Case Study — Makersmiths
Converting a Derelict Town Property into a Community Asset
How 785 South 20th Street went from a decommissioned treatment plant and maintenance facility to a community manufacturing workshop — and emergency production hub during COVID-19.
The Problem: A Derelict Municipal Property
At 785 South 20th Street in Purcellville, the town owned two structures that had outlived their original purposes: a town maintenance facility and a decommissioned water treatment plant. Both were past their useful operational life, sitting on town land — a public asset generating no community value and requiring ongoing maintenance as dormant structures. The conventional municipal response to a problem property is one of three options: demolish it, sell it, or defer the decision. The Fraser administration chose a fourth — adaptive reuse — by partnering with a community organization capable of converting the structures into a functioning facility without requiring the town to fund ongoing operations.
The Solution: Makersmiths
The result of the adaptive reuse was Makersmiths — a community manufacturing and robotics workshop that gives members access to professional-grade fabrication equipment that would otherwise require significant capital to own individually. The equipment inventory includes:
This range — from digital fabrication to traditional craft — reflects a facility designed for broad community access rather than a single industrial application. The equipment serves hobbyists, small-scale product developers, artists, educators, and light manufacturers across western Loudoun County.
The Economic Logic
From a municipal fiscal perspective, the adaptive reuse approach was financially superior to the alternatives for two reasons:
No new capital required
Demolishing and rebuilding would have required capital from the town's budget or new debt. Selling the land would have generated one-time revenue but lost the community benefit permanently. Adaptive reuse converted an existing asset into a community resource at the cost of the conversion work — a fraction of new construction.
No ongoing operational burden
Makersmiths operates on a membership model — participants pay for access to the facility and its equipment — making the organization operationally self-sustaining rather than dependent on annual town budget allocations. The town contributed the space; the community organization contributed the operational structure.
The COVID-19 Test
The practical value of a community fabrication facility was tested sharply in 2020 when COVID-19 disrupted normal educational and supply-chain operations simultaneously.
At-home student desks
When Virginia schools closed in spring 2020 and students were expected to work from home, many families lacked appropriate study furniture. Makersmiths fabricated more than 100 at-home student desks for local families — manufactured goods addressing an immediate community need through the facility's production capacity.
First-responder face masks
As personal protective equipment shortages affected healthcare and emergency services nationally, Makersmiths produced hundreds of face masks for first responders in the Purcellville area — a community manufacturing contribution to the public health infrastructure during a crisis.
Lessons for Municipal Asset Management
- •Assess before abandoning: Derelict structures may have adaptive value that is not visible at first. The Makersmiths use case was not obvious from the description 'derelict town maintenance facility and decommissioned treatment plant.'
- •Seek community operators: A community organization with a membership model can operate a facility sustainably without requiring ongoing municipal subsidy — if the facility is donated or leased at minimal cost.
- •Accept mixed use as success: A facility that serves hobbyists, product developers, educators, and emergency manufacturing is a success even if it does not generate direct municipal revenue. It generates community value — which is what town land is ultimately for.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Property: 785 South 20th Street, Purcellville, Virginia
- Prior use: derelict town maintenance facility + decommissioned water treatment plant
- Conversion: Makersmiths community manufacturing and robotics workshop
- Equipment: 3D printers, CNC, plasma cutters, laser cutters, welding, pottery, blacksmith tools
- Operating model: membership-funded — no ongoing municipal subsidy
- COVID production: 100-plus student desks; hundreds of first-responder face masks
- Model: town-owned dormant asset → community-operated facility → membership sustainability