Albemarle report provides details into Crozet’s Square project

In June 2012, Albemarle County acquired a 0.36 acre parcel in downtown Crozet from CSX Transportation in a transaction in which no money changed hands. The strip of land is known as The Square and spans between Crozet Avenue and Oak Street on the western edge of the Barnes Lumberyard. 

Nearly 14 years later, the county’s Facilities and Environmental Services Department (FES) reports that a project to improve the space is close to a development milestone. 

“This Revenue Sharing project with VDOT will improve [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessibility to local businesses by adding additional ADA parking and 8 additional ramps,” reads the top story in the latest report from FES. “The County will also be widening and smoothing uneven sidewalks to make this a safer place for all.”

The project has a total cost estimate of $1.5 million according to a dashboard that is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s six-year improvement program. The cost is evenly split between Albemarle County and VDOT as this is a revenue-sharing program. 

The work will also prohibit left turns from the Square onto Crozet Avenue and an entrance to property that is now owned by the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority will be relocated. VPRA purchased the property from CSX as part of former Governor Ralph Northam’s passenger rail initiative.

According to the FES report, this work was to have happened concurrently with the redevelopment of the Barnes Lumberyard but the latter has not yet progressed to the design phase. 

“The financial benefits associated with combining the projects have been negated, so the project is scheduled to be ready for bid advertisement in April 2024 with construction anticipated to begin in late summer,” the report continues. 

Construction is expected to take roughly a year. 

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