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An artist rendering shows a redesigned plan for 410 William St., |
By EMILY BATTLE
Nearly two years after the Architectural Review Board first approved plans for an office building at 410 William St., the project is up and rolling again, with a new design.
Fitz Johnson has hired a new architect--Richmond-based Baskervill--and submitted a revised plan to replace the one-story building on the property now with a 17,400-square-foot office building.
It's the latest evolution of a project that prompted a group of Historic District property owners to appeal the original ARB approval.
When the City Council denied the group standing to appeal the decision, it asked the Board of Zoning Appeals, then the Circuit Court, to rule that the city's own laws required that their appeal be heard.
The group lost those appeals, and filed one with the Virginia Supreme Court, but dropped it in November, saying it wanted to work with the City Council, not through the courts, to resolve the issue of who can appeal ARB decisions.
The council will take up that question sometime in the next few weeks, when it considers a slate of recommendations from a task force appointed to review the entire Historic District ordinance.
The group had previously dropped its appeal of the ARB's approval of another project--First Baptist Church's plans to demolish an old bank building at the corner of Amelia and Princess Anne streets to build a parking lot.
The appeals put Johnson on the sidelines, unable to go forward with his plans, but once they ended, he said he went back to the drawing board to move ahead with a new design for the three-story brick building.
"After all we'd been through, we just weren't satisfied" with the old design, he said.
Last week, Johnson presented his new plan for the site to the ARB for a preliminary review. The board will hold a public hearing on the plan Feb. 13.
"This is pretty much starting from scratch," he told the board.
The third story of the new building is set back from the street-front facade of the structure, and that facade is divided into three parts, intended to look like other two-story shop buildings in downtown Fredericksburg.
Plans call for a courtyard between the new building and the white structure next door, which houses a wine shop and financial firm.
Johnson said that one corner of the building's first floor could be used as a cafe if he can find a tenant, but most of the building will be offices. He is seeking a "signature tenant" to fill most of it.
Johnson said his engineers are still working to determine whether the parking spots available for the building are enough to fulfill zoning requirements.
Parking was one of the issues cited by the group that appealed the original project's ARB approval.
There will be 18 spaces behind the building, plus 40 spaces in the lot across the street, on the corner of William and Prince Edward streets.
Those spots are rented out to other businesses now, but Johnson said they would be converted to parking exclusively for the new building. By eliminating a wide driveway on the property now, the project also would create a few on-street spaces.
ARB members praised the new plans at Monday's meeting.
"It's more in keeping with the traditions that are on William Street," board member Helen Ross said.
Johnson said if all goes well, he hopes to be under construction in the next six months or so.
To reach EMILY BATTLE:
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com
