Mediterranean restaurant chain CAVA is spending more than $30 million to build a processing and packaging facility in Augusta County’s Mill Place Commerce Park. The chain’s choice of location highlights the importance of commercial green spaces in employee and community health. At the time, AFP reported that Gov. Ralph Northam said the 57,000-square foot facility is predicted to create 52 jobs. The governor described food and beverage processing at the heart of the manufacturing sector in the Shenandoah Valley and he welcomed the chain to the area.
Shenandoah Valley Partnership Executive Director Jay Langston said in a statement that he was glad to have assisted Augusta County and CAVA in finding the location. According to Langston, the commerce park embraces the values of hard work, leisure, community benefit, and wholesome food.
Commercial park focuses on large-scale manufacture
The announcement of the new facility came a few months after Augusta County leaders voted to change the commercial park’s vision at a Board of Supervisors meeting. According to NBC 29, the new plan for the space favors large-scale manufacturing as well as research and development.
All three areas of the park were designated to permit general industrial uses greater than 50,000 square feet. The park’s previous plan favored residential, warehouse, and office uses. Whatever the nature of the businesses that use the space, their employees should benefit from the green spaces around them.
Commercial green space and wellbeing
Some of CAVA’s reasons for choosing the park are linked to the value of commercial green spaces in terms of health and wellbeing. According to the University of Delaware’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, green spaces in the business environment can boost worker morale and enhance productivity. Studies found that workers with no visibility of plants experienced high levels of stress and anxiety, while those with a view of nature felt more relaxed overall.
New Scientist reported that vegetation is beneficial to physical health as it absorbs harmful airborne particles and other pollutants produced by fossil fuel-powered industry. This may also benefit mental health, as emerging evidence shows a potential link between mental health conditions such as depression and central nervous system damage caused by exposure to those pollutants.
To provide a truly beneficial setting for workers, commercial green spaces should be designed by professional landscapers. Expert landscapers choose plants that are compatible with the local environment and incorporate various aesthetics and design principles. In addition to the benefits of commercial office parks for human health and wellbeing, they also are important for the conservation and preservation of Augusta County and other counties in the Shenandoah Valley.
VCC encourages better development models
Referencing the American Farmland Trust, the Valley Conservation Council (VCC) said that an acre of U.S. farmland is lost to nonagricultural uses every minute. Despite the Virginia Farm Bureau’s noting that the state’s farmland loss rate has slowed, the VCC remains concerned about the ongoing loss of forest and farmland in the valley and across the state.
With that in mind, the VCC encourages better development models. According to the council, development does not need to destroy the things people love about places, such as the Valley’s open spaces, communities, farms and downtowns, and natural beauty. The VCC also emphasized that conserving the region’s natural resources should be prioritized as a key to ensuring the region’s economic future.
Story by Tricia McManus
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