It is a regional mall located about one mile (1.6 km) north of the Charlottesville city limits on U.S. Route 29 in unincorporated Albemarle County.

Construction was started on the mall by the Leonard L. Farber Company in early 1979, with an opening date set for March 1980.

[1][2] By February 1980, Miller & Rhoads, J. C. Penney, Sears, and Leggett had been announced as anchors, with seventy-five other interior tenants already confirmed.

[12] On June 13, 2021, Washington Prime Group, the owners of Charlottesville Fashion Square, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the main reason.

[14] In August 2024, it was announced that the old Sears building would be demolished to make way for a Home Depot, scheduled to open on July 24, 2025.