A year behind schedule, work on The Garrison moves ahead

STAFFORD — It may look like there’s nothing happening at The Garrison, but there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.

The shopping center site in North Stafford, at the intersection of Route 610 and Travis Lane, is slated to be home to the county’s first mixed-use development, complete with a planned 12-screen Regal Cinemas, new restaurants and apartment homes.

Two months ago, drivers passing by the site could see bulldozers clearing trees and moving dirt to make way for the new shops and homes. Today, the machines have stopped, as the developer is awaiting the final approval of a site plan from Stafford officials.

The project is already behind, as developers The Pence Group had said the Regal Cinemas was planned to open in early 2018. Now, Pence Group spokesman Clark Lemming says it’ll be at least another year before the theatre is ready to open.

“The project is moving slower than what we said it would have gone two years ago, but it’s certainly not for not wanting to move the project forward,” said Lemming.

The first TND

The Garrison is billed by The Pence Group as the last, best spot for development in northern Stafford County. While it’s technically the first of its kind in Stafford County, it’s not alone.

Like The Garrison, the new Aquia Town Center also has a TND (traditional neighborhood development) zoning designation for mixed-use retail and housing.

However, the owners of that property obtained a waiver from the county were allowed to build standalone apartments before building any commercial structures because the developer’s proffers were not specific enough to require the apartments to be part of a mixed-use building, according to Stafford County spokeswoman Shannon Howell.

It’s now the site of the Aquia 15 apartment complex and an empty field where a Regal movie theater used to sit. A deal to replace the old theater and lure a Harris Teeter grocery store to be the center’s commercial component, and win $18 million in tax breaks for the grocer over 20 years, both failed last year.

It’s unclear when a commercial tenant will be announced for the development.

An office building with street-level retail, to include a Booz Allen Hamilton office, Subway and a Rite Aid pharmacy across from Aquia 15 and the grocery store site are not a part of Aquia Town Center.

Pence’s other Stafford development

For The Pence Group, The Garrison isn’t the company’s first project in Stafford. It is also the developer of one of the most successful retail centers in the county, located about a mile east called Stafford Marketplace, anchored by a Target, Shoppers Food Warehouse, Kohls, Petsmart, and Lowes.

A bit smaller than its predecessor, The Garrison is slated to have just 500,000 square feet of retail space. That includes the movie house, as well as new restaurants, retail spaces, and offices. The Regal Cinemas is advertised as the lone confirmed commercial tenant, so far.

Transect zones

The first of the 453 apartments to be built here will be constructed over ground-floor retail spaces, similar to other mixed-use developments including Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge.

Other buildings at The Garrison will house only office or retail, others only homes.

There have been debates between the developer and county officials over whether or not to allow a pet store that offers veterinary services to be located so close to where people live.

There have also been disagreements over water use issues for the apartments and commercial spaces, specifically over what the county should charge the developer for usage and treatment fees, as well as water infrastructure and maintenance fees.

There has also been back and forth between the developer and the county over transect zones, which dictate what types and sizes of multi-story buildings are built at The Garrison. These zones are used to hold developers’ feet to the fire, assuring both homes and commercial spaces are built together, ensuring a mixed-use build out.

A regulating plan, which outlines the placement of the transect zones, was approved by the county on Feb. 1. Prior to its approval, any small changes to the plan by the county required the developer to go back and re-work the blueprints for the project.

“Every time there is a change there is a domino effect. It is a cumbersome process,” said Lemming.

Moving forward

The developer and county officials say both sides are working well together. With the approval of the regulating plan, the ball is back in Pence’s court, as it must review any changes required by the county.

Afterward, the developer hopes to have the next step in the process, an approved site plan from the county, within the next two months, said Lemming.

It’s important that The Garrison project move forward, as it is tied to roadway improvements already underway on Route 610 designed to widen the road from four to six lanes between Onville and Eustace Roads.

Entryways to the soon-to-be shopping center have already been added – one at Travis Lane where a new signal light will be erected, and another “right in, right out only” just west of Travis Lane.

The Pence Group will pay for the construction of stormwater retention ponds, as part of the Route 610 improvement project.

‘This is the development people are dying for’

There is a buzz about The Garrison. The comments from the public on the planned center have all been positive, said Howell. Stafford residents seek more places to spend their money without traveling to nearby Woodbridge or Fredericksburg.

Mark Dudenhefer is once again the Garrisonville District Supervisor on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors. He took a hiatus from the Board when he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2012.

Now back in Stafford, he openly opposes the construction of new standalone apartment projects. Smaller homes tend to use more public services and bring in less in property taxes than a single-family home.

But he “wholeheartedly” supports The Garrison project and likes the idea of new businesses locating in the area.

“We’re going to have good restaurants really close in Stafford. This is a development that people here are dying for,” he said.

He will work to speed up the permit process to get construction machines moving again, he added.