City Approves Renovation of Medical Building into Apartment Units
The 30 mostly one-bedroom units would yield minimal traffic and are projected to have no impact on public schools.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
The Fredericksburg City County has approved a special use permit for local developers to turn the old medical office building on Fall Hill Avenue into 30 apartments.
The vote on Tuesday night was 7-0. The project, which would take at least two years to construct, is being promoted as affordable housing by the developer Medical Arts Building FXBG LLC.
The developers, which include two local residents, predict the 29,600 square feet space will include one-bedroom apartments that would rent for between some $1,200 and $1,400 a month, depending on the overall market at the time the project is complete.
One two-bedroom apartment would also be built. The apartments are described as ideal for single people, married couples, with no children, or elderly folks who wish to stay in the city and therefore would have no impact on the city’s public schools.
The building at 2301 Fall Hill Avenue, originally constructed in 1956, is near the intersection with Germania Street and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is within a mile of the city’s largest employers, the public school system, Mary Washington Hospital and the University of Mary Washington and within walking distance of the Fredericksburg Food Co-Op.
The developers say there will be 33 free parking spaces for tenants, more than one per unit, positioned on the existing parking lot and six new spaces on the street but require no additional asphalt.
According to the proposal the development reduces the number of vehicles traveling through the local streets. The previous medical office generated 730 trips a day while the apartment complex would generate just 163 vehicle trips a day.
The outside of the building would look the same to meet preservation requirements, though the front entrance would be blocked off from the street.
A bench at an existing bus stop has been added to the original plan and the City Council and one of the developers, Lee Garrison, promised they would put a cover on that bus stop to deal with inclement weather.
Harrison told the council, “we are local, you can see us walking down the street, if there are any problems you know where to find us.”
Several city council members praised the plan for its compliance with the city’s plan for infill housing and preservation of the existing character of the neighborhood.
Vice Mayor Charlie Frey (Ward 4) said this project can be a good example for other developers who have shied away from affordable housing claiming it’s not profitable.
“It will defiantly help council as a baseline project to say you can do this.”
No one spoke at the public hearing session before the vote.
In other action, the city council also approved a special use permit for a community child care center at 105 Classic Court, which is off Lafayette Boulevard in the southern part of the city.
The operator, Bernadette Fumbanks, who currently runs a much smaller day care center, told the council there is a “dire need” for such a facility in Fredericksburg. The center will be able to accommodate 96 children.
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I’ve seen the traffic report that was submitted. I feel that was leaving out a lot of other information. The report mentions a decrease in the amount of cars. But I suspect those cars will be departing at the same time in the morning and returning around the same time in the evening. Currently, the amount of cars is spread throughout the day.
On top of that, the same developer is building a project across the street consisting of 60 townhomes. The traffic report was estimating the impact of the apartment building. That is close to another almost 120 cars. Also with the same departure and arrival as everyone else.
There is only one 4-way stop to manage all those cars which is then dependent on the traffic light two blocks down at Fall Hill and Route 1.
I live a couple of blocks from the development. I can tell you that traffic gets bogged down when school lets out. I don’t think people are aware of what is to come.