Category: Growth

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Starr Hill’s beer rocks.

I think it is so cool that Crozet has become the new home to Starr Hill’s brewing operations. There is a great story by Chirstina Ball in The HooK about their continuing growth and accolades.

But local master brewer Mark Thompson, owner and co-founder of The Starr Hill Brewing Company, is making such a slight impossible. Thompson, who’s from Virginia but studied the art of brewing out west, is still beaming from yet another sweeping victory at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival. This festival, which takes place in Denver– “the Napa Valley of beer”-­ each fall, is the Olympics of Beer. Going head-to-head at the 2005 competition were no fewer than 1,672 beers from 466 breweries.

Starr Hill garnered a gold medal for its Dark Starr Stout and two silvers for its Mojo Lager and Amber Ale. Last year both the Mojo and the Starr Hill Pale Ale took the gold.

Thompson’s vision for this new location includes a tourist-friendly tasting room as well as a roof deck offering views of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Tour buses departing from and returning to Starr Hill on West Main Street are also a possibility.

They truly do have great beer. Tour buses in little old Crozet? I certainly would welcome the tasting room though … and maybe even a Starr Hill West?

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Crozet’s water supply is sufficient

From a letter to the editor in the DailyProgress , (that’s a dead link to DP) written by J.W. Brent, ACSA’s Executive Director –

To facilitate orderly development as envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan, many millions of dollars have been invested in establishing the water and sewer infrastructure in Crozet. In addition to developing the utility backbone for future development, the authority is committed to maintaining the reliability of service to existing customers in Crozet. A $1.7 million project is currently under construction to replace existing water lines in the downtown area and residential areas north of downtown. There are no requests for water or sewer service or complaints of inadequate service in Crozet that have not been dealt with by the service authority.

Sometimes it just seems like there ought to be problems created by the growth in Crozet. Another case of facts trumping perception? Now, let’s talk about mass transit!

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Weather Hill’s plans for Crozet

The Depot
Located next to the existing Crozet Shopping Center, this plan features two office/commercial buildings and adequate parking.

Wickham Pond
This proposed Neighborhood Model Development is located adjacent to the “Highlands at Mechums River” in Crozet.

Liberty Hall
The neighborhood includes single-family homes, townhouses, and a commercial center. (County review pending.)

Everybody wants to build in Crozet. Let’s see how Weather Hill does. Getting a project approved and developed through Albemarle’s planning process is an achievement in and of itself. Hopefully they will follow through.

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More on Crozet’s Master Plan

Thanks to today’s DP article for this excerpt –

Crozet was the first of the county’s seven designated-growth areas to be planned for pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development. The plan called for road improvements, infrastructure upgrades downtown and for specific development patterns. According to the county’s plan, such improvements are supposed to be made simultaneously with development, and that’s the point of frustration for residents. “If they don’t use planning to cause development to happen the right way, it isn’t going to just happen, resident Sandy Wilcox said.

The plan specifically includes improvements to Jarman’s Gap Road, parking downtown, sidewalks and new connector roads. So far, Crozet residents say, they’ve been left out to dry.

Loach said the people continuing to speak out since the Old Trail decision are not reactionary, but defensive. “It’s not fire and brimstone as much as it’s disappointment and betrayal.”

The short story is that there is a tremendous amount of growth planned for Crozet with relatively few infrastructure planned to be provided. Anybody who drives 250 in the morning will agree that adding several thousand vehicles every day will overload this artery.

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Dennis Rooker

Referencing Old Trail in Crozet –

‘No plan is perfect, but it’s probably the best plan I’ve seen,’ Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker said. When a citizen addressed the familiar concern that the Crozet area and the 250 Bypass will sprawl and become the next Route 29N or Pantops, Rooker responded, ‘Houses don’t create people. They’ll come whether or not the houses are here.’ –courtesy of this week’s C-Ville.

If they don’t build the houses, where would they live?If they don’t build the houses, where would they live? Clearly these are the words of someone who cares.

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Old Trail Approved

The Old Trail development was approved last night. Brace yourselves for the impact of building a large number of homes with no planned infrastructure improvements.

Daily Progress
WINA

My favorite quote –

“As far as Crozet is concerned [building Old Trail] is like dancing with an elephant”, resident Sandy Wilcox said. “It gets you a lot of attention, but if it steps on you, you’re dead.”

Old Trail could be a really, really good thing. However, without planning for the proper infrastructure needs – roads, rail, trails to the schools, etc. life in Crozet may get very difficult. Trusting developers to “do the right thing” is naive and goes against their nature.

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