Montvale’s fuel depot, with its massive storage tanks dotting either side of this picturesque stretch of U.S. 460, was once an economic engine in Bedford County, delivering gasoline and diesel across the region to the tune of a million gallons a day.
Today the tanks stand sentry, a reminder of the recent past, guarding land with an unclear future, their usefulness reduced to that of a navigational cue.
“It is great to have them as a landmark for directions but that is about it,” said Zach Jones, regional manager for Confident Equipment, which in July opened a Kubota dealership in the shadow of Montvale’s decommissioned “tank farm.”
Some 35 above-ground storage tanks, with a combined capacity of 47.5 million gallons, went dry in 2018 when the Colonial Pipeline Co. shut down Line 25, an 80-mile spur originating west of Richmond that had fed the Montvale depot since 1964.
In the six years since, efforts to revive the depot or redevelop the 140 acres of land upon which six terminal sites once operated have been stymied.
In 2021, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors initiated work with Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County, and other legislators to explore rail delivery of fuel to Montvale, part of a larger effort to bring an inland port to the Lynchburg region. The General Assembly ultimately chose last year to locate the state’s second inland port in the Bristol region.
In 2022, then-Del. Matt Fariss, R-Campbell County, introduced a state budget amendment to allocate $500,000 for the Central Virginia Planning District Commission to complete a redevelopment plan for the Montvale site. The amendment did not go forward.
“After all that occurred, honestly, the energy kind of got sucked out of the room,” Bedford County Administrator Robert Hiss said.
‘There’s a lot of potential’
Located on a major divided highway 15 miles from Interstate 81, the former tank farm is well-positioned for redevelopment. Such efforts are complicated, however, by the fact that the property is composed of six parcels with multiple private owners.
State Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, whose district includes all of Bedford County, said private ownership is somewhat of an impediment to “a state resolution of the issue.”
“I’ve driven by that Montvale facility for 30-plus years,” said Peake, who grew up in Roanoke and lives in Lynchburg, where he has practiced law since the 1990s. “I’m committed to working with delegates … to see what type of state funds might be available for some kind of study to see what we do with that property.
“There are all kinds of private companies out there, with a nice big chunk of land with easy access to 460, that you would think could put that property to use.”
When Colonial shut down Line 25, it cited the deteriorating physical condition of its buried pipeline spur. Reports at the time estimated the cost of repairs at $200 million to $300 million, though Colonial officials never publicly shared details.
The pipeline pumped fuel into the tanks, and distributors purchased fuel in bulk and shipped it to retailers throughout Southwest Virginia and West Virginia.
The Montvale terminals are owned by Buckeye Partners, TransMontaigne Partners and Citgo, whose site is managed by Buckeye. Each company completed shut-down steps as required by Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, including ongoing regulatory compliance.
“The ASTs [above-ground storage tanks] and piping at these facilities are empty, clean, and secure due to their idle status,” DEQ communications coordinator Julia Raimondi said via email. “The facilities have also continued monthly groundwater monitoring and have not reported any issues since going into idle status. DEQ has no concerns at this time.”
Two former terminal owners, Magellan (doing business as Southeast) and Motiva, have divested from the Montvale complex. Magellan sold its 14.5 acres fronting the north side of U.S. 460 to Buckeye in June 2023, while Motiva sold 31.2 acres on the south side this May.
“Other than that, there is nothing new happening with the other properties,” said Pam Armstrong, director of economic development for Bedford County.
Motiva removed its seven tanks before selling. The property, which sets back about a quarter-mile off U.S. 460 and fronts Mountain View Church Road and Oil Terminal Road, sold for $502,000 to Roanoke-based RYT LLC, owned by Robert Young.
Young, whose primary business is Robert Young’s Auto & Truck, said he does not have any plans to use or develop the property. Instead, he is marketing it for sale or lease through Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group.
“There’s a lot of potential there,” Young said. “It’s a big piece of property, a lot of acreage, and some of it does front 460, and there’s a lot of traffic there on 460. There’s a lot of different things it could be, but until you start working with people, you don’t really know what it could be.”
Young also purchased the nearby 1.7-acre site of a former Family Dollar store on U.S. 460 in May 2023. He subsequently sold the property to Kubota, and it is now the site of Confident Equipment, which renovated the former store building.
“We were looking at buying more property [within the Montvale complex], but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen,” Young said.
Hiss said a redevelopment study is important to the process. The tank farm property sits on a high water table, with South Fork Goose Creek running through it, raising the flood risk. An environmental scan could uncover other unforeseen challenges.
A redevelopment predicament
Last year, the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance partnered with Bedford County officials to put together a Montvale Target Advisory Group. With membership to include governmental and private leaders — local and state legislators, DEQ, Colonial, terminal owners and others — the TAG would advise and drive redevelopment planning.
Hiss said terminal owners’ lack of engagement ultimately stalled the Montvale TAG effort.
“We’ve talked with all those folks [terminal owners],” he said, “and all of them kind of say the same thing — that they haven’t made any final decisions, they’re kind of in this idle status, and that they don’t know exactly what the future of the property is going to be, but they’re interested in what Bedford County has to say.”
Buckeye and TransMontaigne did not respond to requests for comment.
Colonial spokesperson Meredith Stone said the company still has a small delivery facility in Montvale with one relief tank, but has no plans to reopen its spur.
“We continue to inspect our property and the condition of our pipeline monthly and maintain our portion of the site grounds,” Stone said.
Bedford County Supervisor Bob Davis, whose district includes Montvale, said that while “what’s done is done” regarding the decommissioned tank farm, he still laments that more wasn’t done in 2017 when Colonial announced plans to shut down Line 25.
According to a Bedford County white paper published in August 2023, the closure of Line 25 impacted 30-plus jobs associated with Colonial and the terminal operators. Additional jobs were lost by local businesses frequented by truck drivers and terminal employees, the paper said.
“If somebody would have looked into this and said, ‘Wait a minute, how’s this going to impact [the local economy]?’ because they’re shipping out a million gallons of fuel a day, you know?” said Davis, who took office in 2020. “[But] there are businesses moving in there [Montvale]. And ultimately, something will happen. It’s not like it’s just going to rust and rot forever. At some point, something’s going to happen.”
Though it has only been six years since the tank farm shuttered, many of its empty vessels are showing signs of aging, having not been repainted in years, with blackened drip lines on all sides. Little-traveled Oil Terminal Road is overgrown with vegetation.
Hiss said little can be done about the visual appearance, however, given Bedford County’s relatively weak blighted structure ordinance.
“There’s the legal answer, and then there’s the qualitative answer,” Hiss said. “The qualitative answer is, of course, it’s a concern because it looks like a blighted structure. But from a legal perspective or an enforcement perspective, as long as it’s not threatening public health, safety or welfare, there’s not a whole lot from an enforcement perspective that we can do.”
One point of agreement is that the site’s future is not as a fuel depot. At some point, the remaining tanks will be removed, and something new will take their place.
Hiss cited as evidence several signs of momentum in Montvale, a hamlet of 635 nestled in the Goose Creek Valley, in the viewshed of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
In addition to the new Kubota dealership, community members are pursuing grants to restore the historic Montvale School and convert it to a multipurpose community hub. And Hiss said he hopes to soon announce a new business in the Montvale Center for Commerce, a county-owned business park located on U.S. 460 just east of the tank farm.
Hiss said a vision for Montvale’s future will be included in Bedford County’s 10-year comprehensive plan, which is set to be released later this year.
Redevelopment of the tank farm is certain to be a focal point.
“Realistically it would be great to see the tanks be safely demolished, recycled and the land be available for development,” said Jones, the Kubota dealership manager. “For housing or business, either way something more useful to the community would be ideal.”
