Mixed-Use Development with "Specialty Grocer" One Step Closer to Approval by Fredericksburg City Council
Council approved first read of a rezoning and special exception request on Tuesday.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Fredericksburg City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a first read of a rezoning application and special exception request related to a mixed-use project proposed for 3400 Fall Hill Avenue.
The development—which includes 50,000 square feet of commercial space, anchored by an as-yet-unnamed “specialty grocer,” and 605 residential units—was unanimously recommended for approval by the Planning Commission in July. Final approval of the project requires one more vote before City Council.
The developer, Greystar, is asking for the 35-acre parcel—which lies between Fall Hill Avenue and Cowan Boulevard—to be rezoned from residential (R2) to a combination of commercial-highway (CH) and planned development-residential (PDR). Under the current R2 zoning, the parcel could be developed into 68 single-family detached dwellings.
Greystar is also asking for a special exception in order to construct 1,306 parking spaces. The project is allowed 946 parking spaces by city ordinance.
The excess parking request is tied to the “specialty grocery store,” which “punches above its weight” in terms of visits from people who consider it “a destination location,” according to attorney Charlie Payne, representing the developer.
Payne displayed a slide showing how the specialty grocer compares to two other specialty grocers, one of them being Wegmans. The subject grocer has 514 locations and, at 12,500 square feet, generates 39,216 visits and $1,723 in sales per square foot.
The other two grocers are 40,000 and 120,000 square feet and generate 10,630 and 1,948 visits per square foot, respectively.
The excess parking request has been troubling to both Planning Commission and City Council members. The Planning Commission in July recommended that as a condition of the special exception, the developer look into ways to reduce the effects of excessive impervious surface area, such as by installing bio swales or a solar array.
Payne said Tuesday that the developer understands these concerns and is “working hard to address those issues,” but that bio swales and solar arrays would mean a reduction in the amount of parking spaces.
“If we lose the parking, we’re going to lose the specialty grocer,” he stressed. “That’s a really key component.”
Payne said plans for the parking lot do include planting trees in excess of what is required by the city.
According to the memo prepared by staff for Tuesday’s meeting by staff, “additional parking area improvements” should still be a condition of the special exception, “for analysis and conformation that the request has been addressed during the site plan/engineering phase.”
“I think we’ll get there eventually,” Payne said.
Another request of the Planning Commission was that a site development plan for the commercial area be submitted within two years of approval and that the plan include the name of the specialty grocer. The applicant instead is requesting, “due to contractual obligations,” that the name of the grocery store be included along with the application for a building permit.
The two other conditions of the special use exception are that the grocer will be “the first such business … within a 30 mile radius of the Property” as of the date of approval, and that the grocer be limited to 16,000 square feet in size.
The residential portion of the project includes 240 single-family attached units, which would be for sale, and 365 multifamily rental units. At least 10 of the multifamily units will be less than 650 square feet, and no more than 36 will be three-bedroom units.
The project is estimated to generate 165 school-aged children, and the developer is proffering a total of $6.2 million to offset impacts to the school division, as well as to public safety.
Also as part of the project, the developer will extend Gordon W. Shelton Boulevard, install a signal at Cowan Boulevard, build a protected pedestrian path beginning at the intersection of Fall Hill Avenue and Gordon W. Shelton Boulevard, and install two bus stops.
Council approved both the rezoning and the special exception request by 5-0 votes on Tuesday. Mayor Kerry Devine is currently visiting Frejus, France, with a delegation of members from the Fredericksburg-Frejus Sister City Association, and Ward 2 representative Jon Gerlach was also absent.
There will be a second read of the rezoning and special exception request at the next Council meeting.
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