Augusta BOS gives green light to new shopping center

In a meeting that lasted more than two hours, the Augusta County Board of Supervisors voted 7-0 to pursue the Augusta Marketplace shopping center to be located on the corner of I-81 and Rt. 262. More than a dozen local residents attended the meeting to speak for or against the project.

Bob Stuart with the Waynesboro News Virginian wrote:

A major hurdle for the largest commercial development ever in Augusta County was cleared Wednesday when supervisors voted 7-0 to approve rezoning from agriculture to business for Augusta Marketplace.

The 135-acre development, when built starting in 2011 by the Northern Virginia firm of Pence Friedel, would contribute nearly a million square feet of retail development, a 180-room hotel and amenities such as big box stores and a movie theater off Interstate 81 and Route 262 near Verona.

Board chairman Larry Howdyshell said, "It's the right place, it's the right time, and it's the right project."