BY DAN TELVOCK
Luck Development Partners last night gave about 60 Spotsylvania County residents a look at plans to develop a section of U.S. 1 near Massaponax High School into job centers, shopping and 950 townhouses, condos and apartments.
Luck Development Partners, Luck Stone's real estate arm, calls the project Ni Village.
At the presentation at the high school, residents seemed amenable to the company's environmentally friendly vision and the development as a whole.
Most of the concerns were about traffic on a highway that is heavily dotted with retail stores, gas stations and restaurants.
John Pullen, vice president of Luck Development Partners, said the development would bring thousands of new jobs to the county.
He said Ni Village is self-sustainable, with a stormwater system that is unlike anything in this county.
The system becomes an attraction within the development, using engineering techniques to steer all stormwater runoff to a natural wetlands forest that feeds to the Ni River.
Company officials gave an hour-long broad overview of the village, splitting it into two parcels that total about 330 acres.
On the west side of U.S. 1 would be a mix of loft-style apartments, condos and townhouses with shopping and offices.
Home prices were estimated in 2009 dollars at $215,000 for townhouses and about $160,000 for condos, an official said.
This section would be about 3,000 feet away from the extraction area at Luck Stone's Massaponax plant, which is temporarily closed because of the economy.
On some of the property now are the school board administration building and an empty office building, in what is called the River Run Business Park.
Pullen said he wants to use a school board administration building as the core of the development.
On the east side of U.S. 1, south of the high school, would be an employment campus for corporate users.
The proposal includes almost 1 million square feet of office and retail space.
Buildings could be as high as six stories.
The land is now zoned for light and heavy industrial uses.
Pullen said that if the rezoning is approved, the company would start with building an education center.
"I think it will be a real asset to the community," Pullen said about the entire development.
Residents wanted to know how people would cross U.S. 1 to get from one section to the other.
A company traffic consultant said a request with the Virginia Department of Transportation has already been made to reduce the speed limit at this project to make it safer for people to cross U.S. 1.
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com