Category Archives: Louisa
Lake Anna Nuclear Plant set to Reopen Soon
The earthquake on 23 August of this year shut down the Lake Anna nuclear plant. And it’s still offline.
After a public hearing last night, NRC says start up “could be authorized as soon as next week.” They can provide no specific date. #NorthAnna
Tammy Purcell wrote a very well researched story last week about the history of the Lake Anna nuclear plant; it’s highly recommended reading.
Tammy’s been providing much of my knowledge regarding the plant, via Twitter. Continue reading
Housing numbers are down
And inventory is up.
Rates are low.
Home price appreciation is slowing.
Inventory is up. Significantly.
note: as soon as I figure out how to upload an image via coding, rather than depending on my normal program, I will.
Regarding NAR’s press release: They have an obligation to present the facts, and their best opinions. Everybody has opinions and interpretation of data. Assumptions and conclusions may (and usually do) differ.
Take this for example:
Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dipped 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units in
Connected communities
As our region continues to grow, each area has its own perspective on how to handle growth – Orange County – Resident, after resident, after resident lined up to speak in strong disapproval to the proposed Annandale development. The 244 acre site would sit just outside of Gordonsville and house nearly 500 single family homes for people ages 55 and up. Some residents felt this many homes could destroy the small town feel.Nelson County – In addressing Nellysford, Rue said there could be three routes taken to complete the plan. They include long-term transportation and business growth, a focus of safety issues on Virginia 151 or a plan that looks at safety as well as business growth.Louisa County: questions are raised regarding the mixed-use implementation as they revise their Comprehensive Plan – The suggested changes would define “very low density residential development” as one dwelling unit per acre and “low density residential development” as up to two dwelling units per acre. High density residential development would be defined as more than six units per acre…. (and one person remarked) “If [one house per acre] is very low density,” she said, “I don’t know what life is going to be like around here.”What if a rural county wants to maintain its rural character? And one of my favorites comes from Trish, who laments the changing landscape of the CharlAlbemarle area – Why do we have to completely strip the land to build anything?… The land-use decisions in Louisa will impact the real estate market in CharlAlbemarle – if more people are able to comfortably buy, live and work in Louisa, perhaps fewer people will move to CharlAlbemarle.
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Local housing market review
The DP has two interesting articlesDavid Hendrick provides a good analysis of the local market and its prospects for the upcoming year. Charlottesville is unique, for a variety of reasons. One of which is – “Charlottesville is a destination area,” said Casey Dawkins, director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research. “It seems to be the case that there is still potential for growth.”…”Virginia is one of a few states where you see dramatic regional difference,” Dawkins said. “Charlottesville will probably continue to grow, as will Richmond. For the rest of the state I would anticipate smaller increases.”On the flip side, if people cannot afford to live in Louisa, traditionally one of the more affordable counties, where can they afford?
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Population increases (shocking!)
The Weldon Cooper Center has released a study showing population increases throughout the Commonwealth. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District (our region) has seen a fairly significant increase in its population – 7.5%.Albemarle has seen a provisional change of 7.4%.Charlottesville – .5%Greene – 11.2%Fluvanna – 24.4%Louisa – 12.1%Nelson – 4.2%The above numbers are the total percentages, combining the natural increases and the change due to migration. Continue reading
Growth, politics and the market (morning reading)
Tom McCrystal has a nice post.Conserve energy.The NYTimes causes a stir this morning with a report on the housing market.Greene faces its future with their Board of Supervisors elections.Development issues in Louisa and Fluvanna.Everything in this region always comes down to money, politics and growth. Continue reading
Louisa reduces tax rate
DailyProgress.com | Louisa OKs county budget:The supervisors also voted 4-3 to lower the tax rate from 70 to 66 cents per $100 of assessed value. But assessments averaging 35 percent higher than they were in 2003 create a net tax increase of 6 cents, (bolding mine) according to officials….“I think we went back to doing things for people,” Chairman Fitzgerald Barnes said of next fiscal year’s budget.If nothing else, this is a step in the right direction…. The school system has agreed to a voluntary audit from the state designed to identify ways school divisions can increase efficiency. Continue reading
Water shortage in Louisa
DailyProgress.com | Louisa officials looking to solve water shortage:Although Fluvanna and Louisa counties have agreed to the basic outline of an $18 million project to pipe water from the James River to Zion Crossroads, it is still in the early permit process and Louisa leaders are meanwhile eyeing other ways to hydrate the area.The potential for dramatic water shortages is not localized to the Charlottesville/Albemarle area – it extends at least to the entire Central Virginia region, as evidenced by this story. Interestingly, one of the issues that Louisa/Fluvanna are considering is the James River pipeline.One of the focal points of this particular story is the Spring Creek development that is currently under development near the 64 Interchange in Louisa. This is a massive development that is the first foray into our market by Ryan Homes. Continue reading
