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New properties (foreground) have sprung up next to original ones at Eagle Village on U.S. 1. The area is enjoying an economic revival.
The rebuilt McDonald's on U.S. 1 in Fredericksburg is expected
The apartments at Eagle Landing house 624 University of Mary Washington students. |
Nearly $200 million in public and private investments over the past several years have led to an economic revival along U.S. 1 in Fredericksburg.
The University of Mary Washington Foundation's Eagle Village project is responsible for more than half that tally, but several other projects have also breathed life into the stretch of U.S. 1 between Fall Hill Avenue and Cowan Boulevard.
"There's some really good energy over there," said Karen Hedelt, Fredericksburg's director of economic development and tourism.
That much is clear on a short drive down the somewhat shopworn U.S. 1 corridor. After passing Fall Hill Avenue, southbound travelers will see a building on the right that used to be an El Paso Mexican Restaurant now being transformed into a Verizon Wireless store. On the left is James Monroe High School, a 198,000-square-foot, $37.2 million project that first opened in September 2006.
Up the hill ahead, past the vibrant Mary Washington Hospital campus, a 214-foot red brick pedestrian bridge over U.S. 1 connects Eagle Village to UMW's main campus. Designed with cupola-topped towers and enclosed with a roof and glass sides, the bridge is a striking new landmark, particularly when lit up at night.
The bridge is part of the $115 million first phase of Eagle Village. The Roses department store and Twi-Lite Motel are gone from a center formerly called Park & Shop, and a new high-tech sign is up. The new mixed-use complex includes apartment-style residences filled with 624 UMW students, a secured parking garage, and retail and office space.
The Home Team Grill, Salad Creations, Lee's Cleaners, Quiznos, Pancho Villa Express and Blackstone Coffee have already signed leases for the new retail space and are expected to start opening in the next couple of months. More restaurants and other businesses are expected to be announced soon.
The UMW Foundation has already moved into new office space at the complex, and the UMW Office of University Relations and Communications is heading there soon. CBAI & Associates, a defense contractor, is expected to open there by the end of November.
CBAI was one of the first businesses to take advantage of the city's recently expanded technology-zone incentives program. Qualifying businesses locating on U.S. 1 between State Route 3 and the Rappahannock River can apply for incentives, which the city hopes will continue that stretch's revival.
The $18 million, 55,000-square-foot Anderson Center is now being built on UMW's campus across U.S. 1 from Eagle Village. The convocation center will seat up to 2,700 and will be a venue for basketball games, concerts and other performances and meetings. It's expected to be finished by the spring and opened for events next fall, at which point the temporary wooden walkway connecting the campus to the pedestrian bridge will be dismantled.
Just past UMW is a stretch of a half-dozen restaurants. Eric Miller is putting the final touches on his rebuilt McDonald's--which is expected to be ready around Sept. 20, be open 24 hours and host a variety of musical, open-microphone and art-focused events.
"It's really exciting to be a part of it," Miller said of the new energy on U.S. 1.
Near McDonald's and the long-established Allman's Bar-B-Q and UMW-owned Pizza Hut building are three new popular ethnic restaurants all attractively finished on the inside--Umi Japanese Fine Dining, Miso Asian Grill & Sushi Bar and Pueblo's Tex Mex Grill.
All the restaurants are near the 7,000-square-foot, $5.3 million Lawrence A. Davies Transit Center, which opened in October 2007 as the city's bus hub.
The stretch of road ends at Cowan Boulevard, which was extended to Central Park five years ago as part of a $16.3 million road and bridge over Interstate 95. Additional public- and private-sector investments have sprung up along Cowan in part due to its connectivity with Mary Washington Hospital.
Hedelt hopes that the revitalization along U.S. 1 is just beginning. The UMW Foundation is already thinking about the second phase of Eagle Village, which is expected to include a new road connecting the complex with Mary Washington Hospital. There have also been discussions about a hotel.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
