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A key to sprucing up some of the commercial spots in Fredericksburg is likely to get the City Council's approval this week.
Council members are expected to take the second of two required votes Tuesday to pass a new zoning ordinance that allows for mixed-use developments.
For developers, this means Fredericksburg will have a spelled-out plan for how it wants projects that mix retail, office and residential space to look, and a guide for how to get government approval for those projects.
For taxpayers, city officials hope the new rules will set the stage for the kind of development they are looking to to keep the city's tax base growing within fixed boundaries.
"The city is mainly built-out," Planning Director Ray Ocel said. "To keep growing the tax base, we need to look back in on ourselves and look at areas that are ripe for redevelopment."
This kind of development was a big part of the JumpStart plan the city's Economic Development Authority put together in 2006.
If you want a real-world example of what these kinds of developments look like, look at the University of Mary Washington's plans for Eagle Village.
The UMW Foundation proposes to redevelop the Park & Shop center on U.S. 1 as residential, office and retail space.
The first phase of this project includes a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 1, a 624-bed student dormitory and another building that will combine a parking deck, retail, restaurant and office space.
It will be up for a vote by the Planning Commission on Wednesday night.
The UMW Foundation--a private foundation separate from the university--has applied for the new mixed-use zoning for this project. Foundation officials hope to demolish the former Roses store and start construction on the first phase of the project in the next couple of weeks.
Eagle Village will replace a shopping center that was built in the 1960s and now has several vacant storefronts with commercial space that UMW Foundation officials project will garner much higher rents per square foot.
The foundation has estimated that phase one of the Eagle Village project could increase the taxable value of the land it sits on from its current assessed value of $5.9 million to around $10 million.
That estimate takes into account that the portion of the project that will be used for university housing won't be taxable.
But beyond pure tax value, Fredericksburg is looking at mixed-use development as a way to create areas where people can live, work and shop without getting in their cars too much.
Eagle Village was one of three specific areas Ocel kept in mind as he wrote the mixed-use ordinance.
The other two are the industrial property formerly owned by Roper Brothers Lumber Co. at the corner of Lafayette Boulevard and the Blue and Gray Parkway and the 78-acre Shannon estate, which is along northbound Interstate 95.
Local Developer Hunter Greenlaw and the Garrett Cos. have been working on a plan to put a mixed residential, retail and office development on the old Roper Brothers property since before the JumpStart plan was completed.
They have been looking for a high-end grocery store to anchor that development, and their plan also includes townhouses and a pedestrian bridge over the Blue and Gray Parkway. The development would be called Fredericksburg Park.
Chris Waller, a partner with the Garrett Cos., said the plan is to tie the development in with an overall city trails network, so people could get to it from the nearby UMW fields, or from the Cobblestone Square development, without driving.
He said Trader Joe's and Harris Teeter have been targeted for the grocery spot.
Waller, who helped Ocel craft the mixed-use ordinance, said he is working with the partners involved to tailor the plans to meet the new ordinance requirements, and the projected future demand of the market, and hopes to begin moving through the rezoning process in the next few months.
Across town, the property known as the Shannon estate is one of the largest undeveloped properties in Fredericksburg.
Hylton Venture, a limited liability company formed by the Hylton Group, which has built more than 21,000 homes in Prince William County, bought 78 acres formerly owned by the Shannon family in 2006.
Later that year, it bought another 11 acres that gave it a property that stretches from Cowan Boulevard to State Route 3, along northbound Interstate 95.
The 78-acre parcel is zoned for residential use, but Ocel said he has been talking with Hylton about a possible mixed-use project on the land.
No specific plans have emerged yet.
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com
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EAGLE VILLAGE
LOCATION: Park & Shop center on U.S. 1; phase one includes the former Roses store
FEATURES: Includes a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 1, a 624-bed student dormitory and another building that will combine a parking deck, retail, restaurant and office space.
STATUS: Construction on the project's first phase begins in the next couple of weeks.
FREDERICKSBURG PARK
LOCATION: Corner of Lafayette Boulevard and the Blue and Gray Parkway
FEATURES:Townhouses and a pedestrian bridge over the Blue and Gray Parkway. Possible high-end grocery store. Mix of retail and office space.
STATUS:
Partners preparing to submit rezoning application. SHANNON ESTATE LOCATION: 78 acres along northbound Interstate 95 between Cowan Boulevard and State Route 3 FEATURES:Development plans unclear, but this is one of the largest undeveloped tracts in Fredericksburg. STATUS:No specific plans have been announced, but owners are talking with city officials. |
