Click here to view the Executive Summary

Town Run Commons is a mixed use project that integrates commercial use, public spaces and residential dwellings. It follows many of the tenets of the smart growth movement by allowing for development that reduces the dependence on the automobile and locates new uses in close proximity to existing infrastructure. The proposed development preserves the key natural areas of the property while providing a building form that will be appealing visually both from Route 480 and from the adjoining properties. The scale of the proposed development is appropriate for Route 480 and will be reminiscent of the old manor homes built along the primary roads in historic districts.

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Town Run Commons evolved from a vision based on a planned, mix-use community centered on the arts, with designated living space, working space, and open space. The community is designed specifically for resident artisans, their patrons, and the Shepherdstown community at large. At an introductory meeting in November, 2005, a collective of interested local parties representing artists, businesses, educational institutions, government, neighbors, and non-profit groups met in an open forum to discuss ideas and alternatives for a 13-acre parcel of land adjacent to Morgan’s Grove Park. The group came up with following project goals:

1. Create a new destination point in and for the Shepherdstown community

• “Town Run Commons - A Creative Community”
• Add value to the community through promoting and marketing the arts

2. Create a community focal point

• Two 5,000+/- sq feet of commercial space (e.g. restaurant, art gallery, retail space, etc) integrated into a public courtyard.

3. Preservation of open/green space

• No development proposed adjacent to Town Run Creek.
• Proposed development is pulled back from Route 480 and adjacent properties.
• Parking on the subject property has been proffered to the Morgan Grove Park. If located on the Town Run Commons site it would provide the park with much needed parking and reduce the impervious land required on the Morgan Grove property.

4. Recognition of environmental assets

• Approximately two acres preserved near the source of Town Run Creek. The potential exists for this to be integrated into a larger trail and preservation system, leading to Shepherdstown

5. Mitigate permanent density

• 32 total units - 1/3 of which priced as artisan residences, plus 5,000 sq feet of flex/work space. It is the intent of the Developer to build the artisan residences component as affordable housing. This component is dependant on Jefferson County approving and implementing a system in which such housing can be approved and managed. The Developer reserves the ability to not implement the affordable housing component should the adopted regulations conflict with the proposed development, or impose conditions not acceptable to the owners. The affordable housing space proposed as a part of Town Run commons is at least 2-3 times the national average for a typical residential development. The remaining units will be focused towards pre-eminent artists and benefactors, ostensibly empty nesters.

6. Optimize local support

• We have been actively engaging local artists and the community, plus other community organizations

7. Provide a market rate return on investment

• We are pursuing artisan housing without any government assistance, thus the need for the mixed use.

Click here to view the Executive Summary