Author: Jim Duncan

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A New Blog – “About Crozet”

Just noticed the new blog that Tom Loach has put together, ostensibly to advocate against Albemarle County’s work-in-progress Comprehensive Plan, “AC44.“

Take some time to dig in and learn about their perspective.

Well, if the disaster the county created for Crozet when it destroyed the existing Crozet Master Plan wasn’t enough, they’re up to even more mischief with the upcoming Albemarle County Comprehensive Plan update. You don’t have to look very far into their plan called AC44, to realize that several segments, if approved, will be an unmitigated disaster for Crozet. Here’s a link to the AC44 site where you can get the overview of the county’s options for the future growth in Albemarle County. Take a look below at each of the options found in the plan and vote how you feel.  Additionally, you can add a comment on your response to the plan.

Crozet is still a great place to live, and we need a lot – more housing, more and more appropriate infrastructure, more businesses.

After you’ve looked around Tom’s site, spend some time at Albemarle’s truly comprehensive Comprehensive Plan site. Learn more, get educated, and get involved.

The decisions made now will affect your kids and grandkids, if they choose to and are able to live in Crozet.

I saw the original post about the blog on Nextdoor; just below the anti-growth post was one seeking for housing ideas for a parent/grandparent seeking to move to Crozet.

We need more and more dense housing options.

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Looking Towards Crozet’s 2023 Real Estate Market

There is a lot to consider when looking at Crozet’s real estate market. I’ve never hidden that I’m a Realtor who represents sellers and buyers in Crozet, and I’m writing this post as much for me as for you.

One important note: when looking back at past years, I’ve typically broken down Crozet and Brownsville Elementary school districts. (see the bottom of this post) Those school districts were shaken up in 2022, so for this post I’m looking at Crozet + Brownsville.

The average sales prices for homes in Crozet is eye-popping. Average sales price for a single family home in Crozet in 2022 was $739,053.

Click to embiggen

Some additional notes on the Crozet Market

  • This redistricting will necessarily change how I analyze properties for clients.
  • Buyers should ensure that they know which district the house they are considering is in; often, Realtors will copy the previous listing without double checking. (we’re all human)
  • I think the 2023 Crozet real estate market will be fine; likely not mid-2020 to mid 2022 busy, but a good market for sellers. And a hard one for buyers.
  • For those who advocate for fewer homes in Crozet, please think about our kids who want to move back to be close to (grand)parents, and grandparents who want to move to Crozet to be closer to the (grand)kids. And consider the people who we ostensibly want to live and work in Crozet …
  • From a volume perspective, I think we’re going to be closer to 2019 numbers than 2020-2022. We’ll see.

As we start to close out the end of January, a few quick numbers

  • 303 homes – attached + single family – sold last year via the Charlottesville MLS
    • 81 attached; average price was $474,190. 40 of the 81 were new construction; average price was $554,891.
    • 222 single family homes; average price was $739,053. 88 of the 222 were new construction; average price of these homes was $846,320.
    • Of the 303 homes that sold in Crozet last year, 29 were under $400K.
      • 24 of the 29 had at least 3 bedrooms.

Inventory remains a challenge for buyers; and keeps a strong market for sellers.

  • Last January, 19 non-new construction homes were listed in Crozet.
  • It’s 27 January 2023, and so far, 5 non-new construction homes have been listed in Crozet. 2 of the 5 are under contract (one of those two is my listing)
  • There is not much land left in Crozet to develop for new residential construction.

If you’re thinking about selling your home in Crozet, now is still a good time to do so, and still requires proper preparation, pricing, and representation.

If you’re thinking about buying a home in Crozet, please reach out if you are looking for buyer representation; it’s going to remain a challenging market in which to buy, but it’s doable.

If you have questions about the market, or are curious about a development you saw that might be coming, please call or email me anytime.

Read more: Looking Towards Crozet’s 2023 Real Estate Market

I’m going to be writing in my February monthly note about Albemarle County assessments; if you’re interested, you can subscribe here.

Have a Question or email comment?

Subscribe to RealCrozetVA

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January 2023 CCAC Recap – Mobile Home Park Meeting

Read or skim the recap here in this PDF of the thread with all the tweets from the meeting. But first, please watch this part of the meeting in which one of the residents laments the lack of affordable housing in Albemarle County. And then advocate for more housing in Albemarle, even if it’s in your backyard.

This tweet tried to capture the comments from the speaker.
Continue reading “January 2023 CCAC Recap – Mobile Home Park Meeting”
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Praha Bakery in Downtown Crozet to Open

Update 26 April 2023 – They are open, and it is fantastic.

Monday I noted that a bakery was coming to Crozet.

Today, Alice Berry at the Daily Progress reports

Plans are in the works for a new bakery in downtown Crozet.

Owner Marketa Johnson said she plans to open the doors to Praha Bakery in early April. Johnson’s business will occupy what used to be Patterson’s Flower Shop at 5778 Three Notch’d Road, which shuttered in 2009.

Johnson, who was born and raised in Prague, or Praha in Czech, said she intends to serve a selection of pastries and baked goods from her hometown.

“Prague is my favorite city, and it always will be. Every Czech woman is a baker,” Johnson said.

The project was a long time in the making, she added.

“This has been quite a project, because my husband and I started looking for a spot more than a year ago,” Johnson said.

Click through to read the whole thing.

I’ve said and written countless times.

Subscribe to the Daily Progress, and the Crozet Gazette, and Charlottesville Community Engagement. Please.

We need journalists. To watch, to be present, to digest, to piece together threads and stories to that we the people can understand what is happening in our community.

I — and we all — can see a story that needs telling, but we need local journalists to do the investigating, the watching, the telling.

Things break down when we lose local journalism to tell stories like Alice does.

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62 More Homes in Old Trail, & a Bakery in Downtown Crozet?

Browns Gap Turnpike

In this quick summary of reading, and copy/pasting — Bakery, more homes in Old Trail, Mobile Home Park adding homes, Misty Mountain expanding.

Update: the 11 January County BoS meeting will be interesting and relevant to Crozet.

This morning’s Albemarle County Development Department email has some interesting information.

  • Praha Bakery coming to the little brick building on 240 near downtown Crozet!
  • 62 more homes coming to the northwest corner of Rt. 250 West and Old Trail Drive

And from Sean Tubbs’ always-excellent Week in Review

(you really should subscribe, and pay for his work!)

Crozet group to hear details about manufactured home park

The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will meet at 7 p.m. in the Crozet Library. (meeting info) (agenda)

After a period called “Community Concerns,” there will be a community meeting for a special use permit for an expansion of an existing manufactured home park near Claudius Crozet Park. There are 73 units currently and the request to become compliant with zoning also comes up with a request to add 14 new units on site. (SP202200029)

A photo from the presentation on existing conditions at the manufactured home park (Credit: Shimp Engineering)

Misty Mountain

The third is for a proposal for Misty Mountain Camp Resort to amend an existing special use permit to add 53 campsites for a total of 158, to increase the number of cabins to 18, and to allow the resort to operate year-round. Guests would be restricted to 30 days stay. 

The county’s Agricultural-Forestal Districts Advisory Committee found no issue with the expansion and neighbor concerns about noise and trespassing are to be worked out on site. 

“The existing campground contains six wells, and a new seventh well has been drilled at the southeast corner of the property,” reads the staff report. “The applicants have stated that the new well yields seven gallons per minute, which is sufficient for the new camping area.”

This is the kind of sign that will be installed to keep guests on the resort’s property (Credit: Line + Grade)
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CCAC Meeting – January 11 2022 | Mobile Home Park Expansion

Park Road Manufactured Home Park Site Location

via email:

Crozet Community Advisory Committee Wednesday, January 11, 2022

7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.

Crozet Library Meeting Room | 2020 Library Avenue

AGENDA (pdf)

1. Call to Order, Agenda Review, Introductions (5 minutes)

• CAC Staff Liaison, Allison Wrabel & Serena Gruia

2. Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes)

3. Announcements and Updates (10 minutes)

• Meeting formats and calendar, Joe Fore – CCAC Chair

4. Community Concerns (10 minutes)

5. Scheduled Presentations (40 minutes)

• Community Meeting: SP202200029: Park Road Manufactured Home Park, Kevin McCollum – Senior Planner & Rebecca Ragsdale – Planning Manager

6. Committee Business (10 minutes)

  • Help with website content and development project updates, Joe Fore
  • Virtual meeting practices, Joe Fore

 • •

7. Other Business

8. Adjourn

  Next Meeting: February 8, 2022

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Piedmont Place damaged by water main break

Taped off Piedmont Place -12-27-2022

Piedmont Place suffered massive damage after a water main broke on the 3rd floor on Christmas.

Below are a few of the Facebook posts from Piedmont Place tenants. These are all small local businesses who I’d wager will need community support as they adjust to the new reality of not having space for weeks and months to come.

I’ll update this post as more media reports come in.

From the Daily Progress.

From the Crozet Gazette

Blue Ridge Bottle Shop’s Facebook update

Hey friends, we have some unfortunate news to share.

We were notified late on Christmas Day that there had been a water main break on the 3rd floor of the Piedmont Place building.

This lead to massive amounts of water being released into the 3rd, 2nd and 1st floors of the building causing extensive damage.

The power/water is currently turned off and the building is taped off and currently not accessible.

We will update you here and on Facebook as soon as we have any news regarding a timeline/plan for reopening.

Please keep in mind the other small businesses that operate in Piedmont Place

Morsel Compass
Crozet Creamery
Carolina Obando Salon
Newtown Fitness and
Smoked Kitchen and Tap

And, finally, a huge thank you to Crozet Fire Department!

Morsel Compass’ post

Hi Crozet. We are shut down for an undetermined amount of time. Our building at Piedmont Place has suffered a water main leak that devastated three floors, and this includes us. The entire building is shut down.

Crozet Creamery’s post

We have some bummer news to report.

We were notified late on Christmas night that there was a water main break on the 3rd floor of the Piedmont Place building, where the Creamery and several other small businesses operate.

The water break led to massive amounts of water being released into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of the building.

There is extensive damage to the building and the power/water has been shut off. As of last night, Piedmont Place has been taped off and is not currently accessible.

We will be working over the next few days to do a full assessment of the situation and determine a timeline/plan for re-opening.

Unfortunately, we will be closed until further notice. Please stay tuned to Facebook, Instagram and our web site for updates.

Two more things:

1. Thank you to the Crozet Fire Department for springing into action and working on Christmas to minimize damage to the building.

2. Please keep in mind the other small businesses impacted that operated out of Piedmont Place: Smoked Kitchen and Tap, Morsel Compass, Blue Ridge Bottle Shop, Carolina Obando Beauty, Elemental Salon, and Newtown Fitness.

Thanks for your ongoing support – we can’t wait to get back to serving you amazing ice cream!

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Community Connectors, CACs, Albemarle County

This is good news; the more and better human connection between Community Advisory Committee and our government, the better.

Via email from Serena Gruia, Public Engagement Coordinator with Albemarle County

I am delighted to introduce our new Community Connectors, Khalilah Jones and Allison Wrabel. Starting in January, they will be staff liaisons for the Community Advisory Committees. Attached you will find “all about me” information sheets they prepared in advance of meeting you in person. The liaison for Crozet is Allison Wrabel. Allison and I will join your meeting in January.

Their role as staff liaison is a top priority. After receiving valuable input from CAC Chairs, planning staff, and the Board of Supervisors, we are charting a course to support your work and see it as a vital component of community engagement. We are looking forward to learning from you and collaborating with you in the spirit of continual improvement. 

The rest of the Community Connectors’ work will involve building relationships and supporting an informed and engaged community. This will include meeting with local organizations, staffing special events, and developing & promoting materials to inform our community.

Meet-the-Community-Connector-KhalilahDownload
Meet-the-Community-Connector-AllisonDownload
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The Road from Foothills to Barnes Lumber

View from Glenbrook to Downtown Crozet

I sent this to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Posting here because a) I think it’s a good idea (that’s why I sent it) and b) If I say it to the board, I will say it here.

I’m writing as a resident of Crozet, and of Parkside Village, in reference to the nearly-completed road and site work for the newest phase of Glenbrook at Foothills.
My request/suggestion is simple: please do not open this road to vehicular traffic until the road through the forthcoming Barnes Lumberyard redevelopment is completed and open. 

The road opening is inevitable; we knew about the road and growth when we moved in 18 years ago. “Don’t open the road” is not my position, even though Hill Top is not scaled for this volume of vehicular traffic, nor is the original section of Hill Top.

The timeline for the road through to Barnes is an unknown, and the pushing of dirt has been “next year” for many years.
Open the road to bicycles and pedestrians, but not to automobiles and trucks:

  • Neither Hill Top nor Tabor are sufficient for increased vehicular traffic, and “old Hill Top” has embarrassingly deficient “sidewalks,” and Tabor has sidewalks on 1/3 of the road.  Already, the morning and afternoon backups on Tabor/240 are extraordinary.
  • The Tabor/Park/Hill Top intersection already is unable to handle its traffic, and is in a persistent state of disrepair.
  • Most importantly, this is an opportunity to nudge people to alter their transportation patterns and expectations, and to encourage people to walk or ride a bike less than a mile to downtown Crozet. 

I’d make the obvious arguments that fewer cars and more walking/riding is better for human health and the environment, but I know that you are aware of all of these.
Happy to provide more photos or video for any who are interested.

Addition that wasn’t in my email: while it may be necessary for the road to be accessible for the fire department after 50 units are complete, I suggest bollards that are removable so that the fire department – and only the fire department – can have vehicular access.

Attachments: 

  • Photo of current Hill Top Street adjacent to the new development
  • Video of same 
  • Photo of “walking path” on Hill Top — impossible to navigate with a stroller or kids’ bicycle, so people walk in the road.
  • Note – I’ve added two additional pictures to this post that I didn’t send to the BoS – the pictures that have the equipment.
Parkside to Glenbrook
Parkside to Glenbrook
Hill Top and the walking path
From Glenbrook to Parkside and downtown Crozet.
From Glenbrook to Parkside and downtown Crozet.
Glenbrook to Parkside
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Crozet Trails & Virtual Meetings – November 2022 CCAC Wrap-up

Crozet trails presentation

A few takeaways from the CCAC meeting on 9 November 2022.

Apologies for the list format; wanted to get this published as it’s fresh, and my brain works better in list format for digesting and conveying this sort of information.

All of the tweets with the #CCAC1122 hashtag are here

Watch the whole meeting, thanks to the Crozet Gazette.

Continue reading “Crozet Trails & Virtual Meetings – November 2022 CCAC Wrap-up”