Vakos estimates that the Southpoint Landing project will be in progress for the better part of a half decade. By the end of 2018, Vakos expects to make significant progress on 240 Class A apartments.
I have included a PDF brochure from Vakos with a general depiction of the Southpoint Landing project. If the PDF does not immediate appear, refresh the page once.
The Board of Supervisors have generally been more complimentary of Vakos Cos.'s Mixed Use development projects, specifically the Courthouse Village area. However, several Supervisors and Planning Commissioners have expressed concerns with the way Mixed Use zonings have been applied since it was created. See the link below for a recent Planning Department overview of all approved Mixed-Use developments in Spotsylvania County.
At the May 22nd Board Meeting, Supervisor Ross directed County staff to re-look the Mixed-Use classification to ensure the end projects are what they approved. In prior Planning Commission meetings, Planning Department staff has stated that the Mixed Use zoning was created with limited details with the intention of allowing developers to shape the project based on market demands. However, in the past year, this has become a more pronounced issue as more of these projects have started to be developed and some officials have claimed some projects are not close to what the developer pitched at the time of the rezoning request. While any change to the Mixed-Use requirements is unlikely to alter the trajectory of any pre-approved projects, it could allow the Supervisors to better ensure future projects have some boundaries.
Unrelated, Palmer's Creek, a Mixed-Use development, calling for 400 apartment and up to 40,000 square feet of commercial space along Route 1 - roughly one mile south of Spotsylvania Parkway - failed to secure Planning Commission approval on July 18th. Only 5 of the 7 Commissioners were present and the vote failed 2-2 with Vice Chair Mary Lee Carter abstaining due to an unspecified conflict of interest. The project will now go to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
Click here to review a previous article on Mixed-Use developments in Spotsylvania County.
Click here to review Cathy Jett's Free Lance Star article on Vakos new Southpoint Landing project. The Free Lance-Star included an interactive overview of the development area for review.
