Posts

Posted on

240/250 Roundabout – Construction Winter 2024?

Fingers crossed …

“We anticipate the project will be awarded next month. There will be a period of final design required and some Right of Way to be acquired, but I expect construction will begin this coming winter.”

From VDOT – 5/2/24

From VDOT’s project page for 240/250

Preliminary engineering is underway on five intersection projects in Albemarle County, which have been combined into a single design-build bundle. The projects will be funded by a combination of SMART SCALE, Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and Albemarle County funds. With this project bundle, the following will be constructed:

  1. Roundabout at Routes 240/250/680 VDOT will reconstruct the existing intersection of Route 240 (Three Notched Road), Route 250 (Rockfish Gap Turnpike) and Route 680 (Browns Gap Turnpike) as a four-leg, single-lane roundabout. Using HSIP funds, the proposed roundabout will improve traffic safety and more efficiently move traffic through the busy Albemarle County intersection. During construction, VDOT proposes to close Route 680 to through traffic between Route 250 and Route 802 (Old Three Notched Road) with a posted detour. Traffic would be detoured via Route 240 to Route 802 for about two months. The existing Route 680 single lane bridge over Lickinghole Creek, adjacent to this project, is being planned for replacement immediately after the roundabout is constructed.

We will see more of this until they’re finished, and when they’re finished with the project, it will be glorious, right?

250-240 roundabout displayDownload

I see no bike lanes there. Sigh.

Things could be worse. We could be the City of Charlottesville, which VDOT has now classified as “deficient.“

Posted on

How many new homes in Crozet in 2024/2025?

Who wants to take bets?

I was texted this question:

… do we have any idea how many new housing units are going to be added to the area in the next six months year or two years? Is there anyway to get that info?

My first answer:

Now, that’s a fun and interesting question. Let me see what I can put together.  I would guess 150 to 200 in 2024.

Last year, 117 new homes were built in the White Hall district, as noted in the Albemarle County Building permit survey. In the MLS last year, 152 sold and were marked as new —”

At this time last year, there had been 107 contracts in the Brownsville + Crozet Elementary school districts, and 50 (47%) were new.

This year (1/1/24-4/30/24), there have been 131 contracts, with 63 of those being new. For context, Baker Butler accounted for 53% of new residential construction and Crozet + Brownsville accounted for 18% of new construction in Albemarle County in 2023.

My guess for 2024 completed new construction sales?

  • 140 via the Albemarle County Building permits report
  • 190 via the Charlottesville MLS.

Snapshot of Crozet from the Albemarle County Development Dashboard

Sources:

Questions?

Call or text – 434-242-7140, email, reply to this post, or —

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Subject

    Your Message - Please include your phone number if you want me to call you

    Posted on

    Bike Month (2024) Activities in Crozet

    I ride a bicycle around Crozet for recreation and for work (coffee, showing houses to clients), and for errands (groceries and such).

    And I’ve seen a cargo bike or two, and I’ve seen more people riding bikes to school (too often on shoddy sidewalks, but that’s part of the story).

    More people on bikes = better community (it’s easier to say hi to your neighbors from a bike) cleaner air, and more connectedness – to Crozet, neighborhoods, friends.

    First, we need to build infrastructure that accommodates people in cars, trucks, and on bicycles, scooters, wheels, and foot.

    Lacking that as a realistic thing that will happen, we still celebrate Bike Month!

    A few Charlottesville Bike Month Roundups

    Posted on

    Field School and the ARB

    I wonder what’s going to happen at the Field School location when it relocates to Barracks Road?

    After a few years, Field School is relocating to Barracks Road. (more and more).

    Based on the site plan filed and referenced in an email from Albemarle County this morning:

    Project #: Name ARB-2024-38: Field School of Charlottesville – Initial
    Review Type Initial Site Plan
    Parcel Identification 1408 Crozet Ave
    Location 06000-00-00-06800
    Zoned Rural Areas (RA) / Entrance Corridor (EC)
    Owner and Contact Field School of Charlottesville / Shimp Engineering PC (Chris Warring)
    Magisterial District Jack Jouett
    Proposal
    Staff Contact Margaret Maliszewski

    Do a bit of digging in Albemarle County’s hard-to-navigate CountyView, and find this site plan.

    aprilDisplay-Ad-Download
    ARB202400038-Plan-Submittal-First-2024-04-15Download
    ARB202400038-Application-2024-04-15Download
    Posted on

    April 2024 CCAC Recap – Lots of Questions, Few Answers

    The CCAC meeting on 10 April 2024 was an open house at Brownsville.

    Spend some time going through the slides. The transportation section is particularly interesting.

    A few highlights:

    2024-Town-Hall-PresentatioDownload
    Posted on

    New Business Between Praha and Crozet Market Shopping Center?

    Pulled from Google Maps

    I’d still love a mural, but a new business next to Praha?

    Always interesting reading the emails from Albemarle County. Bolding is mine.

    Project #: Name ARB-2024-30: A1 Detailing Wall Sign
    Review Type Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign
    Parcel Identification 056A2-01-00-02800
    Location 5774 Three Notch’d Rd
    Zoned Downtown Crozet District (DCD) / Entrance Corridor (EC)
    Owner and Contact Crozet Center Partners LLC / A1 Detailing & Hand Car Wash LLC (Thomas Taylor)
    Magisterial District White Hall
    Proposal Install a non-illuminated wall sign
    Staff Contact Khris Taggart

    Posted on

    Crozet real estate conversation – March 2024

    We live and breathe Crozet real estate.

    Crozet inventory, market segment breakdown – single family vs attached homes, why Crozet is a great place to live, and a where we are in the Crozet real estate market in March 2024.

    One fun stat – in 2023, attached home sales increased by 71%, driven in large part by price point demand and lifestyle demands.

    Questions? We love to talk about real estate.
    Greg Slater – 434-981-6655
    Jim Duncan – 434-242-7140

    Posted on

    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.

    Posted on

    ACSA Crozet Phase 4 Water main Replacement Project

    This will be exciting, and likely a bit inconvenient at times. And we need infrastructure — above and below ground. That left turn from Tabor though …

    via email:

    Dear ACSA Customer,

    The Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA) is getting ready to start construction on our Crozet Phase 4 Water Main Replacement project.  We have contracted with Valley Earth and Pipe for this project and they, along with their subcontractors, will be completing the work.  The project involves replacing existing water mains, water services, water meters and fire hydrants along the following roads:

    • Hillsboro Lane from Half Mile Branch Road to Route 250

    • Route 250 from Hillsboro Lane to Crozet Avenue

    • Crozet Avenue from Route 250 to Tabor Street

    • Portions of the Park View subdivision including Locust Lane, Pine Lane, Maple Street, and Oak Drive

    We will be sending out regular updates on the project status via email.  If you would like to be on the distribution list for these emails, please send me an email at [email protected].

    When there is a planned interruption in your water service, you will receive advance notice of the outage.  This notice will typically be a door hanger left at your front door a day or two ahead of the outage.

    You may receive a similar letter in the mail from me about this project.  You do not need to respond to both the letter and this email.

    We regret the inconvenience you will experience, and we appreciate your patience as we work to make these improvements to the water system.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 434-977-4511, ext.  158.  Thanks.