Crowd skeptical of ballpark plan at public meeting

City of Richmond

“When the crowd at Tuesday night’s ballpark meeting was asked to use electronic clickers to vote on the most positive aspect of the redevelopment plan for Shockoe Bottom and the Boulevard, the top answer, at 36 percent, was none of the above. In second place, at 26 percent, was the proposed historic commemoration of the Bottom’s slave trade. The ballpark came in third, at 21 percent.

The result may have, in part, been a verdict on the limited polling format rather than the plan itself, but the vote capped off another night of questioning on the wide-ranging development proposal from a skeptical crowd of about 75.”

~Writes Graham Moomaw of the Richmond Times Dispatch

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Public Hearing Scheduled Today for Lightfoot Marketplace Proposal

James City County

“Pending a decision from the James City County Planning Commission today, the Williamsburg Outlet Mall could move closer to demolition. The commissioners will consider whether to recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of a special use permit that would allow Lightfoot Marketplace — a planned development for retail and office use — to be constructed as currently proposed in the location where the outlet mall currently stands.

Lightfoot Marketplace would include a Harris Teeter and Walgreens, other retail stores and restaurants in a group of six buildings at 6401 Richmond Road — the intersection of Richmond and Centerville roads. Before Lightfoot Marketplace could be built, the project needs a special use permit from the county because the building area exceeds 10,000 square feet.”

~Writes Brittany Voll of the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily

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Waterfront Hotel Forges Ahead

City of Alexandria

“The first major project envisioned by the controversial waterfront redevelopment plan cleared its first hurdle Tuesday night, receiving the planning commission’s approval — but with a few caveats.

Designed by Carr City Centers — better known as Carr Hospitality, the Washington-based company behind the renovation of the Willard Hotel — the proposal would see a 120-room boutique hotel rise up five stories in the 200 block of S. Union St. Though city leaders have long targeted the block for redevelopment, planning commissioners had given Carr’s latest proposal a lukewarm reception.”
~Writes Derrick Perkins of the Alexandria Times

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Shockoe Ballpark Critics Offer a Different Plan

City of Richmond

“Opponents of the plan to build a baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom have released an alternative proposal they say would allow development to occur while substituting a memorial park for a stadium. The plan, produced by a group of opponents, is designed to allow for the addition of a hotel, grocery store, office space, apartments and a parking deck while ‘allowing the city to avoid the embarrassment of desecrating a site increasingly recognized as completely inappropriate for a ballpark.’”

~Writes Graham Moodmaw of the Richmond Times Dispatch

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Commission Greenlights Proffers Exception for Harper’s Mill

Chesterfield County

“A request to change the terms of a major subdivision’s zoning conditions got speedy backing from the Planning Commission despite county staff’s recommendation to deny the request over the issue of cash proffers.

The developers of the 1,100- acre, 2,400-home Harper’s Mill community off Otterdale Road south of U.S. Route 360 have applied to change the conditions included in the original 2003 zoning case. The vast majority of the subdivision, 993 acres, has yet to be developed. Developer Mark Sowers and a company he’s affiliated with, HMG Investments, are attempting to change the timing and terms of some road improvements and to make some technical changes regarding setbacks and other conditions.

Planning Department staff indicated in a report that they had no opposition to those requests. But Sowers was also asking to keep the project’s cash proffers at the level set in 2003, and planning staffers said that request went against county policy. While the other changes are acceptable, according to the staff report, the proffer request ‘exceeds the Board [of Supervisors’] five-year time limitation to consider such requests.’”

~Writes Michael Buettner Chesterfield Observer

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Clock's Ticking on Boat Club Negotiations

City of Alexandria

“After initially keeping quiet on the status of negotiations for the Old Dominion Boat Club’s waterfront parking lot, city officials have lifted — ever so slightly — the veil of silence.

A city spokesman has confirmed that talks for the coveted shoreline parcel are underway. After years of on-again, off-again negotiations, Mayor Bill Euille made it clear in the fall that City Hall would use eminent domain to secure the land if an agreement remained elusive much longer.

Following a lengthy November public hearing on the topic, city councilors opted to extend talks for a further 90 days, with the option of eminent domain still on the table if negotiations break down again. Officials want to turn the parking lot into a waterfront plaza and use nearby club property for flood-mitigation efforts.”
~Writes Derrick Perkins of the Alexandria Times

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Colonial Heights Council Rejects Boulevard land swap with developer

City of Colonial Heights

“City Council rejected a proposal that could have opened up a prime location at the southern end of the Boulevard for development. But the majority of council members said it was a bad deal for the city. At its regular council meeting in December, council discussed the possibility of a land swap between the city and A+ Properties Inc. The discussion was intended to get council’s input on how to proceed.

The scenario considered by council would have swapped a city-owned 0.752-acre property on the Boulevard on the south side of Archer Avenue with a 50-foot permanent easement across a 4.078-acre property owned by A+ Properties just to the west and $10,000 in cash. The easement would run along the river and would allow the city to complete a key part of the Appomattox River Greenway Trail and have it run all the way to Appamatuck Park.”

~Writes James Peacemaker Jr. of the Hopewell News Patriot

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