Gainesville Developement And The Impact On Fauquier (Centreville, Manassas: foreclosures, condos)

[bluecountry]

I am very concerned that the recent and upcoming mega developements in Gainesville and W PW is going to have an adverse impact on the rural preservation and quality life of the remaining and endangered gem called Fauquier County.


I wanted to begin with a couple of questions


1) When did the massive developement and transformation of Gainesville and W PW begin?
-I recall in 1998...driving through Gainesville on RT 29. All I saw was the gas station...no Virginia Commerce center....the Blue Ridge Crab Shak was surronded by a forest of trees.
-I drove through last summer after a 5 year abscene and was horrified to see all the new shopping centers block after block...it basically was Centreville. The bigger problem was this went up basically to the Fauquier line. I took comfort in feeling Fauquier's rural quality of life was secure with W PW acting as buffer...but now seeing as how the current sprawl is at the line...I am very concerned the new mega shopping will destroy the border towns.
-In 2001 I was driving through Gainesville and to me...it still was rural. I thought to myself last year...what is this place?
-When exactly did Gainesville go from rural to suburban?

2) How did this happen....was it landowners making money...apathy by citizens...where was the coalition not wanting W PW Fairfaxized...or was there just too much vacant land not owned and selflish BOS?

3) What exactly is the new developement I hear of?
-I read that Gainesville is becoming the next edge city...is this becoming another Centreville...or are they making it more like McClean with lots of shopping and jobs?

4) Just what has been the impact so far on East Fauquier?
-I really worry that for those people who enjoyed the country life over the border...it's been ruined with bad light pollution, noise, and traffic which carries over 5-15 miles past the last edge of developement.
-Has this been the case or is extreme E Fauquier...New Baltimore...still enjoying rural life?


5) What about places like Warrenton and Catlett?
-Are they safe for the foreseeable future...or is it likely the new Gainesville buildout will make it a matter of time before they are the next W PW?
-It sure would be sad to see a historic rural setting be torn up.

6) The economy...I thought the high gas prices and foreclosures would have helped slow down the construction....has this been the case?
-If not...why?


Thanks.

[VRE332]

take a ride down 29, and answer those questions for yourself. It's still building man, even on the commercial side. People from warrenton ride the trains all the time, and their county does not want anything to do with the VRE

[VRE332]

1) When did the massive developement and transformation of Gainesville and W PW begin?


-In 2001 I was driving through Gainesville and to me...it still was rural. I thought to myself last year...what is this place?
-When exactly did Gainesville go from rural to suburban?

January 3, 2006 at 4:30p

2) How did this happen....was it landowners making money...apathy by citizens...where was the coalition not wanting W PW Fairfaxized...or was there just too much vacant land not owned and selflish BOS?

Greed

3) What exactly is the new developement I hear of?
-I read that Gainesville is becoming the next edge city...is this becoming another Centreville...or are they making it more like McClean with lots of shopping and jobs?

Drive down 29

4) Just what has been the impact so far on East Fauquier?
-I really worry that for those people who enjoyed the country life over the border...it's been ruined with bad light pollution, noise, and traffic which carries over 5-15 miles past the last edge of developement.
-Has this been the case or is extreme E Fauquier...New Baltimore...still enjoying rural life?

I'm enjoying every minute, I dont know what you're talking about

5) What about places like Warrenton and Catlett?
-Are they safe for the foreseeable future...or is it likely the new Gainesville buildout will make it a matter of time before they are the next W PW?
-It sure would be sad to see a historic rural setting be torn up.

Safe from what?

6) The economy...I thought the high gas prices and foreclosures would have helped slow down the construction....has this been the case?
-If not...why?

Plenty of work= plenty of money and demand

[lchoro]

Wait another 10 years and you'll see the buildout of subdivisions up and down alongside the recently built Prince William County Parkway. You'll see a lot of infill development between Gainesville/Lake Manassas and Manassas and downward from route 66.

[halibutt]

Hey fellow commuters! Take a look Kitty corner from the Virginia Gateway. Notice The Christmas Shoppe (RIP), Meat Market, Co-op and all the Gas stations boarded up clear to 66. Know why? A big effing interchange is going in. About time!

quote: Traffic Data: Based on traffic counts, Route 29 carried 46000 vehicles per day (ADT - average daily traffic) in 2005, and is anticipated to increase to 63,000 ADT by 2035.

I-66/Rte 29/Linton Hall Road Interchanges (http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/i-66-rte_29-linton_hall_road_interchanges.asp - broken link)

I hope they don't stop and 6 lane Interstate 29 (pun intended) clear to Culpeper. To preserve Warrenton's thriving agricultural economy (cough, cough. . . horse farms) we must act now so the interstate completely circumvents and isolate it.

All NOVA projects

Northern Virginia Projects

This is better than Disney Land!

[bluecountry]

Originally Posted by VRE332

1) When did the massive developement and transformation of Gainesville and W PW begin?


-In 2001 I was driving through Gainesville and to me...it still was rural. I thought to myself last year...what is this place?
-When exactly did Gainesville go from rural to suburban?

January 3, 2006 at 4:30p
Thanks for the sarcasm

2) How did this happen....was it landowners making money...apathy by citizens...where was the coalition not wanting W PW Fairfaxized...or was there just too much vacant land not owned and selflish BOS?

Greed

3) What exactly is the new developement I hear of?
-I read that Gainesville is becoming the next edge city...is this becoming another Centreville...or are they making it more like McClean with lots of shopping and jobs?

Drive down 29

4) Just what has been the impact so far on East Fauquier?
-I really worry that for those people who enjoyed the country life over the border...it's been ruined with bad light pollution, noise, and traffic which carries over 5-15 miles past the last edge of developement.
-Has this been the case or is extreme E Fauquier...New Baltimore...still enjoying rural life?

I'm enjoying every minute, I dont know what you're talking about

5) What about places like Warrenton and Catlett?
-Are they safe for the foreseeable future...or is it likely the new Gainesville buildout will make it a matter of time before they are the next W PW?
-It sure would be sad to see a historic rural setting be torn up.

Safe from what?

6) The economy...I thought the high gas prices and foreclosures would have helped slow down the construction....has this been the case?
-If not...why?

Plenty of work= plenty of money and demand

Thanks for your sarcasm...I was looking for real answers from people familiar with the area.

[bluecountry]

Originally Posted by halibutt

Hey fellow commuters! Take a look Kitty corner from the Virginia Gateway. Notice The Christmas Shoppe (RIP), Meat Market, Co-op and all the Gas stations boarded up clear to 66. Know why? A big effing interchange is going in. About time!

quote: Traffic Data: Based on traffic counts, Route 29 carried 46000 vehicles per day (ADT - average daily traffic) in 2005, and is anticipated to increase to 63,000 ADT by 2035.

I-66/Rte 29/Linton Hall Road Interchanges (http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/i-66-rte_29-linton_hall_road_interchanges.asp - broken link)

I hope they don't stop and 6 lane Interstate 29 (pun intended) clear to Culpeper. To preserve Warrenton's thriving agricultural economy (cough, cough. . . horse farms) we must act now so the interstate completely circumvents and isolate it.

All NOVA projects

Northern Virginia Projects

This is better than Disney Land!

I hope 29 never gets expanded in Fauquier...because Warrenton and Culpepper have a nice tradition as part of rural VA...I sure hope they don't become the next glowing ugly neon lights like Fairfax City.

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by bluecountry

I hope 29 never gets expanded in Fauquier...because Warrenton and Culpepper have a nice tradition as part of rural VA...I sure hope they don't become the next glowing ugly neon lights like Fairfax City.

Expansion a necessary evil. You will need to face it soon.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by VRE332

Expansion a necessary evil. You will need to face it soon.

I have to agree. As I said in another recent thread, unless/until the federal government spreads the wealth of jobs more evenly around the country - or people become content to live in condos and other urban infill projects - rural outposts will continue to become exurbs and edge cities.

[NOVAmtneer82]

This nostalgia for open space is such a hypocritical argument, the same people crying about destruction of forest don't exactly live in a tent in the woods. Was/is rural Virginia so much better? I mean don't get me wrong these farms are great to go out in the country and I guess stare at but what more can you really do...if farming were insanely profitable I doubt people would be selling to developers all the time.

I personally like living in a thriving metropolitan area where new things are constantly being built and GASP...replacing open space. I'm not really directing this completely to you blue, but seriously, the DC area probably has the highest concentration of NIMBY's in the world. Dislike growth? Head to southern WV where I grew up, I can guarantee you will never have to fight new development there. The economy is also dreadful, houses are worth nothing and diversity consists of Southern Baptist or American Baptist.