BY BILL FREEHLING
Fredericksburg residents will be able to comment later this month on four separate planning permits that Kalahari Resorts is seeking for its Celebrate Virginia resort.
The permits deal with parking at Kalahari and the adjacent Fredericksburg Expo Center, the layout of Carl D. Silver Parkway, the height of the 11-story hotel and the digital sign that will front Interstate 95.
The hearings, which will start shortly after 7:30 p.m. May 25 at City Hall, will be a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and City Council. After the hearings, the Planning Commission will consider making a recommendation on the permits, and then its portion of the meeting will end. After that, City Council members could choose to take up the Planning Commission's recommendations, or they could wait until their next regular meeting June 8.
That will be the third public meeting this month concerning Kalahari's plans for Celebrate Virginia.
On May 10 and May 24, the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority will consider elements of Kalahari's financing plans for the $260 million project. That plan involves selling bonds that go through the city EDA to gain municipal status.
Kalahari must close on the first bond sale--a $25 million offering of tax-exempt bonds enabled by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act--by June 15. The resort hopes to sell the remaining taxable bonds later this year.
The four permits Kalahari applied for are all contingencies that are part of its contract to buy the land from the Silver Cos., said Scott Little, who is managing the Celebrate Virginia South project for the Silvers. Little said investors wouldn't buy the bonds if the contingencies were still there.
The four permits Kalahari is seeking are:
A special exception to construct a 110-foot high sign facing Interstate 95. The sign's digital board could be used for Amber Alerts and promoting community events, as approved by Kalahari. Approval of the sign, whose digital message couldn't update more than once every five seconds, is a requirement for the Celebrate Virginia site to be suitable for Kalahari.
A proposal to exchange 3.2 acres of right-of-way that Celebrate Virginia had previously dedicated for Carl D. Silver Parkway for 4.3 acres of new right-of-way. This would essentially reroute the unbuilt portion of the parkway so it doesn't bisect Kalahari's proposed site.
A special-use permit allowing Kalahari to build its resort up to 155 feet. City ordinance limits building height to 90 feet. Covenants on the Celebrate Virginia land state that no building may be visible by the naked eye from the Rappahannock River. Kalahari and the Silvers provided results of a balloon test that indicate the building would not be visible from the river.
A special-use permit that would allow Kalahari and the Expo Center to share 1,110 of the 2,744 parking places at the two sites. Kalahari plans to physically connect its convention center to the Expo Center, which would be used as exposition space that Kalahari would lease from the Silver Cos.
Throughout the applications that Kalahari and the Silver Cos. filed for the permits, the project is listed as the "anchor tenant" that would fuel additional development at Celebrate Virginia. Little declined yesterday to reveal specifics about the interest he's receiving, but he said it involves regional, national and international companies--many of whom have said they'll start after Kalahari does.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com