J. Bruce Barnes Lumber Company

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The J. Bruce Barnes Lumber Company was once a major industrial employers in the Crozet area [1] but is now the site of a proposed redevelopment being planned by Milestone Partners. [2]


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History

The company was founded in 1985[3] and was owned by Carroll Conley.

The company laid off its last employee at the end of August 2011. [4] Carroll and Donna Conley stayed on as office employees, with the hope of either restarting operations or eventually redeveloping.

However, the property was sold at auction in late June 2012.[5] It was purchased for $1.9 million [5] but that sale did not close. Union First Bank purchased the land instead and held the land for a while. [6]

Crozet New Town Associates purchased the property from Union First Bank in December 2014 for $2 million.[7] Milestone Partners is overseeing the redevelopment of the property.[8]

Redevelopment concepts

The Piedmont Development Group had submitted a application to Albemarle County's Department of Community Development to rezone the property from heavy industrial to Downtown Crozet District[when?]. That would allow for the lumberyard to be transformed into a mixed-use community with residences, stores and office space. [9]

As part of the 2010 revision of the Crozet Master Plan, there was preliminary discussion of the space redeveloping as a pedestrian mall for Crozet. [10]

Developer Frank Stoner, of Crozet New Town Associates and Milestone Partners, is hoping to develop the property in two phases. The first phase would be a rezoning to Downtown Crozet District zoning and involve a mix of uses, potentially with 114,500 feet of commercial space and 52 residential units. A 28,000 square foot plaza space would be included in this phase.[2]

A future phase would see more residential units, but Stoner said he does not want to move forward with that phase until there is a change in the requirements for developing under the DCD zoning designation. The county's zoning ordinance for DCD allows for by-right residential developments only if the first floor of a building with residential units has a non-residential use, such as retail or office. Stoner has said he would like to see this amended.[2]

Stoner is hoping to use bond financing to fund major public infrastructure improvements on the site, including the plaza and a connector road to Parkside Village.[2]

References

  1. Web. Crozet Master Plan, Chapter 3, October 13, 2010, retrieved October 18, 2010.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Web. Bond financing proposed for Crozet Plaza, road to Parkside Village, Tim Dodson, News Article, Charlottesville Tomorrow, June 24, 2017, retrieved July 11, 2017.
  3. Web. J Bruce Barnes Inc (Barnes, Inc , J Bruce) - Crozet, Virginia (VA), retrieved October 18, 2010.
  4. Web. Barnes Lumber Lays Off Last Employee, Crozet Gazette, Crozet Gazette, retrieved September 2, 2011. Print. September 2011 , Volume 6, Number 4,  page 14.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Web. Mystery bidder: Barnes Lumber sells to unidentified buyer, Lisa Provence, The Hook, 27 June 2012, retrieved 5 July 2012.
  6. Web. Bank Buys Prominent Piece of Land in Crozet, Chris Stover, Charlottesville Newsplex, September 28, 2012, retrieved October 9, 2012.
  7. Web. Property Information for Parcel ID 056A2-01-00-07100, Albemarle County, retrieved July 12, 2017.
  8. Web. Downtown Crozet Initiative — About, Downtown Crozet Initiative, retrieved July 12, 2017.
  9. Web. Plan to Develop Barnes Lumber Submitted to County, Mike Marshall, Crozet Gazette, Crozet Gazette, March 3, 2011, retrieved September 2, 2011.
  10. Web. Crozet “Downtown Mall” gets OK from advisory group, Bridgett Lynn, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, retrieved October 15, 2010. Also available at the Charlottesville Tomorrow News Center.