A developer is hoping to build as many as 102 residential units in the Hollymead area of Albemarle County.
The proposed development, called Maplewood, would be at the intersection of Worth Crossing and Proffit Road.
Riverbend Development and Collins Engineering are requesting a rezoning of the 3.41-acre property from C-1 Commercial to Planned Residential Development, to allow for the homes.
Ashley Davies, with Riverbend, said the development likely would only have about 74 units total due to the capacity of the property and the unit type that they’re interested in building.
“We think it’s a nice, complementary use to the other commercial uses in the area, and we imagine sometime in the future the rest of this area will probably see some redevelopment,” Davies said at a Places 29 North Community Advisory Committee meeting Thursday night.
The developer is considering building two-over-two units — one two-story townhouse stacked atop another.
“It’s a nice product type because it allows for a variety of unit sizes on the lot, but they can also be sold or rented,” Davies said.
In Albemarle’s Places29 Master Plan, which is part of the county’s Comprehensive Plan, the property is shown on the future land use map as Urban Mixed Use (in Centers), which recommends “a balanced mix of retail, housing, commercial, employment and office uses, along with some institutional and open spaces uses,” and a density of six to 34 units per acre.
The proposal has a gross density of 30 units per acre at the maximum 102 units, and a density of 21.7 units per acre with 74 units.
The Comprehensive Plan includes a policy to focus development into the county’s designated growth areas, while maintaining the rest as rural areas. That results in about 95% of Albemarle kept as mostly rural land and 5% for growth.
Riverbend also included a proffer that 15% of the units in the development be affordable to those making 80% or less of area median income. Current household area median income is $93,700, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
One Places 29 North CAC member asked if the project was consistent with the Places 29 Master Plan.
Mariah Gleason, a senior planner for Albemarle, said the county sent developers a first round of comments on Monday, and some aspects are consistent with the plan based on what was submitted so far.
“The short version is yes and no, but it could be made more consistent, is what staff’s final comment was,” she said.
The review comments note that the Master Plan recommends that at least two different types of residential dwelling units be provided, and the proposal currently offers only one type. Others are mentioned in the submitted narrative from the developer.
The plan also recommends a maximum building height of four stories, while the proposal notes up to “5 stories/70 feet.”
“The buildings proposed are four stories, so there’s no height issue,” Davies said.
A “future civic space” is shown in the plan, and staff recommended consolidating the proposed open spaces on the property or making them more of a focal point.
Gleason said public hearings with the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors have not yet been scheduled.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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