Tag: 22932

Posted on

Crozet Park Soccer Field to Close (for the Summer)

But just for a few months. In a sign of the severe lack of soccer (and other, but my passion is soccer) fields in the whole of Charlottesville/Albemarle, Crozet Park’s field is decimated annually by its overuse. For instance, last year when coaching, we had four teams practicing together – each with a quarter of the field – until Daylight Savings kicked in.

Tim Hughes with the County of Albemarle’s Parks and Rec division says:

Crozet Park is one of our “High Maintenance Level” multi use fields. It is a Bermuda grass field, which is a warm season grass. We generally close those type of fields ( Crozet Park, Henley, AHS, WAHS, etc.) around the first of June. We will then top dress and over seed those fields with Bermuda seed which will not geminate in the fall.

We chose this time of year for two reasons. First the type of grass which I mentioned above and second because the largest user group SOCA does not have league play scheduled during this time period. This allows us to re establish the turf during the hot summer months when Bermuda grass thrives and provides us with a better playing surface for the fall season.

If I can be of further assistance please let me know.

Mr. Hughes expects the field to re-open in August, but we really need two things (at least) –

1 – More fields in Crozet
2 – For Crozet Park field to be closed for long enough for the grass to really take root and establish itself. Traditionally, the field is already worn by the first couple months of the fall season. A few months isn’t sufficient. (and I say this from having played adult league soccer on every field in the County)

Update:

Will Yancey provides pictures of the potential fields.




Yancey Mills in Crozet

Originally uploaded by jimduncancville


Posted on

Field School to Lease Old Crozet School?

This seems like a big win-win for the County of Albemarle and the Field School and a loss for Crozet Park, who have been leasing their space to the Field School.
The Daily Progress has the story:

Albemarle County officials have an idea about how to use the abandoned Old Crozet School: lease it to a private school and a nonprofit.
The Field School of Charlottesville, a middle school for boys, hopes to become a tenant, as does Old Crozet School Arts, a nonprofit that would offer classes in dance, visual arts, music, theater and other art forms.

Posted on

What is your Vision for Crozet?

Start thinking about it, because the time to voice your opinion is around the corner.

From the Daily Progress:

Crozet residents will soon have a chance to weigh in on their concerns over growth in western Albemarle County.
One topic sure to emerge: the Crozet Master Plan’s estimate on the growth area’s long-term maximum population capacity.

…
Although the board has approved major zoning to benefit the downtown area, officials said the economy has kept more new businesses from coming in. They hope the zoning and the other projects will boost the downtown area.

Other areas in Crozet — including the Old Trail development and a segment of U.S. 250 where a new Harris Teeter grocery store is poised to open and other businesses already are in place — have seen a burst of retail activity. Some see that growth as a complement to downtown Crozet, while others fear it will siphon business from the village’s center.

Mallek said she hopes the revision process will help “take away a cloud that hangs over” the Master Plan. She said the questionnaire is just one of the first steps in deciding what changes need to be made.

“I think we’re going to get wonderful responses [from the questionnaire],” Mallek said. “The people in Crozet are very involved in how their community is going to be. We expect that to continue as we go through this process.”

In the next six weeks, residents will be able to fill out the questionnaire online or on paper. They can pick up questionnaires, which will have 30 to 40 questions, at the Crozet Library or at a town hall meeting county officials plan to host next month.

My vision is a work in progress –

1 – Downtown Crozet is the hub of Crozet.
2 – Old Trail gets built out and becomes a vibrant part of the Crozet Community (this is a two-way street that requires effort and acceptance of Old Trail for Crozet and Crozet for Old Trail).
3 – We become a bike able and walkable community.

Posted on

A Crozet Commuter Train?

From Charlottesville Tomorrow (read the whole thing) :

Encouraged by the reality of daily passenger service from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C., Albemarle County Supervisor Ann Mallek (White Hall) sought the full Board’s support for a feasibility study for daily commuter service from Crozet to Charlottesville. The Board agreed on April 1, 2009 to send a letter to Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) officially seeking grant opportunities to study the idea further.

The service is proposed to be run on rails operated by the Buckingham Branch Rail Road (BBRR) , according to Mallek. She has met with Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris to discuss the idea with the railroad company’s officials. Buckingham Branch operates a railroad line that runs nearly 200 miles from Clifton Forge to Richmond on its Piedmont Branch.

The idea sprung up from a conversation between City resident John Pfaltz and Gale Wilson, the General Manager of the BBRR’s Richmond-Alleghany Division. Wilson identified three challenges, according to Pfaltz:

* Amtrak would need to sponsor the project and CSX, which owns the rail line, would need to approve the service

* CSX trains and Amtrak’s Cardinal service would take priority on the line

* Fencing would be required to keep pedestrians off of the track through Charlottesville

Pfaltz said the second item could be overcome by extending a “passing track” that currently exists in Ivy. This extra track would allow either the CSX train or the commuter train to park while the other train passes by. He estimates the start-up costs would be around $5 million.

(Hat Tip: C-Ville)

In a poll on RealCrozetVA last year, nearly 90% of respondents said that they would be willing to use rail service from Crozet to Charlottesville. About 60% of respondents said that they would be willing to pay less that five dollars each way –

The real challenge may lie in the answer to this question – what do you do when you get to Charlottesville? One idea is to have one of the rail cars be a bike car – then use bicycles to get around town.

Some studies have shown that properties close to transit are worth more …

Posted on

Crozet Family Trying to Come Home

NBC29 Reports:

Gerard and Pauline Brikkenaar Van Dijk and their three children had to leave the United States because their visas ran out. Now, red tape and a clerical error are keeping them from returning to Crozet.

The family has been in the Dutch Antilles since October and hoped to return to Crozet, Virginia this week but don’t have the papers to get into the United States.

In a fax to Congressman Tom Perriello’s Charlottesville office, Mr. Brikkenaar Van Diik explains his family’s return was denied by the State Department in March because of a clerical error on the application.

Posted on

Western Albemarle High School Welcomes New Principal

From the Henley Matters newsgroup:

Mr. David Francis was appointed principal of Western Albemarle High School. Mr. Francis currently serves as interim principal at Western Albemarle, and was a part-time assistant principal at the school since 2004. His administrative experience includes seven years as principal of Nelson County High, four years as principal of Mecklenburg County High, seven years as principal of Goochland County High, and one year as principal of Madison County High School. He also has seven years of classroom teaching experience. Mr. Francis holds a bachelor’s degree in history from West Virginia University, a Masters of Education in secondary education from Madison College and an Education Specialist degree in administration and supervision from the University of Virginia. Mr. Francis was selected from a pool of 30 internal and external candidates.

Posted on

Waylands Grant Market Update

For those of you not aware, I recently joined Nest Realty. One of our core principles is that we intend to analyze – and write about – the Crozet and Charlottesville real estate markets more intensively than has previously been seen. For example:

However, 2009 may be a different story. With the town home and attached home market in Crozet slowing significantly, Waylands Grant hasn’t been immune to the slowdown. In fact, since January of 2008, there have been 10 different attached homes in the neighborhood that have been listed and either were withdrawn or expired. In that same time, only 2 have sold (one of which was a foreclosure) and 1 is currently under contract.   

Until the market stabilizes and the amenities promised in Crozet (like the Crozet Library, the Downtown Crozet Streetscape Project, and the Jarmans Gap Road Expansion) actually start to get closer to coming to fruition, I expect that the attached home and town home market in Crozet will continue to suffer.

Waylands Grant market update

Read the whole thing at the Nest.