Russell County, VA: Conceptual Neighborhood Site Master Plan for the Public Services Authority Site

The Community Design Assistance Center worked with a Stakeholders Committee to create a conceptual redevelopment plan for the Russell County PSA property located on Water Lane off of Route 63 and just outside the St. Paul town limits. The property is approximately 26.3 acres and includes a ~38,240 sq. ft. building and parking area, which was originally a sewing factory and a graded flat open area on which the building sits. The remaining space beyond the flat portions immediately around the building is a mostly wooded site of varying topography. The ~38,240 sq. ft. building and parking area has most recently been used as a maintenance facility for the Russell County PSA. The surrounding flat areas have been used as an equipment lay-down yard and material storage area in conjunction with PSA projects.

As St. Paul and the surrounding area progresses in its community revitalization efforts and continues to become an attractive place to live and conduct business, there is a great need in Russell County for housing. In many cases there is a need for single family homes. The PSA property is a favorable site for developing housing since the site is conveniently located just a few miles from downtown St. Paul as well as close to several local and regional outdoor attractions. The conceptual redevelopment plan focused on creating a site master plan that meets some of the most pressing housing needs. Based on stakeholder input, other types of housing densities were considered in the design process.

The site master plan serves as a first step in creating a vision for the property. A later step might include developing conceptual prototype designs for homes, but were not be carried out in this phase of design.