NEWS: James City Approves Hotel Conversion to Apartments Near Williamsburg
Plus, smooth sailing for Chickahominy Haven Marina rezoning ... site for future Crisis Services Center near Eastern State Hospital
In a unanimous vote last week, the James City County Board of Supervisors approved the conversion of the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center into a new apartment community with a total 126 units, as well as 32,000 square feet of commercial space. The site is located on Pocahontas Trail and abuts the jurisdictional boundary with neighboring Williamsburg. The developer, Conserve Holdings LLC, has committed to renting 40% of the units below market rates in an effort to make them affordable to more people.
County staff and Planning Commission approval
During the project’s review process, both the County’s planning staff and Planning Commission also supported the conversion of the hotel into an apartment community that will be called “The Foundry at Williamsburg.” The project review began with comments from a representative of the County Planning Department, Allison Jackura, who explained their positive assessment.
“Staff, in analyzing this proposal, determined that it aligned with the 2045 Comprehensive Plan with respect to adaptive reuse of hotels based on providing affordable and workforce housing units,” Jackura stated. “It does meet the codes and ordinances and would bring the existing property up into compliance. It passes all but one of the adopted policies related to fiscal impacts, schools, etc.” Jackura noted.
The unmet standard involves providing space for recreation, but planners noted the proximity to the City of Williamsburg’s Quarterpath Recreation Center, which is also open to non-residents. The plan also calls for keeping both pools currently on the property, a 1 acre park as well as fitness center and movie room.
According to Jackura, the project’s developer will improve landscaping and property line buffers, as well as bring the parking lot up to current standards, such as providing sufficient handicap parking. Other site improvements will include reducing impermeable surfaces and upgrading stormwater infrastructure. While the developers intend to make some changes to the building’s exterior, Jackura noted that most of the existing architecture will be retained without major changes.
View a rendering of the proposed redevelopment of Fort Magruder Hotel & Conference Center, rebranded “The Foundry at Williamsburg.”
The next speaker to address the Board about the project was Jay Everson, the representative for Stonehouse District on the County’s Planning Commission. During his comments, he spoke about the Commission’s review of the plan to provide workforce housing. “Basically it boiled down to a discussion on market rates versus affordable rates,” Everson said, noting that there will be different rents for three separate income levels.
Everson also noted that several features of the property will be retained including a Civil War era fortification. “[T]he Commission thought this is a great reuse for this land rather than have this hotel continue to fall apart,” he said. “Consequently, 6-0,” Everson added, noting the Commission's unanimous decision to recommend the conversion.
Workforce housing goal
A representative for the project, Vernon Geddy, also spoke to the Board about the conversion plans. “It’s the adoptive reuse of an aging and underutilized property, through a multi-million dollar renovation, to provide quality and affordable workforce and market rate housing. And commercial space which we think would be a great benefit to the County and the community at large,” Geddy said. He also pointed out that as an adaptive reuse of an existing building, the project will not require development of any green space.
According the Geddy, planning for the project presented “a number of challenges under the existing zoning ordinances,” though he thanked the County staff for their assistance in finding suitable solutions. He commented that the Board of Supervisors is “likely to see more proposals like this and you may want to consider an ordinance tailored to these adoptive reuse situations, and build in the flexibility needed to redevelop the older properties that you might see coming through.” Geddy also noted that Conserve Holding also owns an adjacent apartment complex.
According to planning documents, the developer’s stated goal is to make the apartment complex affordable to more households. The rent-related proffers included in the proposal aim to make the units affordable to families near or below the County’s estimated median household income of $107K, including:
Setting aside 14% of units for households earning 60% or less than the Area Median Income (AMI), another 14% of units for those earning 80% or less, and 12% of units for households making 120% or less than AMI.
Some rents will be controlled so that households spend no more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
The target rent program will be in effect for 20 years. The developer will submit a report each year to the County identifying units in the program and the rental rates being charged.
James City County conducted a workforce housing study back in 2019 and the final report concluded that thousands of people who work in the County can’t afford to live there. Rising costs have also made it difficult for young families to afford to start out in the County. Overall, lower income households are forced to spend a disproportionate amount of their income on housing. Though the task force acknowledged that there is no single fix for the housing problem if left unresolved, they predicted that employers will continue to have difficulty recruiting and keeping workers.
After Geddy’s comments, Supervisor Barbara Null, Stonehouse District, voiced her support for the project. “We need that kind of thing. We need to be able to reuse these buildings instead of tearing them down. So I’m really happy about that.”
Preservation of Civil War fortifications
The current hotel sits on approximately 9 acres and is the site of Civil War era fortifications used in the Battle of Williamsburg in May of 1862. Another speaker during the public comment portion of the discussion was Alison Woodard, a representative of the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, who described the historical significance of the site, including a defensive structure, called a redoubt, which was used by Confederate forces during the battle, still remains on the site of the hotel.
While taking no position on the hotel conversion, Woodard advocated for permanent historic preservation easement for the redoubt, given its role in the battle and the soldiers who fought there. “This redoubt is one of 14 that was originally built early in the Civil War to defend the peninsula against a Union Army ascending to capture Richmond,” Woodard explained. “Such an advance did occur in the spring of 1862 and a battle was fought here at Williamsburg on May 5th. This particular redoubt, known as redoubt number three, was heavily engaged in the battle,” she said.
Woodard pointed out that there was even more local connection to the redoubt beyond its location. “There was actually an artillery battery in that readout that was manned by local James City County and Williamsburg soldiers. Their captain was William Garrett and he was born and raised and educated in Williamsburg, and his home is what we call today the Coke-Garrett House. It's on East Nicholson Street and it's the current home of the CEO and president of Colonial Williamsburg.” Woodard noted that only half of the original redoubts still exist and the one at Ft. Magruder is the only left from what she referred to as the “center of the battlefield, where the heaviest fighting took place.”
The conversion plans intend to leave the redoubt untouched, and according to Woodard, the developers are willing to consider pursuing permanent protections for the site. The Board also approved a resolution encouraging the developers to protect the fortification. The non-period wood palisade and cannons in front of the hotel will be removed as part of the redevelopment.
Effect on hotel room inventory
Supervisor Ruth Larson, Berkeley District, spoke favorably about this particular conversion and recognized the need for more workforce housing, but voiced frustration that more hotel rooms will be lost in the County. She pointed to the sports complex currently being built as a driver of future visits to the area. “I am hopeful that there will be an opportunity for another hotel,” she said. “[I]t’s been, I believe, over 20 plus years that a new hotel has come to James City County.”
Chickahominy Haven Marina Rezoning and Special Use
Also at the meeting on May 13, the Supervisors unanimously approved rezoning and a Special Use Permit (SUP) for the Chickahominy Haven Marina. The move will rezone the property from R-2, General Residential, to A-1, General Agricultural, with Proffers. Prior to the Board’s vote, both planning staff and the County Planning Commission had recommended approval of the changes.
According to the planning staff’s summary of the project, “The site is designated Rural Lands on the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map. Recommended uses include rural-based public or commercial recreation … the Comprehensive Plan states that uses in Rural Lands should reflect and enhance the rural character of the County.’
While addressing the Board, a planner for the County, Roberta Sulouff, explained the need for the ordinance and permit, saying the marina has been operating as a non-conforming, commercial enterprise. A general store and restaurant at the marina have been closed for several years, and subsequently those lost the exemptions which allowed them to operate.
The vote of approval by the Board will allow for the legal operation of an existing marina and related facilities such as boat storage, marine fuel sales, docks and piers. The SUP will allow for reopening the restaurant and general store, which had been closed due to regulatory issues. The County planners noted that no work is required to address additional traffic or public safety needs. “Staff finds that the proposal is compatible with existing zoning, development and consistent with the comprehensive plan,” Sulouff concluded. Several other speakers also spoke in favor of the project during the public comment period.
Following the public input, Supervisor Michael Hipple, Powhattan District, in which the marina is located, commented on the marina’s potential to be a popular attraction. “When you’re on the water, there’s not very many places to stop and grab something to eat. So this is going to be one more added thing. It’s going to be great for the community. But it’s also going to be great for the boats coming up and down the Chickahominy.”
Center for Support and Wellness Site
The Board of Supervisors heard information about facilitating the transfer of 14 acres of State-owned surplus property, located at 4601 Ironbound Rd., near Eastern State Hospital, to Colonial Behavior Health, who will own and operate crises services center. Though the public hearing was conducted, the resolution was held over for consideration at another date.
According to planning documents presented to the Board, “[t]he new building will house CBH Emergency Services, many Crisis Intervention Team Assessment Center, functions such as Mobile Crisis, a Crisis Receiving Center, and Crisis Stabilization Unit services. The remainder of the approximately 14-acre property will be developed at a later point as CBH continues to develop its long-term space needs assessment and its long-term facilities master plan.”
The Executive Director of Colonial Behavior Health, David Coe, addressed the Board about the project. “We are looking to build … our Center for Support and Wellness, to provide a different level of crisis services for our entire service area, which includes James City, York County, Poquoson and Williamsburg,” he said. “It is a part of an effort on our part to modernize our buildings, modernize our services, expand access to a greater variety of services to our community,” Coe added.
Use of AI: A Google AI tool called NotebookLM was used to research this post.
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