Economic Development
Makersmiths: Converting a Derelict Facility into a Community Workshop
785 South 20th Street — a derelict town maintenance facility and decommissioned treatment plant — became Makersmiths, a community manufacturing and robotics workshop serving western Loudoun County.
The conversion of a derelict town maintenance facility and a decommissioned treatment plant at 785 South 20th Street into Makersmiths stands as the Fraser administration's most concrete example of public-sector asset conversion for economic and community purposes. Rather than leaving a deteriorating municipal property vacant or selling it, the town transformed it into a resource serving the maker and small-fabrication community in western Loudoun County.
The Facility
Makersmiths is a community manufacturing and robotics workshop — a space where members can access industrial and fabrication equipment that would be cost-prohibitive for individuals to own and maintain. Its equipment inventory spans digital fabrication, traditional metalworking, ceramics, and blacksmithing. The breadth of the tool inventory reflects the dual nature of Purcellville's surrounding community: residential suburbanites interested in making and craft, alongside the agricultural and rural economy of the Loudoun wine country.
Equipment
3D Printers
CNC Machines
Plasma Cutters
Laser Cutters
Welding Stations
Pottery Wheels
Blacksmith Tools
COVID-19: Emergency Production
The pandemic demonstrated that Makersmiths was more than a community amenity — it was emergency preparedness infrastructure. When school closures sent students home without adequate workspace and when personal protective equipment was in short supply, Makersmiths responded with documented production outputs.
100+
Student Desks
At-home student desks produced for regional families during school closures — addressing an immediate need created by the pandemic.
Hundreds
Face Masks
Face masks produced for first responders — serving law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical personnel during PPE supply shortages.
Adaptive Reuse as a Model
The Makersmiths project exemplifies the Fraser administration's approach to economic development within a slow-growth framework: directing public investment toward underutilized existing assets rather than expanding the town's footprint through annexation. The 785 South 20th Street property went from a liability — a derelict facility requiring maintenance without generating community benefit — to a community asset serving makers, fabricators, students, and in an emergency, first responders.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Location: 785 South 20th Street, Purcellville, Virginia
- Prior use: derelict town maintenance facility and decommissioned treatment plant
- Converted to: Makersmiths, a community manufacturing and robotics workshop
- Equipment includes 3D printers, CNC machines, plasma cutters, laser cutters, welding stations, pottery wheels, and blacksmith tools
- During COVID-19: produced more than 100 at-home student desks for regional families
- During COVID-19: produced hundreds of face masks for first responders
- Demonstrates adaptive reuse of public assets as economic development strategy
