In 2005, David and Elizabeth Breeden put their 1,353 acres near Old Lynchburg Road up for sale. Certain that development would change the pristine woodlands forever, it was not an easy decision.
|
The Commonwealth of Virginia has bought Biscuit Run for $9.8 million. Now, questions remain about the well-being of the county: Where will growth go? For Brian Daly, director of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the best thing that can happen now is “to offer everyone to participate in the master planning process for the park, regardless whether you live in the city or the county.” |
“I go for a walk in the woods and there’s a piece of me that knows that this will be over in the next five years,” said Elizabeth then. “And that’s kind of heartbreaking.”
But five years later the land has not changed at all—and it very likely won’t. Last Wednesday, the Commonwealth of Virginia bought the land, known as Biscuit Run, for $9.8 million and tax credits, intending to use it as parkland.
The Breedens had sold it for $46.5 million to developer Hunter Craig and other investors.
Craig’s initial designs called for up to 5,000 new housing units, but after several public hearings, he scaled back to 3,100 housing units—more in keeping with county’s Neighborhood Model.
But in 2007, citing lack of sufficient infrastructure for the area stretching from Old Lynchburg Road to Rte. 20, the Albemarle County Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the Board of Supervisors deny rezoning. Craig went back to the drawing board and returned with proffers worth $41 million. Rezoning was granted in September 2007.
Nonetheless, some, including the Sierra Club, worried about the environmental impact.
With Biscuit Run out of contention, questions remain about where the county will direct growth now. Although Mark Graham, the county’s community development director, says it is still unknown exactly where to direct new growth, south Albemarle will come under consideration: “Currently, in our work program for next year, 2011, we have plans to do a southern urban area master plan, and presumably, if we were going to look at shifting some of that development potential to some other part of the southern urban area it would be done as part of that master plan process,” he says. The southern urban area spreads from Rte. 20 south of I-64, wrapping around Rte. 250 and all the way up to Barracks Road.
The state estimates that its park system, which includes 35 parks, brought in $180 million in 2009 for localities. Pat Mullaney, director of Albemarle Parks and Recreation says, “I don’t see the state park as being an urgent need for Albemarle County residents. The state is looking at it as a regional facility, but I do think we are well-served with parkland without that growth area land going to a state park.” The county park system will include 3,000 acres by the end of 2010.
Somehow, the state, which has been struggling to close a huge budget shortfall, has found close to $10 million to buy Biscuit Run. Kim Hodge, spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, says about $5 million came from the 2002 general obligation bond—to be used on parks—and the remaining $4.8 million from “transportation enhancement” money. The sale, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports, is a “bargain sale,” allowing the developer to apply for tax credits amounting to about 40 percent of appraisal. At present, Biscuit Run is assessed at close to $44 million, making the tax credits on that alone worth as much as $17 million or so.
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.
