Development
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Valley View Village, To Include 420 Apartments, Proposed For Reservoir Street |
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 Back in 2019, a proposal was approved for 156 apartments on 5.3 acres on Reservoir Street... but the apartments have not been constructed. Now, a new proposal is being considered by Rockingham County (Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors) to include two unimproved parcels totaling 18.125 acres. The applicant is proposing to build approximately 420 apartments in 13 apartment buildings with a variety of amenities such as a pool, dog wash, tot lots and a walking trail. The original 5.3 acres is already zoned Planned Multi Family (PMF) and the applicant is seeking to rezone the second parcel from R2 to PMF. As you'll note below, the two parcels are mostly surrounded by apartments, a few duplexes, and some undeveloped land.  Per the applicant's representative at Blackwell Engineering, the apartment buildings will vary in size with anywhere from 28 apartments to 42 apartments per building. The apartments will be a mixture of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. This rezoning will go before the Planning Commission and then potentially the Board of Supervisors in the coming months. Download the entire information packet here. | |
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21 Unit Affordable Housing Community Coming Soon In The City Of Harrisonburg |
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 21 new attached homes (duplexes, triplexes) will soon be built on Suter Street in the City of Harrisonburg to include... As to who will build the homes... (11) homes to be built in partnership with Central Valley Habitat for Humanity (10) homes to be built by a private developer As to the structure of the homes... (3) homes will be within a single triplex building (18) homes will be within nine duplex buildings As to whether these homes will be sold or rented... (11) homes built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity will be sold (6) homes built by the private developer will be sold (4) homes will be rentals Here's the general layout, from above...  Read more details about this development and the developers via the Daily News Record... ...and also on the Central Valley Habitat for Humanity website. | |
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27 Single Family Homes Proposed On Garbers Church Road |
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 view a larger image here The Harrisonburg Planning Commission reviewed a new proposal for a residential development on Garbers Church Road, just north of its intersection with Rhianon Lane. The property is currently zoned R-1 and the developer is proposing an R-8 zoning classification to allow more homes to be built on the property. The proposed R-8 zoning classification would allow 27 single family homes to be built on this 3.778 acre parcel. The developer indicates that these would be small homes, likely two story in height due to the smaller lot sizes. Three members of the Planning Commission recommended approval and three were opposed. The Harrisonburg City Council will review this proposal and potentially make a decision about it during their March 14th meeting. Download an information packet about this proposed development here. | |
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Harrisonburg Planning Commission To Consider 897 Unit Bluestone Town Center Proposal To Include 415 Apartments, 349 Townhomes, 133 Detached Homes |
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 The City of Harrisonburg Planning Commission will hold a public hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17th as they consider a proposal called Bluestone Town Center which would include 897 residences on 90 acres.  In addition to 415 apartments, 349 townhomes and 133 detached homes, the master plan also proposes a community center, playground and retail shops. You can explore the proposed development further on the website put together by those seeking the rezoning... You can download the Planning Commission agenda here which includes links to all of the supporting documents for this rezoning application. It is likely to be a lively public hearing as there seem to be plenty of folks both supporting and opposing this proposal. Change.org Petition #1... Change.org Petition #2... Here are some other my thoughts and observations...
As details of this proposal have become increasingly available over the past few months... [1] I have had many conversations with people who are strongly in support of BTC because they want more affordable housing options to exist in the City. [2] I have had many conversations with people who are strong opposed to BTC because they are concerned about (among other things) what they see as a likely increase in City taxes to pay for the impact of this development. From here, the Planning Commission will review the proposal and make a recommendation to City Council... and then City Council will decide whether to approve this development in the City. The final decision by City Council (to approve or deny) will be a big decision that (regardless of the decision) will affect the future of the City for decades to come. | |
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337 Homes Planned For Wingate Meadows On Pleasant Valley Road To Include 91 Detached Homes, 102 Duplexes, 144 Townhomes |
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 If you've driven by Wingate Meadows recently, you would see a new residential development under construction - in Rockingham County - at/near the intersection of Osceola Springs Road and Pleasant Valley Road. This new residential development is being built by Ryan Homes, will be called Wingate Meadows and the most recent site plan from Rockingham County (above) shows a layout that includes...
TBD on the pricing, though signage would suggest that homes will be in the $300K's. | |
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53 Townhomes Proposed Near Intersection Of East Market Street, Stone Spring Road |
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 A 53 unit townhome development is being proposed directly on East Market Street, just prior to the 7-11 gas station at the corner of East Market Street and Stone Spring Road when heading east. This residential development would be built on 4.43 acres that is currently zoned A-2 (general agriculture) and a rezoning is being proposed to allow for the residential development. Here's the proposed layout...  Rockingham County staff has some reservations about this proposed layout of this development because the development utilizes private streets (instead of public roads) and thus would not allow for connectivity between existing public roads and potential future public roads to be built on adjacent parcels. More specifically, from the County... "Privately maintained streets are an unreliable means of serving the long-term, publicly accessed street network that will be needed to serve all the land south and west of this site." Furthermore, the proposed layout (T turnaround) does not meet the requirements of the Rockingham County Fire Prevention Code. The Rockingham County Planning Commission considered this request on Tuesday, December 6th and tabled the proposal. Download the full rezoning application packet here. | |
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60 Townhouses And 34 Apartments Proposed For Corner(ish) Of North Main Street And Mount Clinton Pike |
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 A property owner has proposed the rezoning of a total of 12 separate real estate parcels near the intersection of North Main Street and Mount Clinton Pike to allow for the development of 60 townhouses and up to 34 apartments as shown on the conceptual plat above. In summary, City staff does not recommend that this proposal be approved Per the report, City staff does not think this project should be approved in this location at this time because they are concerned with: [1] the project not maximizing the site’s potential density; [2] the scale, design, and residential unit types clashing with the adjacent forthcoming commercial and planned mixed use spaces as well as the potential out of place context, detachment, or isolation of the residential neighborhood from the surrounding area; and [3] the overall precedent this development could establish for how the rest of the North Main Street and Mt. Clinton Pike corridors could develop. So, City staff basically thinks the property should be developed with greater density to include more housing units based on its location and surrounding present and potential future land uses. Update: Planning Commission split (3-3) on proposal. City Council to consider on December 13, 2022. | |
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67 Single Family Homes, 16 Duplexes Proposed For Town of Dayton |
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 The 10.5 acre tract shown above, located on the southwest corner of the town of Dayton may soon be home to a new residential development featuring 67 single family homes and 16 duplexes in eight duplex buildings. The property is currently zoned R-1 for single family home development, but a rezoning request has been submitted to rezone 3.2 acres to R-2 to allow for the duplexes described above. This rezoning is being proposed by Hope Community Builders who is under contract to purchase the land from its current owners. The rezoning request will be considered on Monday, November 14th at 6:00 PM at the Dayton Town Council and Planning Commission's joint public hearing. | |
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Does Building College Student Housing In Harrisonburg Impact City Schools? |
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 At first glance, the answer to this question seems obvious... If more college student housing is built in Harrisonburg, those college students are very unlikely to have children attending K-12 schools in the City of Harrisonburg. So, there is not a connection between college student housing construction and K-12 student population, right? Well... maybe there actually is an indirect connection... Using some rough, and certainly inaccurate numbers, let's pretend... [1] There are 21,000 students at JMU. [2] Of those, 7,000 students live on campus. [3] Thus, 14,000 students live off campus. And let's pretend that today, there is enough off campus college student housing for... magically... 14,000 students. Clearly, it's not this cut and dry, but I can pretend. Now, what happens when more off campus college student housing is built? What happens when there is enough new housing to fit 500, 1000 or 2000 more college students? First off, yes, JMU is growing and will continue to grow over time... but not that fast!? Now, after this new off campus college housing for 2,000 more students is constructed we will have off campus student housing for 16,000 college students... but only 14,000 college students who need housing! What seems to inevitably happen in Harrisonburg, is that when new off campus student housing is built... some of the existing (usually older) off campus student housing is no longer occupied by college students. And then, yes, the new tenants... who are not college students... may have children... who would attend City schools. So, while it may seem at first glance that building off campus college student housing does not impact the City school population (and thus the City budget to pay for educating more students) it seems that this new off campus college housing actually can indirectly impact City schools. As to the illustration above... A = More New Off Campus College Housing B = More Vacancies in Off Campus College Housing C = Off Campus College Housing Occupied By Non College Students D = More K-12 Students Attending City Schools If A=B and if B=C and if C=D... then, does A=D? A few pretty broad disclaimers... 1. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to build more off campus college housing. 2. I am saying it's a good idea to discuss and understand the primary and secondary impacts of building new off campus college housing... or any other type of housing. 3. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have non college student rental housing created through increased vacancies at what were previously college student housing complexes. Perhaps that's a good thing... or a normal part of the housing cycle in a college town? As with most of my writing about the dynamics of our local housing market... I'm not trying to convince you that one thing or the other is a good or bad... I'm just trying to get some discussion points out there for you, and others, to consider and decide what you think. :-) | |
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55 (More) Townhomes Proposed On Pear Street |
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 Just a short walk down Pear Street from where 33 townhomes are proposed there is now a new request for a rezoning of 6.77 acres to allow for 55 more townhomes to be built. This proposed development, to be called Zephyr Hill, is intended to consist of both two and three story townhomes, with and without garages. These 55 proposed townhomes would also be adjacent to the Cobblers Valley development currently being built by Ryan Homes. Here's the proposed site plan for these 55 townhomes...  The full County rezoning packet is available here. | |
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33 Townhouses Proposed To Be Built In The City of Harrisonburg, At The Entrance To Cobblers Valley |
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 Ryan Homes is currently building a neighborhood called Cobblers Valley in Rockingham County now 33 townhomes are proposed to be built in the City, at the entrance to Cobblers Valley. The property is already zoned for townhouses but the developer is requesting a subdivision ordinance variance to allow the townhouse lots to be built on a private street instead of a public street. You can download the reference documents from the Planning Commission's summary of the request here. This is the proposed layout of this small section of townhouses in the City...  | |
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48 Apartments, 26 Townhomes and A Mixed Use Building Proposed For Corner of Boyers Road, Port Republic Road |
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 A new proposal has emerged for developing the 5.7 acre parcel of land at the corner of Port Republic Road and Boyers Road. S&B Ventures, based out of Mount Crawford, is proposing a rezoning to allow for 48 apartments, 26 townhomes and a mixed use building. Here is the proposed layout on the land...  download a larger file here Some commentary from the developer provides some context for this potential new development... "The townhomes along Boyers are all oriented to take advantage of topography, with building "fronts" facing Boyers, and with on-site community green spaces and walkways connecting the community. There will be landscaping designed along Port Road with street trees and other landscaping to buffer parking on the site visually from Boyers." "Some community scale commercial uses are retained directly along the busy Port Road frontage to provide future small business/convenience commercial options to serve local surrounding neighborhoods. There is a multi-use path along the entire length of the Boyers Road frontage, which connects to existing sidewalks on Port Road." The Rockingham County Planning Commission will consider this rezoning request at their meeting on September 6, 2022. | |
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The Developer of Preston Lake Would Like To Build 139 Townhouses Behind Turner Ashby High School |
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 The developer of Preston Lake, Evergreen Homes, would like to build 139 townhouses behind Turner Ashby High School in the area outlined above. Bridgewater Town Council will review the proposal at their meeting in August. The potential townhouse development would be called The Glen at Cooks Creek and would be comprised of several different styles and sizes of townhouses. These townhouses would be built adjacent to Windsor West... and the land for these townhouses seems to currently be owned by the developer of Windsor West. Read a bit more this potential development over at the Daily News Record here. | |
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New Home Construction (For Sale or Rent) Is Likely The Only Path Towards A More Balanced Local Housing Market |
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 Over the past two (to five) years the local real estate market has seen... [1] More and more homes selling. [2] Higher and higher sales prices. [3] Higher and higher rental rates. Over the past six months, mortgage interest rates have increased significantly (from around 3% to nearly 6%) and yet... [1] We're still seeing just about the same number of homes selling. [2] Sales prices keep climbing. [3] Rental rates keep climbing. One conclusion that I keep coming back to in recent weeks and months is that... There are more people who want to live in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County than there is housing in which they can live. Generally speaking, when demand for housing exceeds supply, prices go up... that's what we're been seeing over the past few years. So, what's the answer? If there are 134,000 people living in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, but there are 140,000 or 150,000 who would like to live here... ...the only path towards a more balanced housing market is to have... ...more homes. So, whether it's new homes being built to be sold... or new homes being built to be rented... that will help bring balance to our local housing market. It's certainly not clear how much more housing is needed, in what locations, or of what property types, sizes, or prices... but overall, more housing needs to be created (built) to account for the ever increasing number of people who would like to live in this area. | |
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Almost 1,700 New Homes (or home sites) Are Being Developed or Built in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County With Another 4,000 Planned or Proposed |
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 LOTS of new housing is currently being developed in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County... though mostly in Rockingham County. Below are most that I am aware of, with approximate unit counts, though you can find it in spreadsheet form, with some links, here. 369 Apartments
647 Townhouses & Duplexes
287 Single Family Detached Homes or Home Sites
This is not to mention the 4,314 homes that are being planned or proposed...
The important, and perhaps unanswerable, big questions are... [1] Is enough housing being built or planned to support a growing population? [2] Is too much housing being built or planned beyond what our growing population needs? [3] Is the right type, size, and price of housing being built? | |
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800 Mixed Income Housing Units Planned For Bluestone Town Center |
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 800 (or more) new housing units may soon be coming to Garbers Church Road and Erickson Avenue... at Bluestone Town Center... potentially featuring...
This is a potential joint venture between the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority (not the City of Harrisonburg, but a "political subdivision of Virginia") and Equity Plus (a private entity seemingly out of Mississippi). This potential residential development is intended to offer...
Find out more about this potential development by visiting BluestoneTownCenter.com or by attending the informational session on June 7th (today) from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Lucy Simms Auditorium. Updated... Daily News Record, June 8, 2022
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Lake Shenandoah Stormwater Control Authority to Construct New Taylor Spring Detention Basin |
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 If you live in the Lake Shenandoah Drainage Area you are currently paying an additional tax alongside your real estate tax... with the new tax going to the Lake Shenandoah Stormwater Authority. The tax per property is based on $0.08 per year per square foot of rooftop area and went into effect in December 2020. Also in 2020, Rockingham County purchased a 28.878 acre property within the Lake Shenandoah Drainage Area for use as a stormwater storage area. Now, more details have emerged via an invitation to bid that closes today. Per the government documents, work is to be completed by December 1, 2022. This new stormwater facility will be located on land that is currently undeveloped between Barrington, Kentshire Estates, Lakewood, Taylor Spring and Taylor Grove subdivisions in the area outlined in pink/purple above. View engineering plans for the stormwater facility by clicking the image below...  Update 5/26/2022: Rockingham County rejects single bid received | |
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New Home Construction Is Ramping Up in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County |
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 New home sales are on the rise in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County! After a 39% increase in new home sales in 2020, we saw an even larger 68% increase in 2021. What does 2022 have in store when it comes to new home sales? As of 5/19/2022 there have only been 77 home sales thus far this year... but there are 220 new homes under contract! Assuming all of those sell this year, we'd be at 297 new home sales for 2022, before any others that will come on the market in the coming months. New homes being built is one of the only ways we will be able to get out of this low inventory housing market. There are more people who want to live in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County than there are homes to house them. Keep on building, builders, keep on building! ;-) | |
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Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority in Planning Stages of a 1,000 Unit Housing Development Across From Harrisonburg High School |
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 Specific details are still relatively limited, but the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority is planning a LARGE development on land that stretches from Erickson Avenue to Garbers Church Road. Here are some of the details that have been made public thus far...
More details here. Stay tuned for more details as they are made public. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
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scott@funkhousergroup.com
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