A lawyer representing the applicant for a proposed adaptive reuse project at 2300 Fall Hill Avenue in Fredericksburg, noted that he has a long history with the property in question.
“I was born in this building,” said Hirschler attorney Charlie Payne, who represents Rebkee Project Management, during a community information meeting held last week at the Dorothy Hart Community Center.
Rebkee is seeking to construct 242 apartment units, plus commercial space, as part of a planned $50 million investment in the building, which served as Mary Washington Hospital from 1945-95.
To do so, Rebkee will need to receive a special use permit from the city, increasing residential density — from the six units per acre permitted by-right in the Fredericksburg Creative Maker District — to around 36 units per acre.
On Wednesday, the project will go before the Fredericksburg Planning Commission, which will hold a public hearing before discussing whether to recommend granting the special use permit.
Rebkee founder Rob Hargett noted that his firm has a track record for such projects, known as “adaptive re-uses,” including the former Cookie Factory Lofts in Richmond.
“There’s nothing cooler to me,” said Hargett, “than taking an old building that doesn’t have the use for it and turning it into something the community needs and doing it in a fashion that they can use for others.”
The units would range from studios to three-bedroom, priced to attract young professionals who might not otherwise be able to afford living in the city. For example, according to the developer, a 550-square-foot studio apartment could lease for as little as $ 1,000 per month.
“We want a mix of types of folks living here,” Hargett said. “We want young professionals. We want folks who have maybe sold their house and want to move in. We want first responders.”
Five parcels alongside the hospital building will remain undeveloped as community spaces. Other planned aspects of the project include “neighborhood compatible” commercial uses, such as a coffee shop and a daycare.
“We feel those are very needed in this part of the city as well,” Payne said.
Hargett explained that since hospitals are built in phases, developers could tear away portions of the building with no historical significance, allowing for the creation of courtyards and balconies.
“It’s going to be very marketable,” he said.
While residents who listened to Hargett’s presentation during the meeting seemed generally amenable to the project’s premise, many voiced concerns about parking and traffic in the area. Others noted the cumulative impact of this project in conjunction with the nearby 64-unit Mary’s Landing townhome development and another adaptive re-use right across the street at 2301 Fall Hill Avenue, in which 30 apartment units are proposed.
One resident implored Payne to go to the corner of Germania Street and Fall Hall Avenue between 3 and 6 p.m. and simply observe the existing state of affairs.
“Look at the traffic there,” the resident said. “Tell me from the city what the developers are going to do with those streets during those times of it. You can’t tell me. It’s already happening.
“So, I don’t have a problem with the adaptive reuse, but you’re going to create a lot of traffic for the future. We really need to study this and assess it. That’s the first thing that I see.”
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for the first time on May 8, as part of the Fall Hill Avenue Medical Historic District.
In response to a question from an audience member, Hargett acknowledged that his firm sought the historic designation in order to utilize historic rehabilitation tax credits through the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
“That’s the only way the numbers work,” Hargett said.
