Development
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460 Bedroom Student Housing Complex Proposed For Neff Avenue |
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 On August 11, 2021 the City of Harrisonburg Planning Commission will consider a request from Forbes Development to amend the proffers for a 5.44 acre parcel on Neff Avenue near its intersection with Port Republic Road. The property is currently zoned R-5C and the developer previously planned to build one, six-story mixed-use building with non-residential and multi-family residential units. The plan was for the building to include 16,000 SF of retail space such as restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, clothing retailers, convenience stores, etc. When the developer had gone through the process of rezoning the property to R-5C and obtaining special use permits to allow for the construction of the above referenced project, the developer had referenced the building including a mix of (20) one bedroom apartments, (20) two bedroom apartments, (30) three bedroom apartments and (50) four bedroom apartments - which presumably might be student housing, or possibly not... Within a year of the rezoning and special use permits being approved, the developer began the further planning of the project but began to only reference including (100) four bedroom units -- which would clearly be designed to be entirely student housing.  Now, however, the developer does not want to build the project as previously planned as a multi-family development -- with apartments over top of commercial / retail space. The developer is now asking the City for permission to amend the proffers to allow for the project to be a single six-story apartment building without any commercial or retail uses and they want the project to allow for more bedrooms in the apartments. The original proffers would have allowed for 400 bedrooms and the developer is now requesting permission to have 460 bedrooms in total. The developer indicates they are requesting the removal of the commercial/retail space because of changes in the commercial real estate market due to Covid. The developer does not seem to have spoken to their pivot from having 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments -- to having almost all (104 of 126) four bedroom apartments. City staff does not recommend that these changes be approved because they do not believe more student housing is needed at this time. Planning Commission will now review this request and will forward their recommendation to City Council who will make the final decision about whether to allow these changes for another 460 bedrooms of student housing on Neff Avenue. Read up on more details of these proposed changes in the City Council packet here. | |
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Over 4,000 New Homes Are Under Construction Or Being Planned In Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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 From time to time I post information here on my blog about new neighborhoods or communities that are being developed. I thought it might be helpful to compile all of that information in one place. Here are the new communities where dirt is moving for a combined total of over 1,800 new homes...
Here are the new communities currently being planned with a combined total of over 2,300 new homes...
I have compiled an overview document that includes all of the communities listed above as well as...
You'll find all of this information by visiting HarrisonburgNewHomes.com. If you have information about other new communities not currently on my list, let me know. If you see something on my list that is incorrect -- please email me with additional information so that I can make the list more accurate. | |
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Yes, We Need More Townhouses To Be Built! |
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 When you see more townhouses being built -- or when you see plans being discussed for more townhouses to be built -- you might be thinking... What!? More townhouses!? Don't we have enough townhouses!? But if you ask nearly any local Realtor who has represented the seller of a townhouse in or near Harrisonburg in 2021 they will tell you... Yes, We Need More Townhouses To Be Built! Whenever a resale townhouse comes on the market it is almost always overwhelmed with showings in the first few days on the market -- and then the offers start coming in, fast and furious. Buyers are offering over asking price. Buyers are waiving inspection contingencies. Buyers are desperate to find a townhouse to buy. But yet, when there are 12 offers on a townhouse, the seller is only able to accept one of those offers. As a result, there are still 11 would-be townhouse buyers circling the market waiting on that next townhouse to become available. As quickly becomes evident, demand for townhouses FAR exceeds supply -- so... Yes, More Townhouses Need To Be Built! If I dialed in a bit further on this issue, I suppose I should point out that...
So, while it would be great to continue to see options over $250K, it would also be amazing to see new townhouse options much closer to $200K. | |
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155 Single Family Homes Proposed In New Neighborhood, Peak Mountain, In McGaheysville |
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 view a larger plat here We might see up to 155 detached single family coming to McGaheysville soon, located between McGaheysville Road, Power Dam Road and Three Leagues Road. Four tracts of land totaling 41.99 acres are currently zoned A-1 and A-2 but the owner is proposing that the County rezone them PSF-C... Planned Single-family Residential with Conditions. This neighborhood of detached homes is planned to include 155 homes...
The neighborhood would also include a shared-use path. View all of the details in the Rezoning Case Report here. | |
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225 Townhomes, 175 Single Family Homes or Duplexes Planned For Cobblers Valley |
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 view a larger jpg here A new neighborhood is under development on the south side of Harrisonburg, straddling the City / County line. As shown on the site plan above, this development will potentially include 225 townhomes and 175 single family homes or duplexes. Details are still scarce as to what exactly will be built on these lots, but if you drive by, you'll note that dirt is moving - presumably for the construction of roads and installation of water lines and sewer lines. Download the site plan here. | |
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265 (More) Apartments Planned For Stone Spring Road |
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 Harman Realty and Stone Spring Holdings LLC are proposing to build 265 apartments in a development to be called EPOCH on Stone Spring Road, between The Overlook at Stone Spring and Squire Hill Apartments. These apartments would be built on the 17 acres shown above. The proposed site plan references cottages, townhouses and apartments -- but they all seem to be multiple dwelling units per building, so they might all feel like apartments? City staff recommends approval of this proposal, as does the Planning Commission. City Council will have the final say on the matter in the near future.  | |
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34 Single Family Home and Duplex Lots Planned At Highview Estates, Just North of Harrisonburg City Line |
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 view a larger map here Per recent versions of the Rockingham County Planning Commission meeting packets, a new development is being planned for Route 42 North -- just barely outside the City of Harrisonburg, The site plan currently on file with the County is shown below, though it is likely not the final site plan. Per the County's notes it is "awaiting corrections and resubmittal." The current version of the site plan shows (18) single family home lots and (16) duplex lots -- for a total of 34 homes.  view a clearer plan here This is one of the many new residential developments in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County that are under construction or in planning phases as outlined here. | |
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New Residential Developments In Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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 As I hear about new developments being planned or proposed or approved, I'll add them to the list below. What am I missing or forgetting? CITY OF HARRISONBURG - PLANNED / PROPOSED Two41 (Blue Ridge Drive)
Stoney Ridge (South Main Street)
Juniper Hill Commons (Keezletown Road) ROCKINGHAM COUNTY - UNDER CONSTRUCTION Congers Creek Townhomes (Boyers Road)
Congers Creek Apartments (Boyers Road)
Crescent Ridge (Taylor Spring Lane)
Bridgewater Fields (Bridgewater)
Locust Grove Village (Boyers Road)
Preston Lake Apartments (Boyers Road)
Senior Living Facility (Boyers Road)
South Peak (McGaheysville) ROCKINGHAM COUNTY - PLANNED / PROPOSED Wingate Meadows (Pleasant Valley Road)
Boyers Crossing (Boyers Road)
Stoney Ridge (South Main Street)
Crownpoint Independent Living (Apple Valley Road)
Overbrook (McGaheysville)
The Ponds of Island Ford (McGaheysville)
Highview Estates (Harpine Highway)
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29 More Townhouses Likely Coming To Vine Street |
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 view a larger map here The Harrisonburg Planning Commission recommended the approval of the rezoning of a 2.25 acre parcel on Vine Street to allow for 29 townhouses to be built as per the proposed site plan below...  view a larger site plan here This is one of the many new residential developments in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County that are under construction or in planning phases as outlined here. | |
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54,270 SF of Self Storage Planned For Stone Spring Road |
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 view a larger version of this map here Is there a shortage of available storage units? Later this month the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors will consider a rezoning request for a proposed development on the corner of Port Republic Road and Boyers Road that includes, among other things, 91,000 SF of storage units. But wait, there's more... The site plan is currently under review by the County for a development less than a mile from this site, off of Stone Spring Road, for 54,270 SF of self storage in three buildings...  download the proposed site plan here So, there must either be an extreme need for self storage right now -- or we are potentially going to see a significant excess of available storage if both of these developments are built out. | |
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Ryan Homes May Be Starting To Help Some Housing Inventory Issues In Rockingham County |
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 Ryan Homes, a regional builder currently building homes in 15 different states including Virginia now has two communities underway in Rockingham County and likely will be bringing more on board in the future. SOUTH PEAK is a community of single level, three bedroom (1343 - 1527 SF) duplexes in McGaheysville with current pricing seeming to be mostly between $275K and $350K. While it appears that this will be a community of 72 duplex, thus far, 35 homes have sold, 2 are under contract and one is listed for sale, at least per the MLS. SHADY CREEK is a community of three and four bedroom (1296 - 1903 SF) single family homes (so far, though I believe attached dwellings are to come) in Grottoes with current pricing seeming to be mostly between $270K and $325K. Thus far, 17 homes are under contract and 4 are listed for sale, at least per the MLS. We are definitely having some inventory issues in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County -- with more buyers wanting to buy than there are sellers willing to sell. New home construction at scale can help to address this unmet buyer demand. Thus far, these communities by Ryan Homes are only hitting two segments of our local market but I believe we will see more communities to come that will likely create inventory in other areas and price ranges in our local market. | |
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How Do YOU Think Downtown Harrisonburg Should Look in 2040? |
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 The City of Harrisonburg and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR) have launched Harrisonburg Downtown 2040, a community-driven plan for our beloved Downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia. Above is a snapshot from the collaborative map that the community is building showing... Special Places (stars) - important places in Downtown and stories about why these places matter Ideas (light bulbs) - ideas for improving Downtown including places to be change or preserve, things that are missing from Downtown, etc. Problems (cones) - problems or concerns to be fixed View (and contribute to) the collaborative map here. Read more about the Downtown 2040 project here. | |
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You Can Buy A New Single Family Home Under $300K, Or Even Under $250K |
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 With home prices rising so much over the past few years if you just took a cursory look at the market you might think your only option for a new home under $250K is a townhouse. That's not actually true. In the past year, (20) new single family (detached) homes sold under $250K in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County for less than $250K. Hard to believe isn't it? See them all here. If we expanded that to homes under $300K, we'll find 36 sales! Not interested in what sold over an entire year? Curious about what is currently on the market? There are 40 new homes under $300K that are currently on the market and under contract and 7 new homes currently for sale under $300K. Many of the new homes under $250K are currently found in Brentwood subdivision where a new section just opened up. Many of the new homes between $250K and $300K are in Shady Creek, in Grottoes, where Ryan Homes just started building homes. Now, it should also be noted that some buyers might look at the new homes available under $250K or under $300K and say...
...all of which are valid conclusions -- but just because some buyers won't choose to buy these new homes under $250K or under $300K based on their style, size or location that doesn't mean that they aren't being built -- or that it is not possible to build them. Also, circling back to the beginning -- it is certainly true that you can spend over $250K on a new townhouse -- with the two current obvious examples being Congers Creek and Crescent Ridge. | |
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337 Homes To Be Built On Pleasant Valley Road |
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 A new neighborhood is coming to Pleasant Valley Road, across the street from The Springs at Osceola. Way back in 2009, this land was rezoned as a part of the 282.86 acres of land that was to be developed as The Springs at Osceola. Now, however, the developer plans to develop the 71.502 acres on the west side of Pleasant Valley Road as a separate neighborhood, Wingate Meadows subdivision. Wingate Meadows would consist of 337 homes, including...
County staff recommended approving this rezoning on January 28, 2021. The Planning Commission recommended approving this rezoning on February 2, 2021. The Board of Supervisors approved the subdivision on February 24, 2021. You can download the rezoning packet here, and this is the proposed layout...  view a larger version here | |
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Site Plan and Renderings For Boyers Crossing, Proposed Mixed Use Development |
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A developer is proposing that Rockingham County rezone a 5.69 acre parcel at the corner of Port Republic Road and Boyers Road for...
The developer has now published renderings of the proposed development which can be found on their website.  Some additional details are now available from the proposed development's website...
This is a proposed mixed use development, and you can read more about the mixed use developments that do and do not already exist locally here. Feedback about this potential rezoning can be sent to... | |
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Mixed Use Developments in Rockingham County, Looking Around and Looking Forward |
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 Given all of the developments popping up along Boyers Road it is probably a good time to pause and remember that this (Boyers Road) is one of the main areas where Rockingham County anticipates seeing further development in the years (and decades) to come per the Stone Spring Urban Development Plan. The Stone Spring UDA provides a blueprint for the potential development based on a traditional town pattern in four geographic areas that they have called Stone Port, Stone Ridge, Boyers Crossing and Crossroads. Here's the big picture, per Rockingham County... "The UDA Plan presents a vision for the development of new, walkable mixed-use neighborhoods, within the four neighborhood focus areas while preserving existing neighborhoods." "Plans and development scenarios are conceptual and would be phased over the ensuing 20 years, contemplating future generations of development and adaptive reuses of certain parcels over that period. Recommended conceptual alignments, structures and functional uses do not account for parcel boundaries or topographic constraints." One main thing to note here is that the County has a vision of these four areas being developed as mixed use developments. We can think about this most simply as residential and non-residential uses. Non-residential uses might be office space or retail, etc. This type of development (mixed use) will look and feel different than most of the areas that folks are familiar with in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County because there are not many mixed use developments currently in existence in our area. A few examples and non-examples... Crossroads Farm could sort of be seen as almost being a mixed use development in that a bank was built at the corner of the neighborhood where Cross Keys Road and Spotswood Trail intersect. That's probably a bit of a stretch though, as these two areas (residential neighborhood, bank) do not connect for vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Urban Exchange is a mixed use development in downtown Harrisonburg (yes, in the City, not the County) because it has apartments over top of retail and office space, though it is all in one connected building, as opposed to a mixed use development in multiple buildings spread out over a tract of land. Preston Lake was always intended to be a mixed use development with commercial space on the edge of the original development plan, and as a part of the current development plan, but it's only a residential development thus far with detached homes, duplexes, townhomes and now an adjacent apartment complex under construction. Again, all residential development - though there is still a possibility it will have some non-residential development as a part of it at some point in the future. Stone Port, located catty-corner to Sentara RMH Medical Center would seem to be one of our area's first mixed-use development, because it has residential uses (apartments) and non-residential uses (retail, office, etc.) Stoney Ridge is a proposed/planned mixed use development on the south end of Harrisonburg and partially in the County. It would almost entirely be residential development (apartments, townhouses, duplexes, detached homes) but does have some intended commercial lots on the front of the property. Boyers Crossing is a proposed mixed use development on the corner of Boyers Road and Port Republic Road including apartments, commercial space and storage units. More on this in the coming days. Am I missing any current or proposed mixed use developments? If so, email me. I suspect we will continue to see further proposals for mixed use developments in the four areas in the County referenced above. Perhaps as further mixed use developments take shape we will become more accustomed to them and more comfortable with them in this marketplace. | |
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72 Apartments In Six Buildings Proposed in the City of Harrisonburg Adjacent To Planned Mixed Use Development In Rockingham County |
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 A new development, Stoney Ridge, is continuing to take shape near the DMV on Route 11 south in Harrisonburg, The majority of the development would exist in the County but a portion of the development land is in the City. The County portion of the development would include...
The City portion of the development would include...
A few downloads of interest... Harrisonburg City Council will consider the developer's request for the rezoning of the City portion of the development land at their meeting tonight. Planning Commission recommends approving this rezoning. City Council will also be considering a rezoning to allow for 142 apartments proposed for the intersection of Blue Ridge Drive and Country Club Road. Planning Commission recommends denying this rezoning. Update 2/11/2021: Per the 2/11/2021 Daily News Record, City Council approved this rezoning request. | |
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Why Is Unmet Home Buyer Demand So High In Harrisonburg? |
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 Earlier this week I was chatting with some friends and clients who relocated out of Harrisonburg (out of state) nearly a decade ago. They are now looking to move back to Harrisonburg and are accurately observing that our local housing market is at a drastically different point now than it was a decade (+/-) ago when they left. The most pressing issue at hand for them, as soon-to-be buyers in this market, is the extraordinary high level of unmet home buyer demand. And so we pondered aloud why in the world buyer demand is so high in Harrisonburg. Here's my overly condensed thesis...
Put differently, with some make believe numbers, to illustrate the point... 2010 = population of 50,000 2020 = population of 55,000 Increased population = 5,000 5000 newly built housing options between 2010 and 2020:
The problem, then, is that many more than 500 (10%) of the new population want to buy single family detached homes -- but that is not what has been built over the past decade. Further exacerbating the problem is that plenty of the already existing 50,000 population also wants to move up to a single family detached home, putting more and more pressure on that segment of the market. So - the population is increasing and housing options are increasing, but the housing that is being created is not matching what the expanding population desires. Why!? Basically, it's all about profitability as a developer. For all the ways to develop a 10 acre parcel of land, this is a rough approximation of the ranking of their potential profitability...
At this point, most land being developed is not being developed for single family homes because that is not the most profitable way to develop the land. So long as student housing keeps being rented as soon as it is built, and non-student apartments keep being rented as soon as they are built, and townhouses keep being rented as soon as they are built, and townhouses for sale keep being bought before they are built -- it remains relatively unlikely that land in or close to Harrisonburg will be developed for single family homes. I am now accepting recommendations for more cheery perspectives to write about next week. Call. Text. Email. Help! ;-) | |
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All Of The Developments On Boyers Road |
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 Have you heard about that new development on Boyers Road? There are quite a few of them!
Those are all of the major developments I'm aware of along Boyers Road - but who knows what else is to come along this increasingly busy corridor! | |
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Rockingham County Completed (in August 2020) Purchase of 28.878 Acres for Stormwater Management |
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 (view a larger image here) I'm late to the party. Thankfully, someone asked if this land transfer had happened, and when I looked, I was surprised to find that it had taken place! As I have mentioned before, Rockingham County had been considering the purchase of approximately 27 Acres between Barrington and Lakewood for stormwater management purposes. This was the lay of the land back in July 2020...
I'll work on getting an update on any potential plans for a layout for use of the land. But in the meantime, I'll point out that the sale of the land has been completed. The "Lake Shenandoah Stormwater Control Authority" purchased 28.878 acres as shown above back in August 2020 for $1,850,000. I'll save you the math and let you know that it sold for approximately $64K per acre. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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