The Real Estate Weekly | 11.2.2022

BY CARLA HUCKABEE

CHARLOTTESVILLE ALBEMARLE, FLUVANNA, GREENE, LOUISA, MADISON, NELSON, ORANGE, AUGUSTA

TRACE

AVENUE

Gould Gallery

Coming from a large family of contractors; my “job” growing up was to be the “helper” which gave me a “hands on ” approach from building walls, demolishing old structures, designing layouts etc This foundation is part of what drove me to begin in Real Estate in the area of Charlottesville, VA

Living in Charlottesville, VA for 20+ years I have been able to see and appreciate all it has and continues to offer with all of the new developments Charlottesville has been a place about building friendships, community, and having fun!

This is the heart of where our business comes from We provide our clients the best of our time, devotion and attention to detail Every single person has an individual need and desire; and we enjoy being the voice they need to accomplish their goals in Real Estate!

A relationship built on trust and respect that will carry them through to the next time they are ready to make a move!“

M E E T C A N D I C E

anniegouldgallery

Spectacular 53-acre country estate with incredible

home, wonderful outdoor spaces,

1,800 sf barn, 2-acre lake, Blue Ridge

and a private, serene setting—all within 15

of Charlottesville. MLS#617485 $3,965,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 greyoaksfarmva.com

GREENFIELDS FARM

Circa 1904, Greek Revival-style manor home set on 763 acres of Virginia’s most beautiful countryside. Updated, 8,600 square foot residence exudes character and southern charm with a grand center hall floor plan. Farming and/or recre ation opportunities with the ideal mix of woodland, pasture land and cropland along with streams and ponds. Eques trian facilities include: 48-stall horse barn, indoor riding arena, fenced pad docks, riding trails, and more. Tranquil setting 25 miles from Charlottesville and UVA. MLS#623792 $6,295,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863

HATTON RIDGE FARM

A most tranquil and private 175 acre grazing and hay farm with two-thirds mile of James River frontage. The centerpiece of HATTON RIDGE FARM is an impressive 4-5 BR brick Georgian home, built circa 2000. The home is in likenew condition. The Owners have added a solar field, which provides extremely low electric bills and powers their electric vehicle!! Fiber optic internet is installed. Pastures and hay fields, surrounded by deep hardwood forest, along with fertile James River bottomland for gardens, plus many recreational uses. MLS#632477 $2,670,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076

434.295.1131

McLean 434.981.1863

WILLOWFIELDS FARM

Stunning Virginia farmhouse on 156 protected acres overlooking a pond and the rolling hills of Southern Albemarle. 4-BR, 4-full & 2-half BA. Enhancing the main residence is a 1-BR, 1-BA log “barn”. Close to Pippin Hill and other vineyards! MLS#629743 $5,985,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863

FRAYS MILL

Mostly wooded preservation tract of 81.39 acres next to Frays Mill Subdivision in highly desirable Northern Albemarle. This beautiful gently rolling land has a great, private homesite with Blue Ridge Mountain views, and creek on property. MLS#608509 $995,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076

ROUND HILL

120-acre Albemarle County estate featuring a 5-bedroom manor home with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Rivanna Reservoir frontage. Close proximity to the city limits and Charlottesville-Albemarle airport! MLS#625402

TURKEY

GREY

OWENSVILLE

IN

Stunning mountain views available on this attractive 14± acre property, possessing lovely streams and woods. This parcel is only 1.5 miles from Route 151 Brew Trail, with easy access to Wintergreen, Charlottesville & UVA. MLS#629702 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250 or Robert Mellen, 434.996.7386

820 CONDO

Well-designed corner condo consisting of exceptionally bright great room with high ceilings, fully-equipped kitchen, ample space for both relaxed living and dining, 1-BR, 1-BA, and inviting private balcony/terrace. Views of the Downtown skyline and mountains. MLS#634496 $285,000 C. Dammann, 434.981.1250

SOUTHWIND ESTATES

3 parcels with commanding Blue Ridge Mtn. views, level building sites 15 minutes from Charlottesville. Sites have been perked, have wells, and ready for your dream home. MLS#632482 $375,000 (7.8 acres), MLS#632490 $275,000 (2.4 acres), MLS#632487 $175,000 (2.0 acres), Court Nexsen, 646.660.070

UNDERCONTRACT

MURPHY’S

Wonderful

94+

2-car

Charlottesville.

Originally part of a 188-acre tract, two parcels may be purchased separately or together, with 2 developmental rights each. Mostly maturing

and very long public road frontage. MLS#635861 $700,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

Fantastic building lot with just under 7 acres adjacent to Trump Winery! A brick, heated conservatory and greenhouse, with bath, is located on the lot which was once used to provide fresh flowers to the Kluge estate. MLS#635939 $645,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863

Unique 88-acre property with 4-bedroom home. Property includes two-car garage, storage shed/ shop and 3760-square foot multipurpose building. Beautiful mountain and lake views just 4 miles from Charlottesville. MLS#635483 $1,275,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076

5-acre lot with mature hardwoods. Great opportunity to build with no HOA. Private building site amongst beautiful woods. Located between Free Union and Earlysville but so convenient to Charlottesville and UVA. MLS#621177 $140,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

GATEWAY CIRCLE

Lakes

LAMBS ROAD

wooded

that’s conveniently close to

in Albemarle County. The

BROOMFIELD FARM

BRIDLEWOOD TRAIL

GREENTREES

ESTATE

SIMMONS GAP ROAD

ELLERSLIE DRIVE

DUDLEY MOUNTAIN ROAD

Storybook Crozet: Living the Good Life

“It’s

Crozet is the perfect setting for a se ries spanning decades. Fortunately, reallife murders are rare and none of them have been solved by Brown’s “tiger cat born somewhere in Albemarle County.” Crozet’s story is the evolution of a com munity that grew up in the afternoon shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Twelve miles west of Charlottesville and 21 miles east of Staunton, Crozet residents enjoy breathtaking views, a compact urban setting rich in comforts and amenities, mostly still surrounded by a bucolic quilt of farmland, vineyards, meadows, and forests.

While runaway sprawl is curtailed by Albemarle County’s land use policies, there have been some growing pains to get Crozet where it is today and where it’s headed tomorrow.

Growing, Growing, Grown?

Once ancestral lands of the Monacan Indian Nation, this area became part of the Ficklin-Wayland Farm, originally cultivating tobacco before adding fruit orchards and livestock. Wayland lived in the home named Pleasant Green and expanded it to accommodate boarders and travelers along the Three Notched and Buck Mountain Roads bordering his farm.

According to historian Phil James’ Secrets of the Blue Ridge, one of those Pleas ant Green boarders was Colonel Claudius Crozet, an engineer surveying land for the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel. In 1870 Wayland’s Crossing was renamed Crozet.

The Waylands sold parcels from their

BY CARLA HUCKABEE

estate to develop downtown Crozet’s business district. Today’s Square re tains much of its character and charm nearly 150 years later, but the Waylands wouldn’t recognize the rest of Crozet.

The appeal of living near the Blue Ridge and Albemarle County’s designa tion as a growth area has spurred tre mendous expansion. In 2000, Crozet’s population hovered around 3,000. And by 2022, it had reached 9,956.

Growth will continue, and many residents worry about losing Crozet’s small-town vibe. Perhaps they identify with Rita Mae Brown’s narrator, seeing the influx of new residents as “… the diamond-encrusted ‘come-here’ set who has descended on Crozet with plenty of wealth and no feeling for country ways.”

But the purpose of the Crozet Master Plan is to encourage density to efficiently deliver services and infrastructure, such as the Crozet Library, the Downtown Crozet streetscape project, and invest ments in The Square, and community parks.

REALTOR® David Farrell, with Mountain Area Nest Realty, understands how long-time residents feel. “It’s hard to find a place you love and watch it change. But people need great places to live, and this is one of them. It’s not realistic for recent newcomers to say, ‘now that I’m here, all growth should stop.’ We just need to manage it in a way that makes Crozet even better.”

Everything But the Donuts

As the Crozet Master Plan adapts to new realities, people continue to flock there. Before it commanded enough gravitas on its own, many people moved to Crozet to be near Charlottesville.

Such was the case with Terri Miya moto and her husband in 2014. Upon retiring they wanted to relocate from New Jersey to “somewhere along the Blue

Ridge Mountains.” Of the towns they explored, they liked Charlottesville the best. Crozet had one of two area homes on the market with one-level living.

Miyamoto reports, “I liked the vibe from Crozet and it was near enough to Charlottesville, which is what I really wanted. Today my trips to Charlottesville are much less frequent. Most everything we want is right here in Crozet.”

Plopped on the edge of wine country, Crozet lays claim to Grace Estate, King Family, and Stinson wineries. The Chiles orchard and cidery and Pro Re Nata and Starr Hill breweries are also nearby at tractions. In 2006, Starr Hill moved from Charlottesville to the vacated Morton Frozen Foods building that shuttered in 2000, laying off 600 employees.

Morning beverage fans choose from Grit Coffee, Mudhouse Crozet, or a homegrown shop that just changed hands, reopening as The Yellow Mug. Wherever you are in Crozet, you’re not far from a unique dining experience. In only 3.7 square miles, Crozet serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner better than most larger towns.

Smoked Kitchen & Tap, well-known as a Charlottesville food truck barbe cue vendor, anchors Piedmont Place in downtown Crozet. The mixed-use build ing completed in 2016 brought luxury apartments, a marketplace, and a rooftop event space to town.

Old Trail is home to Restoration, serving American casual or elegant fare at the golf club. Enjoy wine pairing din ners, special events, outdoor dining, and spectacular mountain views. Near the Old Trail Drive hub, choose from Coco nut Thai Kitchen, Mi Rancho Mexican Crozet, and others.

Near the Square you’ll find pizza lov ers at Crozet Pizza, pub fare and a place to hang out at Fardowners, and specialty breakfast platters, burgers, sandwiches

and salads at the Whistle Stop Grill.

Unique storefronts and services abound in Crozet. Think of it as a great small town, before big box stores ar rived. Count on Crozet Hardware to have whatever you’re looking for. Even if you can’t find it, Jeff Brickhead and his crew know exactly where every specialty item is tucked away. Brickhead bought the hardware store after working there for 41 years, believing in Crozet’s bright future.

Another unique retail operation, Blue bird and Co. is a combination bookstore, clothing, and gift shop. The new Crozet Grow Shop is just what home gardeners were missing.

The 20-acre Barnes Lumber property downtown will become a new Crozet Square. With major road and building construction required, the complex will include a lighted promenade with out door dining and retail storefronts. A performing and art space will be promi nent and much of the business space will be flexible.

Developer Frank Stoner is targeting “early summer 2023 to be pushing dirt.” He has commitments from two hoteliers, one a small boutique, the other a selfserve condo hotel.

Restaurants, services, and shops open and thrive if there are people to support them. Miyamato says, “Crozet doesn’t need to be preserved in amber. We still have room to grow. I would love a donut shop on Three Notched Road, but we need enough people to support that donut shop. If you want amenities, you need people.”

Hiking and Biking Central Crozet either attracts—or turns resi dents into—outdoors fans.

Hikers and cyclists, golfers and stroll ers, Crozet has room for everyone. With Shenandoah National Park next door, strenuous hikes and lazy strolls come easy.

autumn in cozy, idyllic Crozet, Virginia—a time for golden days, crisp nights… and murder.”

So opens Book 16 of The New York Times bestselling Mrs. Murphy Mystery series by Afton’s acclaimed author, Rita Mae Brown.

And the Crozet Trails Crew is bringing trails as close to your door as possible. Instead of lamenting what’s missing, the Crew brings it into existence. Their work on multi-use trails throughout Crozet connects neighborhoods to parks and greenspaces at an enviable pace.

Miyamato says “We are close to hav ing a totally bikable community. The county has easements connecting neigh borhoods and it’s in the Master Plan. We can make this happen.”

One high-profile trail will connect the 22-acre Claudius Crozet Park west to the Square and east to Lickinghole Basin. The park includes athletic fields, tennis and pickleball courts, a walking trail, dog park, a fishing pond, and a pool as part of the aquatics and fitness center operated by ACAC Fitness and Wellness. Plans are in the works to replace the pool bubble with a permanent building and expanded indoor facilities.

West of town, Mint Springs Valley Park offers three lakes, an extensive net work of hiking trails, and an artificial beach for summer swimming. To the east, stocked Beaver Creek Lake welcomes electric-powered boats and watercraft. Most dry days find cyclists pedaling the quiet back roads around Crozet. One popular scenic ride is out Sugar Hollow Road towards Shenandoah Na tional Park.

Peter Aaron lives in the Glenbrook neighborhood and says, “Crozet is a wonderful place—rural enough to be away from the density of Charlottesville and close to less-traveled roads and the

Blue Ridge. I can ride right out from my driveway and not encounter much traffic and reach quiet roads without having to drive there. It’s wonderful.”

Golfers enjoy the Old Trail Golf Club. The 18-hole championship golf course with practice facilities and a full-service clubhouse also welcomes youth with in structional programming and junior tees.

New Construction Still Rules

“There is still room for Crozet to grow,” says Farrell, “but we are running out of land that is easy to build on, other than the reserved phases of some older neighborhoods—like Pleasant Green. The first phase of Pleasant Green sold out almost instantly. Phase Two just opened.”

Stanley Martin Homes has town homes in Pleasant Green under $400,000 and single-family homes starting from $549,900. Rooftop terraces, finished lofts, gourmet kitchens, and designer finishes, coupled with a community clubhouse and other amenities make this a highly desirable neighborhood.

Southern Development also has town homes available in Old Trail from the low $500s. Sales Manager Sara Hoagland says, “Sales are brisk so don’t wait. Buyers love to be able to do some customiza tion, and the fact that our homes are 100 percent Pearl Certified locks in the value of the home’s energy efficiency.”

REALTOR® Kate Colvin, with How ard Hanna Roy Wheeler Realty, says “Craig Builders has two buildings of attached villas in Block 7 of Old Trail. The homes overlook a pond with dra

matic mountain views in the background. These are ready to customize with late 2023 deliverables.”

“Glenbrook is also opening up some new construction,” says Farrell. Green wood Homes offers townhomes from $399,900 and single-family homes from the upper $500,000s. Three-bedroom villas are also available from $469,900.

Other pockets for future construction include Old Dominion Village along Route 240, which was approved for 110 townhomes and single-family homes on 24 acres.

Farrell says, “Montclair is another pro posed development. If it moves forward, that’s 150 more homes.

“Buyers can find existing homes on the market in Crozet, but inventory is low, and prices are high. Third-quarter numbers show we are cooling off both in year-over-year numbers and one quarter to the next. Million-dollar homes used to come on the market occasionally in Crozet; now they’re common.”

Model Growth

It’s not even classified as a town, but Crozet can model how a town should grow—dense, confined, with non-car transportation options, and meeting many of the daily needs of residents.

Jaunt’s Crozet CONNECT is the week day commuter service bringing riders from Crozet to UVA and Downtown Charlottesville. It’s a great start, but any one driving Route 250 during commuter hours knows ridership could improve.

Another potential link is the proposed Three Notched Trail shared-use path

between Charlottesville and Crozet to the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton. Albemarle County recently received a $2 million planning award to keep the project mov ing forward.

“We wrote to [Transportation Secre tary] Pete Buttigieg and got $2 million!” says Miyamoto.

She does her part, working on the Crozet Trail Crew, riding her electric bike for recreation and transportation, and seeing the big picture.

“I score Crozet high on my ‘Old Lady Quality of Life Metric.’ I can ride my electric bike to 10 wineries. Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyard is my limit, taking my whole battery charge to get there and back to Crozet. Last year I put more miles on my ebike than I did on my 15-yearold Honda.

“We must address climate change as something we can impact. Swapping gas cars for electric vehicles won’t be enough. We need to have and use public trans portation, and for public transportation to work we need density.

“The best thing about Crozet is in five minutes on my bike, I can be out in the country—mooing at the cows and neighing at the horses. We must allow more density.”

If so, that donut shop may yet open on Three Notched Road. And perhaps it will be the backdrop for Brown’s 31st book in the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, set in Crozet and due to be published next spring.

Carla Huckabee writes about high-performing real estate.

November 12

Annual Wes Smith Memorial Stewing for a Cure

4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Madison Fire Hall - 1223 N. Main St., Madison, VA 22727

November 19 and December 10

Perfectly Piedmont Food, Arts, Craft Market 2022 Madison Farmers Market

a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

November 19

Emy Lou’s Roundup

a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Lou’s Boutique - 646 S. Main St., Madison, VA 22727

Friday,

Night

Anita Dunbar Helps You Move in the Right Direction

An Albemarle County native with over 35 years of experience in the real estate industry!

If you are looking for your dream home, selling your current home or just have questions about the market... I know the area and would love to assist you.

One of a kind personalized service and one of the most referred agents in the Charlottesville area

CRS, SFR, SRES, Associate Broker 434.981.1421 anitadunbar1@gmail.com

For an ally who refl

look for the R.

your

REALTORS® are members of the National Association of REALTORS®

WORKMAN COURT, FLUVANNA

HARRISON STREET, SCOTTSVILLE

Hilltop House - Delightful, walkable community of Scottsville. Charming vintage 4 BR cape with apartment, 2 story detached

studio and separate city lot. New appliances. 3 full

In excellent condition and move in ready. Brand new

roof on both buildings, with natural gas fireplace,

and porch garden, fenced yard, multi-level decks

terraced gardens overlooking the town. Private parking.

MLS # 628406 $425,000

*Also

JAMES RIVER ROAD RECREATIONAL PARADISE

Absolutely private and pristine deep water lake of 50+/- acres, with (2) miles of shoreline, in Nelson County, surrounded by nearly 800 acres of commercial pine forest, designed for staggered harvests into perpetuity. An incredibly rare recreational paradise. A new lake home, with quality appointments at waters edge, a boat house with (2) lifts and a large steel storage building to house toys and equipment. Internet and generator are in place. Nearly 7 miles of interior roads and trails with mountain views. Includes access to nearby James River!

MLS # 632112 $4,400,000