The new housing development, Stonehaven, sits in the middle of nowhere, 6 miles west of Warrenton and 12 miles north of Culpeper. Some thought it might provide “affordable housing” for the area, but with homes starting “in the low $500s”, I don’t think so. Or maybe my definition of affordable housing is a bit different from others.
Stonehaven is 60 miles west of Washington DC, and about 25 miles east of Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail. The development, which could eventually include over 750 homes, is in Culpeper County, about a mile from the border of Fauquier County and a couple miles from Rappahannock County. Both Fauquier and Rappahannock have strict zoning requirements in place and a housing development of this magnitude couldn’t just pop up in the middle of nowhere. Culpeper County like Loudoun and Prince William, is a bit different and pretty much open for business.
The land was wooded and the Rappahannock River crosses to the east of the property. Longstreet and Jackson would have passed nearby on their way to the Battle of Second Manassas in 1862.
There is an older development just a bit down Rixeyville Road. While there is a golf course nearby, a gas station across the highway and a brewery about 4 miles away, there are no other businesses in the area. There are no immediate plans for a grocery store, or to my knowledge, even a 7-11 in the near future, although the “master plan” has retail shops, office space and a grocery store coming “soon”. In the meantime, If the residents want to grocery shop, shop in general, go out to dinner or have a couple of drinks at a bar, they need to make the drive to Warrenton or Culpeper.
Due to the restrictions on growth in Fauquier, housing is tight in the area and there are ongoing discussions about the need for affordable housing – for teachers, police officers and others. When this property development was first announced, there was, on one side angst about the growth, and on the other, the hope for at least some affordable housing.
Unfortunately, the concern about growth was real, while the hope for affordable housing proved false. We ended up with a worst of both worlds scenario. They paved paradise, put in a housing development and are adding hundreds of cars to our local roads. And, PS, they did nothing to improve affordable housing. While the houses are starting in the “low $500s”, when I looked online, one of the homes is listed at over $800K.
Yep, they are building hundreds of cookie-cutter houses and people are already moving in. I guess someone said “Build it, and they will come.” Still, it’s all a little sad.
I suppose there’s mild hope. They just put up a new sign announcing townhomes starting from the low $400s. Is it affordable yet?
Addendum:
Stonehaven is about a 15 minute drive on back roads from our home in Fauquier County.
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Max, I live down the road from this development in South Wales. One of our neighbors takes aerial photos of the new construction and how it is changing. Seeing it from above gives you a whole new perspective. It is a very large development, and we are already seeing increased traffic at the major intersections — thinking the traffic patterns may have to change at some point too.
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I forgot about that Kerri. Yes, this place will dwarf the Jeffersonton area in size and traffic. 750+ homes is probably at least 1500 additional cars and who knows how many additional trips.
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So Culpeper gets the taxes and Fauquier gets the traffic.
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Yep.
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I always enjoy your writings, usually they include some West Point buddies and whiskey 🥃.
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div>The challenge we Democrats who also enjoy the beautiful countryside ( mostly owned by others) is th
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Hahah. Sometimes but not always.
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Max, the piece that perplexes me is, where does the demand come from? Obviously, demand exists and is probably growing. Personally, I wouldn’t find such a location so remote from services and shopping very attractive, never mind the commute it would involve!
I know you know Haymarket. In the early 2000s, BSA received the Camp Snyder parcel of land and developed it as a camp for cub scouts. Haymarket was fairly remote in those days, but twenty years later there’s a housing development right across Antioch Rd from the camp, and there’s all sorts of development on Rte 55 of course (breweries, Walmart, etc etc). The amount of growth is jaw-dropping.
I won’t touch on the affordable housing aspect, Arlington has been debating that since the early 90s. ‘Affordable Housing’ means different things to different people, and the property values are just way high (see my earlier comment about what is driving the demand). The volatility of the topic is up there with Civil War preservation, which I note you deftly side-stepped (but not entirely). :^]
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I remember the camp, the growth in Haymarket and how it use to look.
During rush hour , they will have an hour and 20 minutes or so Fair lakes. Maybe telecommuting solves that problem. I dunno.
And yes, as you know civil war touches everything here in VA. I thought it was worth pointing out. Not a battlefield, but still relevant.
Good to hear from you Steamer.
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