A 1956 office building that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places could soon house 30 apartment units.
The Fredericksburg Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday night to recommend approval of a special-use permit for an adaptive reuse of the vacant structure at 2301 Fall Hill Ave., known as the Medical Arts Building.
The special-use permit would allow for a density of 29.29 units per acre on the .52-acre property, since units of 600 square feet or less can be counted as a half unit for density purposes. The project calls for 29 one-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom unit.
Two residents spoke at a public hearing for the project. Anne Little, a candidate for the Ward 2 seat on City Council this November, argued that the project doesn’t meaningfully address the city’s issues with affordable housing.
Little said that when her sister, Rita, moved to the city in 2009, she was able to afford a condo in Cobblestone Square.
“That condo gave her stability, allowed her to build equity and to eventually afford a home of her own,” she said. “Home ownership changed the course of her life… For years, we’ve heard about affordable housing, but what we’ve seen are more and more apartments approved through special-use permit.”
Andrea DePaul, who lives a few blocks from the proposed project, said that access to Route 1 near James Monroe High School is already difficult from a traffic standpoint, without additional housing.
“Certainly, we don’t want the building empty, and we’d like to make changes, but on a smaller scale,” said DePaul, “but 30 units is a lot for our end of town.”
Developer Lee Garrison, whose group is also behind the adjacent Mary’s Landing townhouse project, emphasized that the project doesn’t create any new “impervious areas,” such as pavement, as the 33 planned parking spots will utilize an existing lot. Other plans include closing off the existing parking lot entrance on Fall Hall and adding a wall for pedestrian safety.
A traffic and parking study provided by the applicant showed that the apartments would result in a 77% reduction in trips generated per day, compared to a calculation for the existing (medical office) use.
The commissioners’ recommendation did incorporate one additional condition beyond the staff report: that the developer add a bench to the FXBG GO! bus stop on Fall Hill. They also elected to keep in place a staff provision disallowing short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs.
City council will take up the project at a later date.
Members of both the planning commission and city council plan to attend a Sept. 4 community meeting about another proposed adaptive-use development across the street, at the former Mary Washington Hospital building. That meeting will be held from 6-7 p.m. at the Dorothy Hart Community Center.
