Williamsburg’s Midtown Row final site plan gets review

Midtown Row has taken steps toward becoming a reality during the past several months, but it could take a big leap forward if its final site plan is approved by the Williamsburg Planning Commission at a meeting on 06/20/2018.

Plans for the mixed-use retail and residential center date back to January 2017, when Bethesda, Md.-based developer Broad Street Realty acquired the Williamsburg Shopping Center for $13.3 million. In November 2017, the developer also bought the Monticello Shopping Center across the street for $4.2 million, with plans to combine the two with the project.

Construction on the project began in March 2018, and plans for each building have been under review by the architectural review board since late last year.

The new shopping center will feature five main commercial buildings. Buildings 2, 3 and 4 will be newly-constructed, five-story structures, with a ground floor of storefronts and four stories of what Broad Street calls “dormitory-style” apartments. Building 1 will have four stories of apartments, but its ground floor will have office space, as well as amenities for apartment residents. The project will feature a total of 240 residential units and will offer one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments. The apartments will be targeted at students and young professionals.

Building 7 is an existing structure that will undergo heavy renovation. Current tenants, including Sal’s by Victor, Marshalls and the ABC Store, will occupy the space and there will be other retail space available for lease.

Food Lion will stay in its current location, but its exterior and interior will be renovated. Ace Hardware will move across the street to the Monticello Shopping Center next to Earth Fare and its current building will be renovated for future tenants.

All other buildings in the two shopping centers are slated for demolition. The developer estimates the entire development will house some 20 storefronts, but that number depends on the market.

The development also will feature a one-story, 285-by-124 foot parking garage facing Mt. Vernon and Monticello avenues, which is mainly intended for use by apartment residents.

If the site plan is approved by the Planning Commission, Marshalls and the renovation of Building 7 are expected to be completed by spring 2019. The four retail and residential buildings will be ready for occupants by summer 2020.

All the retail and residential buildings will sport a contemporary design and will be constructed with metal, concrete, brick and wood, along with charcoal colored doors and rails. The buildings also will feature colorful Mardi Gras gold and red-orange accents, which some architectural review board members found issue with.

Midtown Row visitors will have access to bike racks, wide sidewalks and recreational areas in keeping with the developer’s mission to create an environment that is pedestrian-focused, but automobile-accessible.

Psst, I’m a real estate agent.

This post was authored by local resident and REALTOR, John Womeldorf. John is known around town as Mr. Williamsburg, for both his extensive knowledge of the Williamsburg/ Hampton Roads/ Richmond VA area and his expertise helping buyers and sellers in the local real estate market.

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