September 2021 Community Conversations
Town of Crewe Restoring A Valuable Former Railroad Asset
The Town of Crewe has been working to redevelop the old Norfolk & Western Railroad Headquarters building over the last couple of years. As readers may be aware, the Norfolk & Western Railroad pre-planned and built the town of Crewe in 1888. Named for the large railroad town of Crewe, England, it was designed first and foremost to support the N&W Railroad as a Divisional halfway point between Norfolk and Roanoke.
The old Norfolk & Western Railroad Headquarters was built in the 1930s and is approximately 9,600 square feet. This two-story building was constructed with variegated Taylor Brick for the exterior, reinforced, cast in place concrete (columns, beams, and floors), and cinderblock walls. These heavy-duty industrial materials were chosen for the construction of the building to withstand the heavy train traffic vibrations generated by the thousands of railroad cars passing through daily.
The Railroad donated the property over to the Town in 2003. Since that time the building has been sitting vacant. In 2020, the Town applied for and received grant funds through the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF). This $50,000 grant was used to prepare Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Reports, as well as a Remediation Plan.
The Town subsequently applied for and recently received notice that another $74,600 in grant funds have been awarded to the Town through the VBAF Remediation Grant Program. The Town is required to match that same amount. The goal for this $150,000 project is to remove the hazardous materials identified in the previous site assessment reports. Once the remediation project is complete, the building will be in better condition to market to prospective businesses and developers.
The Town is very excited about this project and the transformational potential it has, especially given its historical ties! For more information, please contact Brian S. Thrower, Town Manager at bthrower@townofcrewe.com.