From Scrapyard to Homes in York County

Plus: Peek at Busch Gardens' new roller coaster and fatal hit and run in James City County.

Feb 27, 2025

(Google Satellite View of Proposed Development Area)

A developer has approached York County about converting land used for salvage yards along George Washington Highway into a combined retail and residential project.

The development would use about 20 acres near the corner of Rt. 17 and Victory Boulevard, District 5 Supervisor Thomas G. Shepperd Jr. said in a report to his constituents asking for their input.

County supervisors met behind closed doors last week to discuss the proposal, which will probably require a rezoning and special use permit.

“In my opinion the business would be a great addition to our area,” Shepperd said in his note.

The proposal would include several hundred homes or rental units, and Shepperd said supervisors asked the unnamed developer to come back with a plan that includes homes for sale, not just rentals.

The plan calls for buffers between existing homes and the new project, as well as adding a traffic light on Rt. 17 and an exit off Victory Boulevard, he added.

County Administrator Mark Bellamy said he expects the county will hear back from the developer within a few months, although he said no deadline was set by the county.

A proposal would go to the planning commission to consider, and they will make a final recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

Shepperd asked for comments directly to him at shepperd@yorkcounty.gov or to the entire Board of Supervisors at BOS@yorkcounty.com.

Big Bad Wolf Construction Update

After a 16-year absence, The Big Bad Wolf roller coaster will be returning to Busch Gardens sometime this spring.

Officials at the James City County theme park took local media on a hard hat tour of the ride’s construction site -- still muddy Tuesday from the recent snowy weather.

Construction of the Wolf began last summer and was temporarily slowed by the port workers’ strike in October, said Suzy Cheely, VP of Design and Engineering at Busch Gardens. The brief strike delayed shipping of equipment from the Swiss company that built the ride, Bolliger & Mabillard.

The Swiss company also operates a production plant in Ohio that produces most of the bright red track, Cheely said.

Busch Gardens has not released an official opening date for the ride, except to say it will be sometime this spring.

The roller coaster, officially dubbed The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge, is located in the Oktoberfest area of the theme park. It is a suspension roller coaster that, like Alpengeist, is floorless to allow your feet to dangle, a feature said to make the ride more intense.

The bright red track swoops around the roofs of a mock Bavarian village, giving the impression of narrowly missing the spire of a church.

The original Big Bad Wolf opened in 1984 and had a 25- year run before closing in 2009.

Cheely said it normally takes several years from design concept to inauguration of a new ride at Busch Gardens.

She would not disclose the cost of the project, but Bolliger & Mabillard rides are at the top of the price range, and run from $15 million and up to buy.

Hit & Run Fatally Injures Man On Rt. 143 Tuesday Night

Driver Tells Police She Thought She Hit a Deer

A hit and run driver fatally injured a man who was walking with a female companion in the westbound lane of Merrimac Trail Tuesday night, James City County police reported.

Kenneth Jackson Jr., 43, of Newport News was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shortly after police arrived at the accident scene the dispatch center received a call from a York County woman who said she thought she had hit a deer on Merrimac Trail near the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.

When police went to the woman’s home, they determined the damage to her car was consistent with the collision that led to Jackson’s death. Police impounded the car for further analysis.

Police have not charged the driver pending further investigation, spokesman Tayleb Brooks said.

Westbound lanes of Merrimac Trail were closed for three and a half hours while the investigation took place.

Emergency crews responded to the accident scene at 7:40 p.m. and found an injured woman who said she and a male companion had been struck from behind by a car while walking in the westbound lanes of Merrimac Trail (Rt. 143). The area is poorly lit and has no sidewalks.

The woman, whose name is not being released, was taken to Riverside Doctors Hospital in Williamsburg for treatment but her injuries were not life threatening, police said.