BUSINESS ACTIVITY
A 199-unit residential project is proposed at the current home of the Greenbrier Shopping Center on Plank Road in Fredericksburg. A preliminary plat for the project was recently submitted to the City of Fredericksburg for review (public comments can be submitted to the City through Feb. 23). The proposed subdivision includes 109 townhouses and 90 “two-over-two” residences. The older commercial portion of Greenbrier Shopping Center would be demolished. Individual commercial pad sites along Plank Road (Metro Diner, M&T Bank, Royal Farms and Cook-out) would remain. The project applicant is Kettler, a Northern Virginia-based real estate firm that developed the Fredericksburg Park project at State Route 3 and Lafayette Boulevard.- The nearly 10,000-square-foot Bravo! Italian Kitchen restaurant at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre closed last month. Cafaro, which owns the real estate, is seeking a new restaurant tenant.
- Millenium Elite Primary Care has opened at 2533 Cowan Blvd. in Fredericksburg.
- The Panda Express location at 1121 Courthouse Road off Interstate 95 in Stafford County recently held its grand opening.
- The Mimi’s Vintage Cottage store at 3701 Lafayette Blvd. in Spotsylvania County has closed.
- Stockyards Restaurant & Bar is opening this week at 407 William St. in downtown Fredericksburg. On tap this week is line-dancing on Wednesday and live music Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
- Gloria’s Hair Services is seeking a special use permit for a home-based hair salon at 11811 Camelot Way in Spotsylvania. The homeowner, Gloria Margelos, would handle all clients on an appointment basis between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to the application.
- Carl’s Ice Cream in Fredericksburg will reopen for the season Friday.
- The Kilwins Fredericksburg shop at 721 Caroline St. downtown is now scheduled to open March 3.
- Watershed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will re-open March 2 at 10721 Tidewater Trail in Spotsylvania. The business was previously located near the Sunken Well Tavern in Fredericksburg.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
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Tom Scott
The Fredericksburg Regional Alliance at the University of Mary Washington (FRA) has appointed Tom Scott as its next president starting in April. Scott will succeed Curry Roberts, who will retire in April following 12 years at the organization’s helm (Roberts plans to begin a new venture advising legislative bodies on data center developments following his retirement). Scott has more than 20 years of leadership experience in economic development, corporate real estate and government partnerships. He currently serves as executive vice president at Virginia’s Gateway Region (VGR) in Colonial Heights, and he previously served as a director at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and as Bank of America’s vice president of government partnerships. The FRA is a public-private economic development partnership representing Fredericksburg and Caroline, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties.
- The guest on this week’s edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast is longtime Virginia Speaker of the House and Stafford resident Bill Howell.
- Black Horse Forge, a Stafford-based nonprofit that teaches blacksmithing skills to veterans, is the subject of this week’s Biz Beat Clips video.
- Trey Henderson is now King George County’s Business Retention and Expansion Specialist in the office of Economic Development. Henderson worked previously with the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. King George County Administrator Matt Smolnik also serves as the county’s Economic Development Director.
- Sixty-two Mary Washington Healthcare providers across 24 specialties have been recognized on Northern Virginia Magazine’s 2026 “Top Doctors” list.
- The Fredericksburg Free Press is now offering legal notices on its website and at a significant cost savings to users.
- Micah Ecumenical Ministries’ (Micah) planned housing project, Jeremiah Community, has been awarded $2.915 million in federal funding through a Congressionally Directed spending request from Virginia’s U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. The funding is in addition to the more than $6 million already secured from other sources. Jeremiah Community will be a supportive housing neighborhood for the chronically unhoused on 31 acres off Fall Hill Avenue in Fredericksburg.
- Amazon, in collaboration with The Community Foundation, last week brought together the 2025 recipients of the Amazon Rappahannock Region Community Fund. The fund awarded $300,000 to 35 nonprofits and community-based organizations whose work “strengthens innovation, inclusion, and resilience across Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and Louisa Counties, as well as the greater Rappahannock region.”
REAL ESTATE REVIEW
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This home at 1200 Prince Edward St. in Fredericksburg sold last week for $1.4 million.
There were 62 homes sold last week in the Fredericksburg area, including three for at least $1.4 million, according to the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors’ weekly sales list. Check back weekly for the new list.
- Median housing prices for the Fredericksburg region stayed steady at $460,000 in January, according to FAAR statistics released this week. There was about a two-month supply of homes on the market at the end of January, and homes spent 44 days on the market on average before getting a ratified contract. Stafford topped the list with a $550,000 median sales price, followed by King George ($482,000), Spotsylvania ($455,000), Orange ($389,990), Caroline ($387,450), Fredericksburg ($361,250) and Colonial Beach ($339,900).
- FAAR President Matthew Rathbun said: “We’re still leaning seller-friendly, but the tide’s shifting a bit. Buyers now have a little more breathing room to make thoughtful decisions, and we’re inching closer to a more balanced market.”
- Here are locality-by-locality statistics for January:
- Taft Coghill reports: “The Spotsylvania County Comprehensive Plan still lists data centers as a targeted industry for future growth. But the board of supervisors’ Jan. 13 vote to ask the planning commission for a recommendation regarding the requirement of a Special Use Permit (SUP) in industrial-zoned areas, thus eliminating any by-right development, left some developers and commissioners perplexed.”
- A rezoning is requested to allow for the development of a 2,545-square-foot neighborhood-scale, sit-down, full-service, “quality restaurant” on the northeast corner of the intersection of Walpole Street and Courthouse Road in Stafford. The applicant is Zhakfar Construction, Operation & Maintenance. A drive-through is not proposed as part of the project.
Biz Beat Roundup runs every Wednesday and includes a roundup of business news from around the Fredericksburg region. Send submissions to: bill.freehling@fredericksburgfreepress.com
