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Barbara Jackson, Brenda Jones, and Pam Coleman all live near the proposed Summit Crossing deveolpment.
Deb and Charlie Booth were among the 100 or so residents who attended last night's Summit Crossing meeting. |
By DAN TELVOCK
Spotsylvania residents had mixed reviews last night of Summit Crossing, Tricord Cos.' proposed 5,925-home development, which officials say would attract 14,000 jobs.
The project proposed for 1,000 mostly rural acres east of Interstate 95 and south of U.S. 17 near Massaponax would be phased in over up to 20 years. Tricord is proffering that the development will not outpace the road improvements.
"We're linking land use and transportation really for the first time," said Tricord spokesman Hart Rutherford. "Developers don't usually do that."
Tricord wants Summit Crossing to be Spotsylvania's first mixed-used town center where homes, shops, offices, jobs, trails and transit coexist.
More than 100 residents viewed elements of the proposal last night during a public showing at Germanna Community College.
Nathaniel Young turned away from the glossy diagrams depicting Tricord's vision and flashed a smile.
"I think it's a great idea," he said. "I like the combination of jobs and the possibility of forcing the county to join VRE."
He's just not sure land for two school sites will be enough for the school system.
"That's not bad," he said, "but there might be some additional proffers needed."
One placard had in bold words that Summit Crossing's proffers are more than $215 million. A good portion of that money goes to road improvements, according to Tricord officials.
Julie Tringali and Christine Lynch debated the pros and cons of the project. They looked at pictures of tree-lined roadways, spectacular architecture and wide sidewalks to accommodate pedestrians and Segways, as a man conveniently rode one of the motorized scooters past them.
Is this really the future for Spotsylvania County?
"I think this is a good thing," Lynch said. "It's that new urbanism."
"But you have to realize, you probably don't live in this area," said Tringali, who lives in Timberlake subdivision on Massaponax Church Road.
She was right.
"We moved here to get away from this," said Tringali, who had lived in Prince William County, and before that, Southern California.
But Lynch, a historic preservation graduate, said the Summit Crossing proposal has it all.
"Everything is in one spot," she said. "That preserves the open space outside that urban node and discourages sprawl."
Residents were pleased about the prospect of a new Interstate 95 interchange, but several others wanted to see U.S. 17 widened instead of the developer building a new Summit Crossing Parkway as the east-west corridor through the development.
"The only thing that concerns me is getting onto 17 every morning," said Billie Bordeaux.
Her husband, John Bordeaux, said he'd love to be able to work closer to home. He's an electrical engineer for the Marine Corps and commutes on I-95.
"It would be nice to ride a bicycle to work," he said. "It sounds like it's right up my alley."
Ernest Swauger said Summit Crossing Parkway will be a four-lane road paved in front of his house. He's not happy. He thinks U.S. 17 should be widened and used as the main entrance for the Spotsylvania Technology Center, VRE station and school sites.
"Why extend [Summit Crossing Parkway] east to the railroad tracks?" he asked.
Tricord's Rutherford said improvements will be made on 17 from New Post to the site of the proposed Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, but the developer doesn't plan to widen it.
Mike Jones, co-principal of Tricord, said Summit Crossing is meant to take cars off 17.
"That's why there's a new interchange and a new parkway as an alternative to 17," he said.
Tricord plans to submit its rezoning proposal to the county planning office in two weeks. Jones said it will include many pages of proffers that will take a person a day to read.
Donna Pienkowski said Summit Crossing looks good on Tricord's glossy handouts, "but the devil's going to be in the details--the final plan and how it affects the surrounding area."
And by the way: "What's with the Segways? she asked. "You're talking Spotsylvania here."
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438| Housing Breakdown
5,925 total homes proposed
About 12 percent About 24 percent townhomes. The rest are condos Does Summit Crossing adhere to supervisors' 2 percent growth rate? Tricord says it will. The developer plans to phase in the houses over an up to 20-year period.A 2 percent growth rate |
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A mixed-use development east of Interstate 95 and south of U.S. 17 that would contain:
3 million square feet of office space for Spotsylvania Technology Center and Federal Corporate Campus for an expected 14,000 new defense and tech jobs. Work force housing. Ten percent of the homes would be marked as affordable homes. Tricord would contribute Mixed-use town center with shops, cafes, hotel, conference room--"a hub of social activity." Segway-friendly. A Segway is a small motorized scooter. Sidewalks would be wide enough to accommodate Segways and walkers. Home buyers might be able to add Segways to home financing. Proposed $127 million in road improvements, to include the four-lane divided Summit Crossing Parkway as the major east/west corridor and a new I-95 interchange, The development would include trails and an internal shuttle service. Elementary and middle school site, library and performing arts center. Tricord wants a VRE station within the development, which is near the rail line. ONLINE: summitcrossingva.com |
