City-Owned Land on Strawberry Plains Road Still Draws Developer Interest
Large builder approached Williamsburg earlier this year after separate proposal for 100+ townhomes near New Town fell through in 2024
According to information received as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed with the City of Williamsburg, interest in 13+ acres of City-owned land on Strawberry Plains Road continues to attract attention from potential developers. The City’s response indicates that a representative of a large homebuilder, Ryan Homes, reached out to the City in April as to the property’s availability. Back in 2024, a deal to sell the land to a different developer in order to build over 100 townhouses wound up being tabled without further action.
Ryan Homes is an operation of Reston, Virginia-based company NVR, Inc. The corporate website for Ryan Homes states that the company builds in over 400 communities in 36 different metropolitan areas across 16 states. Upon receiving an inquiry from the builder in April, the City’s Director of Planning and Code Compliance, Tevya Griffin, directed the company to contact Williamsburg City Manager, Andrew Trivette. The homebuilder’s representative agreed to do so, and no further communication about the issue between Griffin and Ryan Homes was reported by the City.
The outcome of any subsequent communications between Ryan Homes and Trivette are unknown, including if there are plans currently under consideration to sell and develop the site. A City spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Prior proposal to develop land falls through
Back in 2022, the City and the prospective developer, Cale Development LLC, reached a preliminary agreement for the City that never proceeded. That deal would have seen the City sell the land in order for Cale Development to build a 116 townhomes in a community called Landmark Village.
According to documents from a City Council meeting in June 2022, the preliminary agreement specified that the City would sell the property to Cale Development for $650,000, significantly less than the property’s appraised value of $2,218,000. The City explained the discounted price was in response to an offer made by the developer to set aside 15 income-restricted units, each meant to sell for $100K below market value. The City estimated that the value of the developer’s concession plus the agreed purchase price would be roughly equivalent to the market value of the land.
Proposal withdrawn from consideration
Though the City’s planning staff recommended approval of the project, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended its denial by a vote of 5-0-1 at their meeting on November 2022, according to meeting minutes. Abstaining from the vote was John Cale, a principal of Cale Development, and a Planning Commission member at the time. The proposal to buy and build on the property was tabled by the City Council in March 2024 after a request by the developer, as reported by Ben Swenson for the Daily Press in March of 2024.
The 2022 purchase agreement stated that Cale Development’s “obligation to close on the transaction shall not occur until it has obtained satisfactory approval of its development plan from Seller, and from all appropriate departments of the City of Williamsburg.” The site was never rezoned as required per the terms of the agreement, though the status of any ongoing cooperation between the City and developer regarding the property is unknown.
Contentious opposition
Since it was first announced, the Landmark Village project was hotly debated by portions of the community. Opponents, including many neighbors voiced concerns about heavy congestion and unsafe driving behaviors common on the road and the lack of sidewalks or crosswalks. Critics also questioned whether dedicating only 15 of the units to workforce housing would meaningfully address local needs, with some arguing the prices would still be out of reach for intended income groups. Concerns extended to neighborhood compatibility, with fears about loss of green space, reduced property values, and harm to local businesses.
Other opponents of the project focused on potential damage to the local eco-system, including College Woods’ old-growth habitat, threatening endangered species, and straining stormwater management systems. Several called for more rigorous environmental review, and delaying any development until further analysis could be completed.
In response, representative of Cale Development argued that the project aligned with the City’s existing master plan and would help address the city’s shortage of workforce housing, citing financing strategies, and inclusion of HOA fees in affordability calculations, as well as the decision not to restrict rentals as a way to enhance affordability. In response to concerns about congestion, they maintained that traffic and infrastructure issues on Strawberry Plains Road are under VDOT’s jurisdiction rather than the developer’s responsibility.
Other recent discussion of City-owned properties
Potential sales - “Surplus Property”
At their scheduled Business Meeting on Monday, August 11, 2025, the City Council will meet behind closed doors to discuss the potential of selling unidentified City-owned property. It’s unknown if the Strawberry Plains Road property is one of the topics.
Potential acquisition - “Economic Development”
The meeting agenda also states that a portion of the closed-door session will be about the “acquisition of property for economic development,” though no further information was provided.
The writer used AI tools and the following sources:
FOIA response from City - July 30, 2025
AGENDA - City of Williamsburg - City Council Work Session - August 11, 2025
Proposed Purchase of 180 Strawberry Plains Road by Cale Development LLC
MINUTES - City of Williamsburg - Planning Commission - November 16, 2022
Williamsburg - Interactive Dashboards: Parcel Data - Maps - Property Cards
Disclosure: Cale Development is likely to build on a vacant lot across from my home in Williamsburg. At a meeting of the Architectural Review Board (ARB) earlier this year, we presented concerns about aspects of the project. The proposal was approved by the ARB.
