In Crozet, a slice of uncertainty

By Jeremy Borden

Published: May 8, 2008

While the bulldozers might not start rolling for more than a year, developers are planning to level the current Crozet Pizza building along with nearby structures that sit in the heart of downtown Crozet.

So what will the redevelopment project mean for the venerable pizzeria?

“I’m sure [the property owners] will do everything they can to entice us to stay, and I hope that they can,” said Mike Alexander, who owns Crozet Pizza along with his wife, Colleen, and like others along the block, leases the space. The pizza joint’s lease is up in the second half of 2009.

Alexander says he’s “50-50” that things will work out to remain in the current location, though he also owns property across from the Cocina del Sol restaurant in Crozet that could be used for a new pizza place.

“Half of me says it’s going to work out, and half of me says to prepare for the worst,” Alexander said. He said much of the decision rests in the final design of the project. If parking isn’t accessible to the business, it would be difficult for him to stay, he said.

While local business owners seem to agree that the area could use some sprucing up, some aren’t sold on a total facelift.

“Just because the town is growing up around [downtown] doesn’t mean you have to obliterate it,” said Jim Webber, who owns Handcrafters Ltd., which sits in the same shopping center as Crozet Pizza.

In addition to overhauling the block where the pizza shop sits, the redevelopment project, called Crozet Station, would add a façade to the adjacent strip shopping center anchored by the Crozet Great Valu grocery store. Condos will be built above all of the new and revamped properties.

No tenants would be displaced by the work — new buildings would be constructed around the old and the businesses could still function despite the dust. The same is true for the adjacent block of buildings that are being retained.

Architect Bill Atwood hopes to start construction on the redevelopment this summer and said work could last for three years, done in three phases.

The plans have been approved by Albemarle officials, though they still need to be approved by the county Architectural Review Board.

Atwood said the new downtown would feature 56,000 square feet of commercial space with about 70 condos selling for $300,000 and less.

“It’s really a mixture of all the things that are Crozet,” Atwood said of the new development. He added that the property owners, the Everton family of Crozet, are committed to keeping Crozet Pizza as a part of the new downtown.

One big concern, tenants said, is what the new buildings will mean for the rent. Atwood said rents will increase, but slowly and over time. Some business owners, however, are unsure whether they can make enough money to keep up with the increases.

Pete Maupin, who owns the video store next to Crozet Pizza, said he doesn’t want to see a part of Crozet’s history go.

“I’d hate to see the old feel of Crozet be destroyed,” Maupin said. “This has been such a beautiful place to live. We’re kind of on edge about what’s going to happen. Especially with construction [and] rents going up, it makes you a little wary. I think everybody feels that way.”