May 2025 motion approved a certificate of appropriateness for the Flow Mercedes-Benz showroom proposed at 1313 Richmond Road, voting 4–0 with one recusal and conditions listed in the staff report.
Staff told the board the application had returned after a January preliminary review and addressed concerns about colors, finishes and landscaping. Margaret, county staff, said renderings were revised to show a lighter metal tone, a brick base replacing a painted base and a darker Sherwin‑Williams paint choice for the side of the service building. She said the landscaping plan still needs large shade trees along the entrance‑corridor frontage, because the existing planting largely consists of ornamentals rather than the previously approved shade trees.
Kevin Schafer, architect with Design Develop Architects, said the design team reviewed the prior approved site plan and found that previously specified elms had died or been removed. “We would go back with those same shade trees in the locations that were prescribed by the previously approved site plan,” Schafer said, noting the team would relabel certain front spaces as customer parking to match the prior special‑use permit. He described the proposed brick as “long and thin and linear” and said the team had Mercedes‑brand approval for the material. “We are excited to have Mercedes Benz approval on this material, and we're hopeful that the board feels the same way,” he said.
Board members who spoke praised the return of shade trees, the masonry base and the darker paint for the service building. Tara said the color samples should be reviewed in person to confirm that blacks and grays coordinate. Frank Stoner recused from the Flow Mercedes review; the board recorded aye votes from Mr. Hancock, Mr. Matsuno, Mr. Henningsen and Mr. Vanderweerd.
The staff report also flagged minor edits to the site plan: label the parking/display spaces at the showroom front, adjust limits of disturbance to accommodate relocated shrubs and provide a glass specification that meets entrance‑corridor requirements. The applicant agreed to address those items in the next submission.
Votes at a glance - Certificate of appropriateness, ARB2024‑205 (Flow Mercedes, 1313 Richmond Road): approved with conditions as listed in the staff report. Vote: Hancock, Matsuno, Henningsen, Vanderweerd — Aye; Stoner — recused. Motion moved by Dade; second noted in the record. (No amendments.) - Approval of March minutes: approved (ayes recorded; administrative vote).
The board did not add or change conditions beyond those in the staff report. The ARB noted the applicant will return with revised planting details, a darker service‑building paint sample (staff recommended a “rock gray”), finalized brick samples and the glass specification for the entrance corridor. The board's next regular meeting was announced as May 5, 2025.
