The planned Lightfoot Marketplace received support toward development from the James City County Planning Commission. (Courtesy James City County)
The planned Lightfoot Marketplace development got support for construction from James City County’s Planning Commission on Wednesday.
Plans for Lightfoot Marketplace, which would replace the Williamsburg Outlet Mall, have gone before the Development Review Committee since June, each time evolving based on comments from the committee, which comprises four of the full seven-member Planning Commission.
When the plans went before the commission Wednesday in their final iteration, they received full support with a minor tweak.
As planned, Lightfoot Marketplace will have six buildings: a grocery store, a pharmacy and four buildings to serve as a mix of retail, restaurant and office space. One building planned to be constructed near the corner of Richmond and Centerville roads did not have any green or efficient design initiatives planned for it because a tenant has not been identified for the space.
Planning Commissioner Rich Krapf (Stonehouse) requested a condition be added to the commission’s recommendation the project that would have three efficient design initiatives assigned to the building once a tenant is identified.
With that piece in place, the commission voted 6-0, with Commissioner George Drummond (Roberts) absent, to recommend the county’s Board of Supervisors issue a special use permit for the project.
Commissioner Chris Basic (Berkeley) said he would like to see the development attempt to work with the Virginia Department of Transportation to improve the look of sidewalks near the Centerville and Richmond roads intersection because they are not in the best condition. Basic also wanted to ensure gas and water meters on buildings kept up with the building’s planned architecture, which strives to provide a 360-degree aesthetic.
As planned, even if people are looking at the back of a building, they won’t be looking at a long plain wall; windows and other architecture will give the look of a building front.
If the Board of Supervisors approves the project, the 230,000-square-foot Williamsburg Outlet Mall and its parking lot would be demolished. A new parking lot and six new buildings would be constructed, reducing the development’s surface area by 20 percent and dropping the total square footage to about 136,200.
Traffic improvements would be made in the surrounding area, to include crosswalks, extended turn lanes, traffic signal modifications and improvements to pedestrian traffic. The development would include several walkways for patrons and an internal park, called Marketplace Green, which includes a sheltered bus stop.
While economic projections are not part of the county’s special use permitting process, Kaufman & Canoles attorney Paul Gerhardt, who is representing the planned development, presented projected impacts to the commission.
The development may create up to 300 jobs and could bring in more than $39.5 million in annual revenue. The Williamsburg Outlet Mall’s revenue was about $8.2 million, but the mall closed at the end of the year so is currently not drawing revenue. Gerhardt said the projected real estate value would increase 200 percent and business personal property tax would increase 300 percent, to more than $1 million per year.
Related Content:
- Public Hearing Scheduled Today for Lightfoot Marketplace Proposal
- Lightfoot Marketplace Plans Add Sixth Building, Park (w/ Photo Gallery)
- Stores in Closing Outlet Mall Plan to Relocate Within Area
- Lightfoot Marketplace in Early Stages to Replace Williamsburg Outlet Mall
- Williamsburg Outlet Mall to Close its Doors this Year