Updates on Granberry Estates
September 2004
Leewood recently got some feedback from our contact at Granberry Estates and thought some Leewood residents might like to know the latest.
April 18, 2004
Finally, we have some more information! I will quote from an email I received from Russ, in response to one I sent him asking what was happening:"Yes, development is ready to commence, or may have already commenced by this time. Because of other, on-going projects (too many projects; too few resources) we decided not to develop the property ourselves, and have sold the property to Fred Margolis of Standard Construction, who will be doing the development and construction on the site. Fred is someone we have known for almost 10 years, and before he started his own company about 5 or 6 years ago, he worked for us as a project manager." He did give us contact information which will be forwarded to the board so that they can find someone to follow this important project for Leewood. I did email back and say that I hoped he remembered the extra trees that they were going to plant, but definitely someone from Leewood should stay abreast of the situation, report to the website, and work with Fred. I am sure the board will be interested in any volunteer for this post. Contact president@leewood.us to volunteer.
October 30, 2003
Bradgen Ct. residents were informed of a final review which should be completed early November. I went down to look at the "final plat" and talked to the lady reviewing the plan. The tree situation is as it was originally; although we are expecting to get additional trees planted, that is not part of the County requirements and thus were not shown on the final plat. The mini-cul-de-sac was shown. Somehow it does not intrude into their property at all but is all taken out of their existing right of ways at the end of Bradwood St. It looks like the sidewalk into the woods will be taken up for the cul-de-sac.
September 22, 2003
The plans for Granberry Estates with the modified cul de sac on Bradwood Street have been approved by VDOT, the Fairfax County Water Authority and the Fire Marshall. They were submitted to the County for final review and approval this past Wednesday, September 17. Approval is anticipated within approximately 3-4 weeks (hopefully by October 15) and then development work could commence within about 4 weeks after that - hopefully by November 15.
August 18, 2003
Ah, the wheels of decision making grind so slowly, it's a good thing the earth is patient! VDOT has approved the small cul-de-sac in concept and the revised plans have been submitted to VDOT for their final approval. That should occur prior to the end of August. The work to install the cul-de-sac on Bradwood Street will be done as a part of the land development for Granberry Estates and will not be done by VDOT. It is most likely that this building will take place next Spring, but that depends to some extent on the schedule that the land development contractor will develop. So far such a contractor has not been chosen as all the approvals are not in.
July 16, 2003
Madison Homes met with VDOT on Monday, July 14, and reached a compromise ( not yet surveyed nor formally approved by VDOT) of the Bradwood St. issue. They hope to go with a smaller cul de sac there which would extend from the end of the current Bradwood St. about 40 ft. onto the Granberry Estates property. This cul de sac would have a 20 ft radius rather than the standard VDOT 45 ft. radius and would not necessitate (the theory goes) removal of more trees in that area. There was already going to be a spot cleared there for access by the water authority. The surveying will be done in a couple of weeks. We had gotten a notice that the original plan was disapproved just a few days ago. This disapproval was because of VDOT's objections concerning Bradwood St. Apparently if anyone voices a complaint (which we knew that VDOT had) it is formally considered to be disapproved. Anyhow, it was cause for great consternation until we contacted Russ of Madison Homes and he told us what had happened in the meeting. Stay Tuned!
July 12, 2003
Some people were interested as to when building is projected to start on this project. It is always iffy until the County has approved everything, but the builder is planning on starting in October, 2003 if all goes according to plan. He was happy with the letter that the Association wrote supporting the entrance off of Woodland Drive and plans to be meeting with the County and VDOT concerning the matter.
June 15, 2003
Good News! When I talked to Russ yesterday he told me that they had added plantings in the lot that backs up to Bradgen Ct., as we had suggested. They will be included in the next filing of the plan. This should make life more pleasant for those that live in the area where the tree buffer becomes thinner. He had actually emailed me that after talking to his engineers they suggested that if VDOT couldn't get all of the cul-de-sac out of their property that might ask for a lien/right-of-way on Leewood property. No doubt this would take out our sign and bring asphalt "up close and personal" to those on the end of Bradgen Ct. The board will decide on whether to include some objection to this in the letter to be sent.
June 10, 2003
Russ Rosenberger of Madison Homes (the developer of Granberry Estates) attended the monthly board meeting, gave an excellent presentation and answered questions from the Board and residents. In addition to the information in the May 28th update, he also mentioned that if VDOT could not get their wish of an entrance to Granberry Estates off of Woodland, they might try to have a cul-de-sac put there. Apparently VDOT has something against dead end streets, as their equipment has a hard time turning around. He had a second plat showing the mature trees that were currently going to be saved near us, and which of those trees would be destroyed even by a cul-de-sac. I'll see whether I can get it up on this site, but feel free to contact me (Judy Currier) and look at this plat yourself. Essentially the houses on Bradgen from Leebrad St. up to 5262 Bradgen would no longer have any buffer of trees between the road and their back lots if this were to happen. Those in attendance thought it strange that VDOT would worry about their equipment after 25 years of no problems with the dead end street that is there. As most of you know, we plow Bradwood St., not the County/State, so our residents can exit onto Braddock and the state has not ever re-paved the street. This certainly doesn't seem like it should be causing them many difficulties. The question of whether additional screening trees could be planted in the area where the buffer gets very close to Leewood was raised. It turns out the tree cover in that area is more sparse than on either end, in addition to the buffer being narrower (about 15 feet). Mr. Rosenberger agreed to look into planting some evergreens in that area. He mentioned white pines, we mentioned Leyland Cypress as it has done so well around the dry pond. Several people have raised the hope that if Bradwood St. were to be extended, we could get a traffic light at the intersection of that street and Braddock Rd. This was discussed later at the board meeting, and no one thought that we would be able to get a traffic light on that basis. As it stands now, the board plans to oppose the entrance to Granberry Estates being off of Bradwood St. and a letter will be sent. Be sure to contact the board or Judy Currier if you have thoughts on this subject, particularly thoughts as to why we should not oppose the entrance being off of Bradwood St.
May 28, 2003
We were contacted by the builder, Madison Homes, concerning this project. It appears to be on track. However, VDOT's comment on the preliminary plans was that the entrance to it should be from Bradwood Street instead of the planned entrance off of Woodland Drive. Apparently they gave no go reason for this idea, just that it was a stub street and should be continued on. The comprehensive plan indicates the entrance should be from Woodland. So far I have not talked to anyone who believes that having the entrance from Bradwood Street, rather than Woodland Drive, would be beneficial to Leewood or to the new community. It would require more clearing of trees in the area of interest to us. With respect to transportation, if the entrance is on Woodland Drive, the residents will be able to try to deal with our traffic situation by exiting at Woodland and Backlick, Woodland and Braddock, or Larrlyn and Backlick. There is even a left turn lane for them at Larrlyn, whereas Leewood has none. From Bradwood Street they legally just have one option, and that is to exit at Braddock and maneuver from there. Of course, most likely if they wanted to go South on Backlick they would cut through our community, unless the new community is filled with people about to be nominated for sainthood. Personally I think it takes a lot of gall for planners to say that our streets are private, and must be maintained by us, and then actually plan for others to use our neighborhood as means of access to their community. If you haven't thought about this, we already are supporting the Braddock Mews people and the detached houses on Bradwood Street through the designs of those communities. Obviously having the entrance at Bradwood Street would increase both the traffic trying to get out of the area and within our community. It seems that we have enough problems that we should aim at zero growth as far as traffic in this arena. The final plan was submitted in April and retains the entrance to the community off of Woodland as originally planned. Leewood will probably write a letter to support this position. If any of you see any reason why we should not, you should contact a board member or me at judy@leewood.us Mr. Russ Rosenberger, the President of Madison Homes plans on attending our board meeting on June 10, and speaking about the plans for Granberry Estates at 8pm. As always, all are invited to attend. Russ sent me the plans as submitted; given the better equipment of a ruler, rather than my thumb as a measurer, it appears there will be 15 feet of woods left as a minimum buffer between the two communities. This is in the area of 5268-5274 Bradgen Ct. At 5266 Bradgen, and 5276 Bradgen the buffer increases to about 22 feet, then the depth of the buffer rises sharply after that. Anyone interested in looking at the plat can contact me, or, I have scanned in the part of it of most interest to Leewood -- click here to see it. Watch the website for any developments concerning this project!
Judy Currier
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