"It is not as packed in as it is in Charlottesville. You have these beautiful mountain views out here. You have a school district that is very desirable for folks and it is still only 15 minutes from town," said real estate agent Jonathan Kauffmann.
The western part of Albemarle County is quickly becoming a hot spot for real estate development. Planned communities like the Old Trail Village are being developed and marketed to draw residents interested in living near Charlottesville, but still yearning for the country setting.
"Trying to keep the rural areas rural and the developed areas a place where people want to live and work and play and raise their children," said Albemarle County Planning Commission representative Marsha Joseph.
Master plans like the Crozet plan take years of input by the community and hours of work by the planning commission. Ultimately, the commission would like to see a place where people from all walks of life can live comfortably.
"We plan for schools in the area and libraries and transportation systems so that people will be able to live comfortably there, and have parks and schools and amenities like that," said Joseph.
Developers are always balancing the proper amount of construction versus over development. The aim of communities like Old Trail Village is to increase the density of the community while still keeping the small town feel.
"West of town is going to be a little more quaint although there will be development and there will be growth over here in the next ten to twenty years. However, you will not see the same kind of sprawl [as associated with the Route 29 corridor]," said Kauffmann.
Albemarle Development On The Rise