Barnes Lumber Moving Forward — For Real!

No really, it’s actually going to happen. And I suggest a priority would be to either relocate the Christmas tree, or plant a new one as soon as possible.

via email – (bolding mine)

An Update on The Square Redevelopment Project

We wanted to share an exciting update on the upcoming projects to transform the Square and former Barnes Lumber site in downtown Crozet. As a key stakeholder in building community in Crozet, we wanted to share this information with you personally and thank you for your continued interest in and support for these projects.

As you may have heard, Albemarle County presented its plans for revitalizing The Square at the CCAC’s February 14 meeting with a primary goal of supporting existing locally-owned, small businesses. The Square project is a foundational first step in re-energizing and reinvigorating the heart of downtown Crozet and will set the groundwork for beginning the construction of the public plaza on the former Barnes Lumber site in the coming months. The County has acknowledged the importance of phasing the construction work so as to minimally affect businesses on and around The Square.

Key elements of the Square Project will include:

Critical street connectivity
Additional/improved parking
Pedestrian safety
Vehicular flow enhancements
ADA accessibility
Stormwater management

Key project milestones:

Right of way acquisition completion – March, 2024
Contract execution – June, 2024
Construction start – July, 2024
Construction complete – July, 2025

According to the current County schedule, we will see visible signs of the project underway this summer, representing tangible progress towards the very exciting process of converting abandoned warehouses and old lumber yard spaces into a beautiful, vibrant Plaza for the entire Crozet community.

You can view the County presentation about the Square project in its entirety on the DCI website, including graphics that show how the parking, street connections and pedestrian access will be managed.

We are so grateful to you for your continued involvement in this endeavor, and we will be in touch with you to share progress and more details as they become available.

For more information about DCI, please visit our website.

January 15, 2024January 15, 2024

Downtown Crozet & the Albemarle ARB

Lots of information in this week’s Week Ahead from Charlottesville Community Engagement. Bolding below is mine.?Also, real estate assessments are coming in a few days. How much will your home’s value change?

Downtown Crozet redevelopment is going to happen. It’s been slow to this point; I suspect the fast part is around the corner.

The Albemarle Architectural Review Board will meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium. (meeting overview) (agenda)

On the consent agenda is approval of the design of an initial site development for Old Dominion Village in Crozet. That’s a 110-unit development with 94 townhouses and 16 single-family detached residences. (staff report) (Jim’s note — In the vicinity of the veterinary practice near Starr Hill)

The first regular item of business is an advisory review associated with a special use permit request. The developer of Stonefield is seeking a permit to allow outdoor sales associated with a proposed Tesla dealership. I wrote about that in late November. (staff report)

There will be two work sessions. The first is to discuss design criteria for any applications within the Barnes Lumber property in Crozet that are subject to the public private partnership between Albemarle County and Crozet New Town Associates. The materials have been prepared by BRW Architects. The site is within the Route 240 entrance corridor.

“Future development of the property will include buildings supporting neighborhood and business uses,” reads the narrative. “These new uses and buildings, more typical of the new downtown setting, will provide an opportunity to enhance the corridor experience and reinforce the views along the corridor edge and its interior of the site as a background to more active spaces beyond.”

The redevelopment will include a new public road. It’s been a while since I’ve written an update on what’s happening with this overall project.

The second work session is on the final site plan for Old Ivy Residences, a 525-unit rental complex approved by the Board of Supervisors in early March 2023. The ARB’s review is germane due to the U.S. 29 / 250 bypass being an entrance corridor.

Two images showing the visibility requirements of both the Old Ivy Residents project and the Square project

Wouldn’t it be great if all new developments didn‘t have the “feature” that all lights come on at night? Remember when we could see stars?

September 4, 2023September 4, 2023

Albemarle Board of Supervisors Meeting – 6 September 2023

For these posts, I don’t provide much insight other than reading the agenda — you can too; the agenda is here — and pulling out items that seem specifically relevant to Crozet.

What interests you in this Board meeting?

This item will likely have relevance, but the associated docs and tabs are empty — Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Smart Scale Changes and Review Process.
AC44 Phase 2: Planning Toolkits — if you’re following the AC44 process (Albemarle County’s Comp Plan), you know that it is some of the framework for how and where Albemarle County will grow,
- Spend some time here and review the summary of what other Albemarle residents are saying, familiarize yourself with the timeline, and maybe go to a meeting, planning commission meeting, or get your neighborhood to get involved now, rather than just before the Comp Plan is voted on
The School Board to Board of Supervisors bit is always interesting (for me, from a real estate perspective — they are planning for a new school new Mountainside Elementary, as well as redistricting on 29 North, and a Center II new Lambs Lane Campus (I had no idea it was called that — “which houses Albemarle High School, Journey Middle School, Greer Elementary School, Ivy Creek School and other division buildings.”
Budget appropriations are always interesting — literally the “money where your mouth is” part of local government.
Plank Road/Batesville are getting their request for a study about restricting trucks on Plank Road.
- In part —
  - WHEREAS, the proposed through truck restriction would restrict Plank Road (Rte. 692) between its intersections with US 29 and Rockfish Gap Turnpike (US 250); and
  - WHEREAS, I-64 and Monacan Trail Road (US 29) together provide a reasonable alternative to trucks now traveling along Plank Road between I-64 and US 29; and
  - WHEREAS, this restriction would apply to any truck or truck and trailer or semi-trailer combination, except for pickup or panel trucks
- Think about this also in the context of the long-held intention to keep 250 a “scenic byway.“
Traffic calming study on Park Ridge Drive
Most of the resolution:
- WHEREAS, concerns have been received from residents along and near Park Ridge Drive in Albemarle County regarding speeding and unsafe conditions for drivers and pedestrians along Park Ridge Drive; and
- WHEREAS, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) offers various programs to address certain traffic problems on local streets, including the Traffic Calming Program; and
- WHEREAS, VDOT provides communities with guidance and procedures to implement traffic calming on neighborhood streets, as outlined in the Traffic Calming Guide for Neighborhood Streets; and
- WHEREAS, the Traffic Calming Guide for Neighborhood Streets specifies that a locality must conduct an engineering study that includes a speed study and traffic count; and
- WHEREAS, the VDOT District Office is willing to complete an official speed study and traffic count on behalf of Albemarle County, provided this action is requested by a resolution from the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors;
- NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors hereby requests that VDOT complete a speed study and traffic count of Park Ridge Drive between Eastern Avenue and Raven Stone Road.
And think about this in the context of the opening the road to downtown Crozet … a road designed to connect to a through-road that seems destined to never happen.

September 12, 2016November 29, 2016

A Bike Shop is Coming to Crozet

Update 29 November 2016: The Crozet Bike Shop is open!

As a bicycle rider, hooorayyyyy!!!!!

As a Crozetian seeking any kind of improvement/activity/movement in the Barnes Lumberyard, this is great news!

I’ll leave the actual reporting to others, and answer a few questions I would have.

Who?
- Cor Carelsen. He and his family moved to Crozet recently from South Africa, where they had and sold a safari operation.
- They chose Crozet for the quality of life – close to nature, and far enough from Charlottesville – and the schools.
- He also happens to ride with the Crozet Cycling Club.
- He’s also a nice guy.
When will the bike shop open?
- He’s aiming for October/November 2016. The plan is to be in the building for 2 years, establish himself in the community, and go/grow from there.
- A goal is to be part of the community, get involved with the people, the riders, races …
Where?
- In the lumberyard. That yellowish building just beyond The Square? Right there.

What?
- He is going to sell bikes – a full lineup, including bikes for adults, junior bikes, bikes made for kids, light and simple, as well as bicycling gear and apparel, but the focus of the shop is going to be servicing bikes. I ran into someone this morning who had heard about the shop and who echoed what I’ve heard from many – she’s hoping for classes on basic bike maintenance – changing tires, chains, adding lube … “
Why?
- Cor is following his passion – he has always ridden and worked on his bicycles. Crozet needs a bike shop. He loves working on bicycles – simply, they are machines that, given the right time and attention, can be made to work. He is a perfectionist. Bicycles are equally simple, complex – and solvable.

Starting – and running/operating – a bike shop in this environment and economy is a huge risk, and must be done in part by passion and love of bicycles and community. I’m looking forward to seeing the shop grow.

Continue reading “A Bike Shop is Coming to Crozet”

October 21, 2015October 22, 2015

CCAC Meeting Recap | 10/21/2015 | Infrastructure & Downtown Crozet

Really interesting Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting tonight. Downtown Crozet is going to change. Traffic is going to get ~~worse~~ different. Businesses will hopefully come to downtown Crozet.

Quick notes:

I persicoped. Live-streamed on Twitter. I think it was useful, and next time, so long as we’re at the Crozet Library with Wifi and outlets, I’ll do it again … but with a tripod most likely and my computer so I can tweet as well. But really, are they useful for you? (I really thought the iPhone should have been horizontal. Clearly that was wrong) Periscope 1 – YouTube version here – , Periscope 2, Periscope 3 (parking discussion).
Discussion about the WAHS Environmental Academy (I was late, but @CrozetCommunity tweeted!)
Big discussion about the future of downtown Crozet, Barnes Lumberyard, commercial, phasing of the development and more. You really shoulda been there.
Discussion about parking in downtown Crozet, the coming Piedmont Place, and I spoke up (which I never do at these meetings)
Milestone Partners will be launching a new website to convey the message/brand of their project and downtown Crozet.

Click through, scroll to the bottom, and read the tweets.

Continue reading “CCAC Meeting Recap | 10/21/2015 | Infrastructure & Downtown Crozet”

June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

Downtown Crozet Initiative Final Report Released

After the two town halls, the Downtown Crozet Initiative has released their final report. It’s 59 pages long; download it, dig in, and get informed. The shorter summary is here; it’s only 23 pages long.

via email:

Continue reading “Downtown Crozet Initiative Final Report Released”

June 21, 2015

More on the Future of Downtown Crozet

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports: (I’m glad to see Charlottesville Tomorrow expanding their focus on Crozet.)

“Most people in my industry think I’ve lost my mind.”

Frank Stoner of Milestone Partners shared that assessment at a recent visioning session for the Downtown Crozet Initiative. The meeting was the second community gathering to discuss design ideas for the former Barnes Lumber and CSX sites indowntown Crozet. The sites are owned by Crozet New Town Partners and are represented by Stoner’s development firm.

Stoner is taking the path less traveled in the design process. While most real estate developments create designs behind closed doors, Stoner said he believes that local support and involvement are essential to making the site a financial and community success.

“We opened this up to the public and said this needs to be a public-private partnership,” he said. “Without that, I don’t think we can be successful, but with it, I think we can.”

Read the whole thing.

June 11, 2015

2nd Downtown Crozet Initiative Meeting – 11 June 2015

via email:

The second community meeting for The Downtown Crozet Initiative: A Vision for Barnes Lumber.

Residents and business owners of Crozet are invited to the second community meeting to review possible designs for the Barnes Lumber civic space and transportation infrastructure, and discuss next steps for the downtown initiative. The designs that will be presented were based on ideas and feedback received at the May 27 community meeting, which was held at the Field School.

Walk-ins will be welcome. Childcare will be provided, but families needing this service must RSVP at http://goo.gl/forms/2744WRgI4c.

WHEN: Thursday, June 11, 2015

5:30 p.m. – Registration and Refreshments

6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Community Meeting

WHERE: Crozet Elementary School

(Note: This is a new location. There will be air conditioning!)

1407 Crozet Ave.

Crozet, VA 22932

WHY: These public meetings were created to gather feedback and generate ideas relating to transforming the Barnes Lumber site into an accessible, successful and vibrant center for downtown Crozet. Attendees are invited to share thoughts and ideas to help grow the heart of Crozet.

June 6, 2015June 9, 2015

Homework for the Next Crozet Town Hall – 11 June 2015

We all have some homework to do.

*** Update: this has been moved to Crozet Elementary ***

I could attempt to summarize the 25 page recap of last week’s Crozet Town Hall, but really, if you’re interested, please take the time to read (or at least, skim) this excellent summary. It’s a PDF. Download it. Read it. Print it if you have to.

This will give you a taste of what’s included.

After presentations and discussion, meeting participants broke out into five small groups to share their ideas and feedback for the site. Discussion was guided by a facilitator and a designer sketched ideas into a drawing of the site. After each of the small groups met, the group reconvened in a large group. Each group presented to the large group their top three ideas for the site. The designers will use these ideas to create design options that will be presented at the June 11th public meeting.

Below are summaries from each of the small group designs and discussions. A summary of the individual concerns, feedback and questions from individual participants in a Appendix A, a list of meeting participants in Appendix B, and the Planning Committee overview document that was referred to at the meeting in Appendix C. The next Public Meeting will be on Thursday, June 11th from 6-9 pm to review and provide feedback on draft plans based on community input designs. Meeting participants are welcome to contact Reed and Christine of Dialogue + Design Associates with any questions or feedback at [email protected] or [email protected].

If you’re going to be vocal, might as well do the homework to be informed.

May 28, 2015May 28, 2015

Crozet Town Hall Recap

The Crozet Town Hall, #CTZBarnesHall as captured on Twitter, was interesting.

A few notes before diving into the recap … if you see errors, please let me know):

– Probably at least 125 people were there – many of whom I knew, but had never before seen at a Crozet meeting. Awesome. An involved and informed community like this is a tremendously valuable thing.

– I think the childcare was a huge offering by the developer and helped to get folks out.

– Thanks to the developer and the team for setting all that up.

– Tremendous conversations were had, I heard a lot of great feedback and look forward to the followup meeting on 11 June in which results/recap will be presented.

– Common themes/desires I heard – walkability, economic vitality, greenspace, infrastructure

– It was hot in the Field School – and, as far as I could tell, everyone stayed.

– Sean Tubbs’ Charlottesville Tomorrow story is great.

– What did you think? What questions did you hear? What answers did you like/dislike?

Continue reading “Crozet Town Hall Recap”