News

Rockbridge County High School Students Win Award

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The Rockbridge County High School (RCHS) Building Trades students and their instructor took top honors for the Youth Group Effort of the Year at the 20th Annual Virginia Statewide Neighborhood Conference  in September. The award recognizes a youth group that has made a significant impact or contribution in their community. The Building Trades curriculum at RCHS provides students with methods and techniques in building construction, preparing them to enter the trade upon graduation.  RCHS was recognized for its work with Rockbridge Area Habitat for Humanity in which the students have helped to build 18 homes for area families since 2001.
Since 2014, the RCHS students have helped to build five modular homes for the Greenhouse Village affordable housing project. One home is built each year, and then transported less than a mile to the site. Now in Phase II, Greenhouse Village is a multi-phase partnership between Rockbridge Area Habitat for Humanity and Rockbridge County to construct homes and build infrastructure for roads, water and sewer. The project is funded through the Community Development Block Grant Program administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The CSPDC provides grant administration services to the County for this project.

CSPDC Celebrates 50th Anniversary

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Over 75 people gathered to celebrate the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission’s 50th anniversary on September 17, 2019 at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton. In attendance were local government representatives, CSPDC Commissioners and staff, and stakeholders. The program featured four of the CSPDC’s signature programs including BRITE Transit, Fields of Gold Farm Trail, Transportation Planning, and Shenandoah Valley Project Impact.
The CSPDC was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in September, 1969 to provide planning, technical assistance and facilitation services to its five counties, five cities and 11 towns. For the past 50 years, the CSPDC has assisted its localities with a variety of economic and community development programs that improve the economic vitality of the region and the quality of life of its citizens.
A warm thank you is extended to the sponsors of the event which include: Litten & Sipe, AMT & Associates, VML/VACO, Kimley-Horn, Virginia Regional Transit (VRT), Draper Aden Associates, The Berkley Group, and Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA).

New BRITE Bus Transit Manager

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Aidan Quirke has been hired as CSPDC’s Transit Program Manager to replace Nancy Gourley, who will retire at the end of the year. A native of Virginia, Aidan holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and has worked for public transit agencies in Richmond, Virginia and Savannah, Georgia

Inter-Regional Transit Study Kicks Off

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The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) has contracted with Kimley-Horn to complete additional research and analysis on the feasibility of Afton Express, a proposed public transit service connecting the Staunton, Augusta County, Waynesboro (SAW) region to the City of Charlottesville. This approximately six-month study will build on previously completed efforts to evaluate the feasibility of this service, while examining specific elements of those studies in greater detail.

Buena Vista Receives CDBG Planning Grants

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In June, the City of Buena Vista was awarded a Business District Revitalization Planning Grant and an Opportunity Zone Planning Grant through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Together the two grants, totaling $40,000, will create an inventory of properties,  address specific revitalization needs to the downtown area, identify gaps in opportunities, and develop an economic development marketing plan for the city.
Currently, a Project Management Team is being established along with a Physical Inventory Survey of open spaces and buildings in downtown.  A public meeting to discuss initial grant activities and obtain community input for further use of funding will be held in early September.