A master downtown plan to revitalize brownfields. Our ultimate goal is to create a more livable community in Old Town Ranson and Charles Town - a place where residents can live where they work, walk to shop, and have easy access to nature and recreation. In order to lay the groundwork for this ambitious objective, Ranson purchased the former Kidde Brass Foundry site located in the corridor from United Technologies Corporation (UTC) in 2009 after conducting All Appropriate Inquiries. Utilizing a significant donation from UTC, Ranson developed a vision for redeveloping over seven acres of brownfield into a vibrant mixed-use, pedestrian and environmentally-friendly LEED-ND certified development named Powhatan Place. 

Development Focus
Plans for Powhatan Place include 150 units of affordable and market-rate housing, 30,000 square feet of commercial office space, 44,000 square feet of retail space, recreational spaces and community gardens.  A major focus of an EPA Area-Wide Plan effort by Ranson will be to take the Powhatan Place vision to the next level by creating more detailed reuse plans and strategies.

A second benefit of enhanced planning and strategies in the corridor will be the development of high-tech commercial office buildings in vacant areas between downtown Ranson and downtown Charles Town, building off the DC-Loudoun-MD technology corridor. 

Already, Ranson / Charles Town have taken a major step toward this goal with the redevelopment of the Viener scrapyard into the American Public University's Academic Center, the purchase of the Peoples Supply site by a commercial office redeveloper, and the pending purchase of two other brownfield sites in Ranson by American Public University.

A third focus of area-wide efforts will be the development of parks, recreational, greenway, and green infrastructure in the corridor. Part of this major initiative would be incorporating the Charles Town dump and public works yard into an expanded Evitts Run Park, together with the adjacent Ranson Civic Center and Boys and Girls Club of Jefferson County located in former Maytag / Dixie-Narco manufacturing buildings.

The Evitts Run Park effort is a top community priority of community groups. With close proximity to Washington, DC, millions of tourist visiting the neighboring Harpers Ferry historical sites or Charles Town Casino annually, and between 5,500 and 15,000 car trips along the Corridor per day, Ranson / Charles Town have significant potential for economic growth if the brownfields areas are successfully redeveloped.