The Blue Ridge Discovery Center was incorporated as a non-profit in 2008 and is dedicated to “exploring, discovering, and sharing the natural history of the Blue Ridge Mountains.” BRDC is renovating several buildings to grow its capacity to serve as a basecamp to explore, discover, and provide educational opportunities for the greater Mount Rogers region, with an educational focus of the Blue Ridge bioregion. In 2019, Cardno, an engineering firm, conducted an environmental assessment of the former gas station and convenience store, and Dialogue + Design Associates facilitated the development of the BRDC Master Plan — including the stakeholder engagement process — through the DEQ Brownfields program in 2020.
The master planning process began with the formation of a planning team to guide the overall effort; interviews with key stakeholders to learn more about the opportunities, challenges, and master plan suggestions which resulted in a Key Issues Report summary; site visits and preliminary design work; and two community engagement meetings to solicit initial ideas for the master plan and then to refine a draft version of the master plan. The final master plan was in the summer of 2020.
As a recipient of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Assessment grant, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) was able to provide funding for the Blue Ridge Discovery Center to complete environmental assessments and to create a master plan for their campus, including a historic three-story schoolhouse, cottage, and the new acquisition of land with a former gas station, convenience store, and campground. VDEQ and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) will provide additional funding through the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF) to complete the assessment, cleanup, and abatement of the brownfield properties to ensure the sites are safe for their intended reuse. Additional information may be found at the website: https://blueridgediscoverycenter.org.
