“We have the DNA of the community in our Comprehensive Plan” – Former Mayor Kwasi Fraser

By Reed Carver and Valerie Cury 

On Aug. 13 the Purcellville Planning and Community Development Department hosted a workshop, along with the Virginia Main Street program. The meeting was held at the Train Station. In attendance were seven staff members to include the Purcellville Planning Department, members of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, Purcellville residents, Planning Commissioners, and developers. 

The main impetus for the meeting was for the town staff, stakeholders, and residents to listen to a presentation from Blaire Buergler, one of the program administrators for VMS. Currently Purcellville is in VMS’s most basic introductory tier. 

John Heather, Purcellville’s Economic Development Advisor, said the town is looking for what appropriate projects may be developed in downtown, and they wanted to “understand the DNA of the town, and we need the input from the community,” he said. 

However later, former Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser said, “We have the DNA of the community in our Comprehensive Plan. I believe all of this starts with understanding that the Comprehensive Plan is the aspiration of the people for their community.”

VMS is a preservation-based economic and community development program which seeks to revitalize downtown historic districts, said Buergler. EDAC and John Heather had reached out to VMS to join the program.

When towns are accredited under this system, they can receive grants for various downtown improvement projects. Fraser cautioned that the town would have to be careful not to spend the same amount of money to hire a grant writer, to get back nearly the same amount in grant funds.

Buergler said, for the program to be successful, it will require the community, not government, to take ownership of it. Vice-Mayor and EDAC liaison Erin Rayner said the town government should be involved because they control the infrastructure.  

The central topics were business engagement, downtown planning, tourism, branding, and infill development.

Mark Nelis, an attorney and one of the Vineyard Square and Valley Business Park owners said the last time he built residential units in downtown was 30 years ago. “And that’s a shame. You can’t build downtowns without people,” he said. “We need people downtown.”

The Vineyard Square project on 21^st Street is a six-story, 40 condo approved project. The project has been approved for 14 years and the developers are now asking to change the site plan, but they want to operate off of the same permit. If their permits expire (June 2025), they could not get the approved density they currently have. 

Planning Commissioner Nedim Ogleman said, “I think the jury should be out on what happens with residential or not in downtown. It’s up to the voters and citizens of this town.” 

The Historic Downtown area does not allow multi-family housing, nor does it allow more than two and a half story buildings—with the half story being an attic area. Two apartments per building are allowed in the district. 

Buergler said, “The community has the power, Virginia Main Street is heavily reliant on the community members taking ownership of the work. We don’t want to tell you who to be.” Buergler asked the attendees what they loved about Purcellville.

The group cited walkability, the bike trail, safety, a good place to raise a family, water resources, and Dillon’s Woods.  

“Parks, that are well-maintained …” one speaker said. “And threatened,” another inserted. “It’s a non-cookie cutter kind of community …” another said. 

Fraser added, “It’s the balance of old and new.” He cited the town’s mission statement, “Purcellville, your small town where progress intersects and people prosper. It’s not anywhere, USA.

“It’s a good place to learn, and we have great schools,” added Planning Commissioner Ron Rise Sr. “We have the cleanest water in the state.”

Nelis said, “Too much traffic means people want to be here,” and that is what businesses want to see.

Buergler continued to say that the approach of the Virginia Main Street should enhance sustainability by using historic assets already present, and she wants whatever work they do together to build community pride. 

For VMS to be successful, the consultation of stakeholder groups would be necessary, said Buergler. The group listed property owners, residents, and business owners as stakeholders.

“It’s all about, how do we find that balance,” Fraser said. He explained that the town could take an action, with the good intention of benefiting a business, but it could in turn have negative impacts on other businesses. 

Developer Casey Chapman said, “I don’t see how we can continue to base these decisions on fear of what could happen, instead of taking action on things that need to happen, and that’s where we’ve been living in this town for the last 20 years.” Chapman said, “If we did this it might cause this, but we never know, because nothing ever happened. What we haven’t seen is the magnitude of investment that this town deserves, and is willing to come.”

Fraser pointed out that there’s always two sides to a story. “It’s unfair to say that nothing has been done in downtown Purcellville.” He said Catoctin Creek Distillery invested millions into “revamping their business.” He said Bia Kitchen also invested millions “into upgrading an old building.” The White Palace will be renovated; so, there’s a balance, said Fraser. The Town has invested millions into the streetscape on Main Street, he said.

Both Nelis and Chapman expressed frustration at the slow pace of infrastructure improvements in downtown. Ogelman questioned the long-term impact of these changes, and advocated for a slower approach. “When I see what happens in our town, usually people seem to be thinking about the short term more than the long term. Something can have good short-term impacts and poor long-term impacts.”

Fraser said he thought there was a risk of doing projects in a vacuum. If they build a development on the outskirts of Purcellville, it will have impacts on the downtown, he said. People might do all their business on the outskirts, and never come downtown.

Buergler said as a town goes through the levels of Main Street, they must define the downtown district, so destinations outside downtown need to be kept in communication with things that are happening downtown. 

“I have a different perspective than Mr. Chapman. I see some of these business interests, as just looking at this place … as something to exploit,” Ogelman said. “So in the context of failure I see two ways that failure can happen: there’s a safe failure, as in fail and fail quick, and then there’s a too big to fail. What works in communities are small organic-kind of failures. And big massive projects, when they fail, they fail very badly.”