A bit under 10 years ago Prince William Board of County Supervisors announced its intent to sell the old Thomasson Dairy Barn, on Hornbaker Road in Innovation Park, in Manassas along with 6 acres of land surrounding the site, for $1 million to Silva Holdings, Co.
Mr. Silva had initially
considered the old Thomasson Dairy Barn as the site for his destination Farm
Brewery and after giving up plans for a Clifton location approached the Prince William
County Department of Economic Development and negotiated a deal.
“The preservation and
reuse of the Thomasson Barn has long been a desire of the Board and is
identified as a strategic priority in our Comprehensive Plan,” said the
Chairman, of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors at the time- Corey
Stewart. “The planned use as a microbrewery and bistro will provide an amenity
for the companies located in and around Innovation Park and will make the area
even more attractive for companies that are considering locating to the area.”
Silva Holdings agreed to restore the historical landmark
which will be incorporated into a destination brewery, bistro and distribution
facility operating under the name 2 Silos Brewing Company. In addition to $8
million in capital investment, the project is expected to create more than 100
new jobs for our community and turn the Thomasson Dairy Barn from County
surplus to gem.
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| 2 Silos Barn in 2015 image from Prince William County |
This restoration project was hoped to generate tax revenue, while enabling citizens and visitors to appreciate their rich agricultural heritage anew. Prince William County extended the road and brought access to public water and sewer to the site. The Thomasson Dairy Barn was zoned M1 and not part of the Rural Crescent, but rather part of the Innovation Plan. Though 2 Silos Brewing Company still managed to meet the requirement of Virginia SB 430 the law that created an easy to obtain limited brewery license for breweries that operate on a farm. It might have passed as agricultural a decade ago, but not today.
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| google maps in 2015 |
The Thomasson Dairy Barn was built in 1929 was once the milking barn of a dairy operated by William Thomasson. The barn was constructed using textile hollow-tile terracotta blocks and is an example of a two-story barn of that era, utilizing the two silos for grain feed storage, the first floor for milking cows and the second floor for hay storage. The protracted decline of the dairy industry in Prince William County led to the eventual ceasing of operations and barn had been vacant for over 50 years. As the Brentville Supervisor at the time, Jeanine Lawson said, “This project embodies the type of development I have been pushing for in Prince William County. It supports our agribusiness community, provides for family gatherings and enhances Innovation Park for our business community.”
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| google maps 2025 the building labled Black Sheep Restaurant is actually the old barn |
Today, Two Silos is part of a multi venue compound. There's a restaurant (Black Sheep), a music venue (Farm Brew Live) where there is a stage where bands perform & a large open area for people to eat , drink & dance), a wedding/ events venue (Brentsville Hall), and a Malarkey Distillery expected to open soon. There are outdoor fire pits and a kids play area. Surrounding the area is a series of data centers. Not exactly agricultural heritage, but very popular.
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| There has been lots of construction in the area, but not all you see is recent |
Prince William is changing and all this is having both positive and negative effects on residents. In filings with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) yesterday, Dominion Energy Virginia proposed new base and fuel rates that will allow the company to continue delivering reliable and increasingly clean energy ( as required under the VECA law ) to its customers.
The company requested base rate increases of $8.51 per month in 2026 and $2.00 per month in 2027 for a typical residential customer. If approved, this would be the company’s first increase in base rates since 1992. The typical residential customer in Virginia (whoever that is) currently pays about $140. In July a previously approved fuel rate increase goes into effect and will bring the typical customer bill to $150.92. This increase will further increase the typical customer bill to $159.43 on January 1, 2026- this is almost a 14% increase. The increase of $2.00 in 2027 will bring the increase to over 15%.
According to Dominion Energy "the request reflects significant inflationary pressures
since 2023, when the company filed its last biennial case, including increases
in the cost of labor, as well as materials and equipment such as cables and
wires, utility poles, transformers and power generation equipment. The increase
also reflects needed investments to reliably serve a growing customer base."
In addition to new rates, the company also proposed a new rate class for high energy users, including data centers, as well as new consumer protections to ensure these customers continue to pay the full cost of their service and other customers are protected from stranded costs if the data centers fail to turn on or close down after building the transmission lines, substations and power generation to supply them. Under the proposal, high energy users would be required to make a 14-year commitment to pay for their requested power – even if they use less. This is the approach that Ohio is taking to protect their resident customer base.
