BASF land still in play for industry in southern James City County
It's Feb. 4. BASF property still being shopped for industry. Plus, York school board meets to discuss superintendent candidates, W&M board of visitors meets and Williamsburg farmer's market returns.
BASF has been looking for a buyer for more than 25 years for its 627-acre site in James City County and gotten some nibbles, but so far no sale.
A spokesperson for the West German company told Williamsburg Watch that there has been interest from multiple parties, but the company would not disclose who they were.
Activists in the nearby Grove community have urged the county to make the property’s shoreline property along the James River a public beach, but that does not seem likely to happen.
BASF reportedly wants to prohibit public access to the shoreline to prevent development, given the contaminated landfills it left nearby.
The BASF tract is one of only two sites that county officials say are suitable for heavy industry, and the county wants to keep it that way. Dominion Virginia Power has nearby power lines that can handle industrial grade power demands.
Among potential candidates would be a data center, heavy users of power that county regulations require to be isolated from residential homes.
James City officials have previously discouraged non-industrial potential buyers as varied as entertainment park operators and timeshares.
BASF bought the property in 1978 from Dow Chemical, which had been producing acrylic fibers for 20 years there. The company deposited fibers used in chairs, drapes and carpet in trenches in those landfills, leading to soil and groundwater contamination from the chemicals used in the process.
The site is located approximately one mile west of the point where Route 60 passes through Lee Hall, between the James River to the west and Wood Creek to the east, with undeveloped land and wetlands to the south.
Only about 10 percent of the vast tract was used for manufacturing.
IN 1989 BASF sold the property to Mann Industries, which went bankrupt in 1993. BASF got back the land, and the environmental headaches that came with it. About 60 acres were sold to another company that also went bankrupt.
BASF reached an agreement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to mitigate the landfill pollution and prevent chemicals from leaching into the groundwater.
York school board takes next step in superintendent hire
York County’s school board meets behind closed doors Wednesday morning to set up the second round of interviews with candidates for school superintendent.
The meeting begins at 9 in the school board office and is not open to the public.
A spokesperson for the schools told us the board will be setting the next window to interview candidates.
According to the schools’ website, the school board had received 14 completed applications as of the Dec. 10 deadline. Of those, six were current or former school superintendents, 10 applicants were from Virginia and four were from Arizona, Iowa, Maryland and North Carolina.
Four women and 10 men `have applied, according to the report.
The school board plans to announce its selection by the end of February..
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William & Mary Board of Visitors meets
The William & Mary Board of Visitors will be meeting from Wednesday to Friday this week. Although the meetings are public, no comment is allowed.
Here is the schedule:
Feb. 4:
Subcommittee on Compensation, 12:00 p.m. Room 302 Blow Memorial Hall
Executive Committee,1:30 p.m., Room 302 Blow Memorial Hall.
The Committee on Administration, Buildings and Ground, and the Committee on Academic Affairs meet concurrently 2:45- 4 p.m. in Room 302 of Blow Memorial Hall and the Grimsley Boardroom, respectively.
The Committee on Athletics and the Committee on the Student Experience will both begin meetings at 4:15 p.m. in Blow Hall 302 and the Grimsley Boardroom, respectively.
Feb. 5:
Committee on Audit, Risk, and Compliance, 9:45 a.m.Room 302 Blow Memorial Hall.
Committee on Financial Affairs, 11:30 a.m. Grimsley Boardroom.
Joint Boards meeting and Institutional Advancement Committee meeting at 1:45 p.m. in Brinkley Commons.
Feb. 6.
Committee on the University Experience, 9:15 a.m. 302 Blow Memorial Hall.
Full Board meeting 11:45 a.m.- 1 p.m., Grimsley Boardroom.
Full schedule and meeting video available here.
Regional & state headlines
As ICE seeks to expand footprint in Va., Youngkin’s final-day prison sale directive draws scrutiny
New governor could see new versions of old bills seeking to regulate the data center industry
Attorney General asked appeals court to intervene in Tazewell ruling
Our Top 5 weekend picks
Williamsburg Farmers Market. The market opens its 2026 season Feb. 7, 8 a.m. - noon and continues every Saturday until December.
ADA Darts classic. Feb. 6 - 8.Aleworks. $20 - $60.
First Friday at Muscarelle Museum. Feb. 6. 5 - 8 p.m. Free.
Stream to Sea Stroll. Feb. 7. 10 a.m. - noon. York River State Park.
Kronos String Quartet. Feb. 8. 7:30 p.m. Music Arts Center Concert Hall. $10 children, $30 military/senior citizen, $35 individual.
Passings
Maggie Olivia Carter, 81, Jan. 25.
Barbara Ann Lee Odegaard, 84, Jan. 28.
Robert “PeeWee” McKinley Martin, 71, Jan. 29.
Solid reporting on an underappreciated issue. The 25-year timeline for finding a buyer really highlights how tough it is to move brownfield sites even with industrial-grade infrastructure nearby. I covered a similar remediation case in Ohio few years back and the liability questions alone scared off most serious bidders. Curious whether the county has considered any creative financing structures to bridge the cleanup costs given data center demand is actualy surging right now.