Development
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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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Where Are All Of These New Proposed Residential Developments Located? |
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![]() There are approximately 1,700 new homes being built or to be built in active residential developments... ...and approximately 4,400 new homes planned or proposed in residential developments that are not yet actively being developed. Where are they all located? You'll find an interactive map of them here... You'll find additional details about the developments here... Let me know if I missed anything on the list. | |
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Rezoning Requested for 48 Apartments on Chicago Avenue, Behind La Morena |
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![]() The City of Harrisonburg Planning Commission will consider a rezoning request and special use permit request this week (3/9/2022) to allow for the construction of 48 apartments on 2.32 acres on Chicago Avenue behind La Morena. City staff recommends the approval of the rezoning request and special use permit. Download all the pertinent documents from the City here. In other apartment related news, City Council will review a request for a 156-unit apartment complex called The Edge on East Market Street today. | |
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156 Apartments Proposed at The Edge in Harrisonburg on East Market Street |
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![]() The developer of The Colonnade (intersection of E Gay St and Mason St) and Preston Lake Apartments (still under construction adjacent to Preston Lake) is requesting a rezoning to allow them to build 156 apartments in the City of Harrisonburg on East Market Street across from Ciro's. This development would tie in the the eastern end of Franklin Street (which is not directly connected to the main portion of Franklin Street that you're likely thinking about) to East Market Street. Portions of the property are currently zoned B-2 (for business) and portions are zoned R-2 (for lower density residential development) but the developer would like all of it to be rezoned R-5 to allow or this high density residential development. They are also then requesting a special use permit to build apartments in buildings with more than 12 apartments per building. They plan to build 156 apartments in eight buildings -- so almost 20 apartments per building. A few details of note from the proposal...
The City of Harrisonburg Planning Commission will consider this proposed rezoning and special use permit on Wednesday, February 9th. City staff recommends approving the request with a few conditions. You can download all of the related documents here. | |
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73% Of Homes Being Planned or Proposed for the City of Harrisonburg Are... Apartments! |
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![]() There are lots of new residential communities being planned, discussed or proposed in the City of Harrisonburg. As shown above, most will be apartments. Below is a brief overview of planned or proposed residential housing developments in the City of Harrisonburg. Keep in mind that some of these proposals are quite recent and some have been around as possible developments for quite a few years. It is uncertain or when any of these will actually take shape and be developed.
Did I miss anything? What should be added to the list, updated on the list or removed from the list? You can find more details about most of these developments (and about many in Rockingham County) in list form here and map form here. | |
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111 Affordable Housing Apartments Proposed on Lucy Drive |
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![]() The Woda Cooper Companies, out of Ohio, are requesting the rezoning of a 4.731 acre parcel on Lucy Drive to allow them to build affordable workforce apartments. The apartments would be targeted to households that have incomes between 30% and 70% of the Area Median Income. This apartment complex would not have any market-rate apartments (normal market rent) and would not have any student housing apartments. A few other details from the proposal include:
The buildings would include:
For this development to move forward, the parcel (which is currently zoned R-3) would need to be rezoned to R-5. The parcel in question is situated between B-1 zoned land and townhouses. City staff recommends the approval of this rezoning, and next it will go before the Planning Commission for their review and consideration. Download a full packet of information about this proposal here. Here's another view of the site plan of the proposed development... ![]() | |
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274 Apartments Plus a Parking Garage Proposed For Regal Cinemas Parking Lot |
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The owner of the 9.5 acre parcel on which Regal Cinemas (and it's enormous parking lot) are situated is requesting a change in the Harrisonburg zoning ordinance, and the approval of a special use permit, to allow them to build two apartment buildings and a parking garage. Rest easy, though, movie fans -- they do not have any intentions of modifying the existing Regal Cinemas structure. The apartment building is intended to be approximately 72.5 feet tall -- with the parking deck being 54 feet tall. Here's the planned site plan... Click on either of the images above in this article and you can access a larger version of the image. You can see a few additional renderings of the parking garage, etc. by downloading the full Special Use Application Packet from the City. | |
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Updates On Rezoning Proposals For Several Proposed Residential Communities |
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![]() A few updates today on proposed residential communities in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County... ![]() Harrisonburg's City Council approved the development of a six story apartment complex on Peach Grove Avenue. The prior approval allowed for one level of commercial space which was converted to more apartments in the updated approval. This development is now planned to be a 460 bedroom apartment on 5.44 acres. ![]() The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors tabled a request for a rezoning that would have allowed for 95 townhouses at Massanutten Resort. ![]() The intended developer of a proposed 155 home neighborhood in McGaheysville withdrew their request for a rezoning to allow for the development. ![]() The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning request to allow for an additional apartment building at the Altitude apartment complex. | |
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Townhomes Now Under Construction In Phase Two of The Townes at Congers Creek |
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view larger photo here Have you driven by The Townes at Congers Creek lately? These newly built townhouses are located on Boyers Road just minutes from Sentara RMH Medical Center. (full disclosure - I represent the builder) The first phase of The Townes at Congers Creek is complete, with 26 townhomes plus a common area including a pavilion, patio, fire pit and basketball hoop. Construction is now beginning on townhomes in the second phase, and the first 20 townhomes are already under contract. Here's a view of the current site work under way on the second phase... view a larger photo here Learn more about this exciting townhouse community by viewing current availability, walking through the model home, viewing the standard features and upgrades. If you have questions, or if you'd like to schedule a time to view the model home in person, call/text me at 540-578-0102 or email me. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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Commonwealth of Virginia
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