Restaurant planned for abandoned power plant site

City of Fredericksburg:

“A local businessman plans to transform an abandoned hydroelectric power plant on the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg into a restaurant and build adjacent residential condominiums. Ed Whelan and his family last week bought a riverfront property near the intersection of Caroline and Ford streets where the Virginia Electric and Power Company used to run a hydroelectric plant. Whelan’s family, through a limited liability company called Dreamland, bought the 3.93-acre property from an LLC headed by Hugh Cosner, a former Spotsylvania County supervisor who has owned the property at least in part since 1979 and who had also long envisioned a restaurant in the plant known as the former Embrey Power Station.

Whelan, who owns The Inn at the Olde Silk Mill across Caroline Street from the property, said he started talking to Cosner about buying the property last year. The sales price was $1 million. Whelan plans to turn the long-abandoned, graffiti-covered plant into a multilevel restaurant, perhaps with a rooftop bar and other outdoor seating overlooking the river.”

~ Writes Bill Freehing of the Free Lance–Star

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Hounds hope taxable bonds will help finance stadium at One Loudoun

Loudoun County:

“VIP Sports and Entertainment, the company hoping to bring professional baseball and soccer to Loudoun, wrote to the Economic Development Authority last week asking for a resolution for $55 million in taxable bonds to finance a stadium. Hopes are for the stadium to eventually house the Loudoun Hounds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and Virginia Cavalry FC, of the North American Soccer League.

An inducement resolution shows that an entity like the EDA is willing to issue a bond for projects that would ultimately help the county's economy. Bob Farren, CEO of VIP Sports and Entertainment, hopes the EDA's resolution might mean a financing option with a lower interest rate, making the project cheaper. The EDA does not back the loans or subsidize them with public money. It simply decides if the projects makes sense for the county and writes resolutions.”

~Writes Bob Hancock of the Loudoun Times

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New hotel planned for Emmet Street does not pass design review

Albemarle County:

“Midlothian-based company has filed plans to build a new 87-room Country Inn and Suites hotel on Emmet Street, but their design failed to gain initial approval Tuesday by the Charlottesville Planning Commission. The developer asked for a deferral when it appeared commissioners, acting as the Entrance Corridor Review Board, would not grant a certificate of appropriateness for the design…

Charlottesville Hotel LLC is seeking to build a four-story 52,000 square foot building on land currently occupied by a Days Inn. That business would continue to operate on a smaller scale on the northern section of the property. The adjacent Quality Inn would also continue to operate.

The proposed site plan would remove one existing entrance onto U.S. 29. Staff said that would improve vehicular circulation throughout the entire site. The property is just to the north of the U.S. 250 bypass and is located in one of the city’s entrance corridors. That means the Planning Commission must issue a certificate of appropriateness for new buildings.”

~Writes Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow

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Capital One continues quest to build tallest tower in Tysons

Fairfax County:

“Capital One is advancing plans to build a 470-foot-tall headquarters building, which if approved would become one of the tallest skyscrapers in Tysons Corner. The towering, 975,000-square-foot structure, which would dwarf the banking company’s current 205-foot-tall building in Tysons, is part of a modified development plan that would include a new hotel and expedited construction of transportation improvements and a new community center.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission held a public hearing on Capital One’s proposal April 3, but deferred decision until April 23… Antonio Calabrese, a lawyer with Cooley LLP who is representing Capital One, noted the company’s copious proffers for transportation, schools and recreation and said the new headquarters building alone would provide the county with about $3.3 million in tax revenues annually.

The Board of Supervisors in September 2012 approved a 4.4-million-square-foot redevelopment proposal for Capital One’s 26.2-acre site, located just northeast of Route 123 and Interstate 495. Counting the site’s existing buildings, the overall square footage would be 4.9 million square feet at build-out. The mixed-use development would be constructed in five phases over about 25 years. Capital One’s plan modification would construct ‘Block B’ first, instead of second, as previously planned.”

~ Writes Brian Trompeter of Inside Nova

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Richmond to review plan for condos near Libby Hill

City of Richmond:

“A proposal for a 13-story condominium building that would stand out as a new landmark at the eastern end of Tobacco Row is coming up for review by Richmond officials in a process bound to renew debate over high-rise development near the James River. The 65-unit building, known as The James at River Bend, would be located at East Cary and Pear streets below Libby Hill Park. The parcel at 2801 E. Main St. currently holds a vacant service station.

The proposed tower would be much taller than everything around it. In the developer’s view, that’s part of the appeal. ‘The end of Cary Street doesn’t call for just another average building of average height and average appearance,’ developer David White wrote to city officials. ‘It calls for a bold statement.’…

The building would have a base of nine stories with four penthouse levels set back from the façades facing the streets. It would have three levels of underground parking entering from Cary. The building also could include nonresidential uses such as art galleries and retail space.”

~ Writes Graham Moomaw of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Virginia Beach weighs new proposal for Dome site

Virginia Beach:

“A new group is interested in turning the city's Dome site into an entertainment venue, but officials are refusing to say who. Only one submission came in before Friday's 5 p.m. deadline, economic development director Warren Harris said Monday. He said he would not release the developer's name or make its submission available to the public until the Development Authority meets April 15.

The City Council voted in November to seek new proposals to build an entertainment complex at the Dome site, an 8.6-acre parcel at the Oceanfront, after money for a 2008 project never materialized. Meanwhile, the 2008 project from Texas businessman Michael Jenkins is still on the table, and Jenkins said he has the long-awaited financing ‘pretty well arranged.’ ‘We're continuing very aggressively to work on it,’ he said, adding that financing such a large venture has taken much longer than he expected.

Several council members said they still love the concept Jenkins brought to the table - a $172 million complex that included a giant Ferris wheel, 2,500-seat theater, ice rink, cabaret club and other attractions - but are skeptical he'll come through with the money needed to make the vision a reality. His group, Dallas-based Leisure and Recreation Concepts, missed several deadlines before the city voted to look elsewhere for ideas.”

~Writes Kathy Adams of The Virginian-Pilot

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K.G. business zoning rouses site’s neighbors

King George County:

“A property-rights issue brewing in King George County pits the desire of one owner to develop his land against the wishes of others who don’t want to see any commercial development next to their neighborhood. What’s more, the affected acreage is off U.S. 301 in Dahlgren, in an area the county’s Comprehensive Plan has allotted for commercial growth. But it was clear from the comments of 24 speakers at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night that residents of Bayberry Estates don’t want a business in their backyards, especially since it’s not clear what that business might be…

James Jarrell, the operating manager of a development company named Walnut Hill, hasn’t said what business might locate on the 7-acre parcel because he doesn’t know. He is simply asking for the land to be rezoned from rural agricultural to general trade zoning. King George’s ordinance allows a multitude of businesses in a general trade zone, ranging from restaurants to car lots to warehouses.”

~ Matthew Cathy Dyson of The Free Lance–Star

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