NEWS: Apartments in Vacant Bank Building Approved by Williamsburg Planning Commission
Final sign-off by City Council still needed for proposed conversion to mixed-use housing and retail
The Williamsburg Planning Commission recently voted to approve the conversion of a vacant bank building on the corner of Richmond Road and Matoaka Ct. into eleven apartment units sitting above ground floor retail.
The request for a special use permit (SUP) for the existing building on the .8 acre site comes from the building’s owner, Demetrios Florakis (a former chairman of the City’s planning commission), who was in attendance at the meeting but did not address the panel. Before the vote, member John Tarley, Jr. recused himself. Member Greg Granger abstained from the vote. Chair James Boswell was not in attendance.
Project details
Current zoning allows 6 residential units on the site, but under the proposed plan, a total of eleven will be built — four studio apartments and 7 1-BR apartments. No indication was provided as to how much these apartments will cost, but other local apartment options are typically well above the City’s median gross rent.
Several sit-down restaurants with additional outdoor seating are proposed for the plan, but other uses could potentially “include bake shops, banks and financial institutions, convenience service establishments, limited to barbershops, beauty parlors and spas, tailors, and shoe repair shops, medical and dental offices and clinics, museums and art galleries, offices, printing and photocopying shops.”
According to the City, the building was originally constructed in 1972 and is located in architectural preservation zone 3 and subject to the City’s design review guidelines. The conversion project has been in the works since last year when public hearings began concerning the potential redevelopment of the site. Though the affirmative vote yesterday by the commission is an important step in the approval process, the City Council will ultimately determine the proposal’s outcome.
Neighborhood concerns
At the meeting, several members of the community spoke to the Planning Commission in opposition to the project. Much of their concern focused on traffic. Residents on Matoaka Ct. point out that their neighborhood has become a frequent cut-through for people seeking to avoid the traffic signals at the intersection of Monticello and Richmond Roads.
In fact, the route is identified as a cut through on Google Maps between Richmond Rd. and Monticello Ave., according to the City’s summary of traffic impact study conducted on behalf of the developer. The study notes another cut-through is also presented to drivers on Google Maps using Compton Dr. and Brooks St. which it claims is “favored” by the maps app.
Yet, the traffic data ultimately collected did confirm residents’ assertion that the neighborhood is used as a shortcut by many drivers. And while the study noted the regular presence of pedestrians and bicycles moving through the area, it does not comment on the speed of drivers who choose to use the neighborhood as a cut-through.
Overall, the traffic study estimates that total traffic for the proposed new uses would be less than that of a bank or other currently allowable uses such as offices. Either way, the developer’s full traffic study concludes that the neighborhood’s cut-through problem is a result of previous decisions made by Williamsburg planners, calling it “an existing condition which does not depend on the proposed site, and which will occur whether the site is redeveloped or not.”
(Update 1-16-25: Updated to indicate that Greg Granger abstained from the vote.)
George Arbogust is Founder and Editor of the Williamsburg Independent. You can contribute too! Email tips & story ideas: contact@williamsburgindependent.com