Tractor Supply plan nixed

Supervisors oppose razing of old Cooks Corner school, cite its historical significance to Black community

by Larry Chowning –

The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors (MCBS) voted 5-0 on April 5 to deny a potential rezoning of the property at Cooks Corner from village community to general business that would have allowed Tractor Supply Company to build a new store on the old Rappahannock Central Elementary School (RCE) property.

Tractor Supply required five acres of land on the site. The RCE site had four and a half acres, but supervisors had the option to extend the zoning across the street to the Virginia Health Department site owned by the county, which would have provided the five acres.

Supervisors turned down that option on April 5 before the application was considered by the planning commission.

Ultimately, Tractor Supply Co. was shown two other sites to consider, said Dave Hanby of The Keith Corporation, representing Tractor Supply Co. at the April 5 board of supervisors meeting. There were purchase incentives build in at the RCE site that were not at the other sites, said Hanby.

Jessie and Williams said at the meeting that Tractor Supply Co. officials were “misled” by EDA into signing the contract for the RCE site. Earlier attempts by EDA to have a restaurant and brewery in the old RCE building were acceptable because the building was not going to be razed, they said. COVID-19 and other factors, however, killed that proposed project.

“We are not chasing you (Tractor Supply Co.) out of the county,” said Jessie. “We just do not want you at that location. It should have never been considered to start…”