SCAN LAND HISTORY

Feb 2

In 2004, Robert K. “Bobby” Spencer donated thirteen acres to SCAN.

Bobby’s parents had purchased the property on Hardware Street, which he referred to as Sunnyside Farm, as a place to grow vegetables and raise pigs and cattle. He stipulated that the parcel be kept as close to its natural appearance as possible. With this request came the nature element of the project. An indigenous nature park with walking trails, demonstration gardens and environmental studies became a part of our master plan.

In the coming months, actions on the property will be the removal of the fence, demolition of the barn, and maintenance plans put in place for the overall property--especially the pond and wooded area.

As part of our environmental mission, SCAN supports the establishment of walking trails throughout Scottsville. We will be developing trails on the Center's Hardware Street property as part of this initiative. These trails will be open to the public, and we hope to connect the Hardware Road area of Scottsville to downtown via the Van Clief Nature Area's Mink Creek Trail. We are calling this project SCAN LAND.

We are working on transforming SCAN's 13 acres into a public park that engages all surrounding communities through the Participatory Design process, and ultimately use once constructed. Although there is no lack of outdoor space in the Albemarle, Buckingham, or Fluvanna counties, there is a lack of public outdoor space that welcomes diverse populations. Building on the work we have done thus far on the 13 acre property on Hardware Street donated to SCAN in 2005, SCAN wants to create that public landscape to allow for anyone to learn about the environment, the arts, and the intersection in between.