Government
| Newer Posts | Older Posts |
 |
 |
Harrisonburg City Council approves Hotel and Conference Center deal between City, JMU and private developer |
|
 City Council approved a deal for the City of Harrisonburg to enter into a partnership with JMU, the JMU Foundation and a private developer to construct a hotel and conference center A few items to note, from today's Daily News Record article.... "The plans call for a 205-room hotel, to be dubbed Hotel Madison, and a connected conference center to be built on university-owned land bounded by South Main, Mason and Grace streets, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.As such, my understanding is that the City isn't really "funding" this development.
From a taxpayer's perspective, is this good or bad? I think it depends on what you believe would happen with the land if the deal did not come together. If the property is not developed, then there wouldn't be any tax revenue that the City is "missing out on" by giving those tax revenues to the JMU Foundation. Many of those in support of this deal (which has now been approved) believe that the hotel and conference center will generate other economic activity for Harrisonburg, and thus it is good thing that this deal is happening. I tend to agree -- it's hard to imagine people coming in to stay at a hotel to attend a conference and not spending any other money in the City. Many of those opposed to this deal (which has now been approved) seem to believe that the City is using taxpayer dollars to pay for this project. Technically, this is true, as future tax revenues generated by the project will be essentially retroactively applied to the cost of the project. But as explained above, those tax revenues would not have been there without the complex being built in the first place. Read the full Daily News Record article here. Here's a brief history of this project....
| |
 |
 |
|
|
Public Hearing for downtown Hotel and Conference Center |
|
 A public hearing has been set for October 14th at 7pm at which time details for the proposed Hotel Conference Center will be presented to Harrisonburg City Council and the general public. WHEN: Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00pm WHERE: Harrisonburg City Council Chambers Further details (Oct 8 update) include....
Here's a brief history of this project....
high resolution versions of the renderings displayed above | |
|
|
|
|
Monitor progress on the new City Hall for Harrisonburg |
|
 You can monitor progress on Harrisonburg's New City Hall (rendering above) online -- including viewing up to date construction photos. Click here to view the project updates. This project is scheduled to be complete in Fall 2015. An update as of September 16th follows....
| |
|
|
|
|
Bridgewater College purchasing Crimson Inn |
|
 Bridgewater College is purchasing the Crimson Inn, located on Main Street in Bridgewater - to use as occasional overflow housing. They are not planning to house students at the Crimson Inn this semester. Read all of the details in today's Daily News Record article. | |
|
|
|
|
Site of new Grocery Store on Mt Clinton Pike |
|
 click here for a larger image The rezoning was approved for a new grocery store at the corner of North Main Street and Mt. Clinton Pike. The image below shows the intended layout of the site.  From the July 9, 2014 Daily News Record article.... City Council unanimously approved a rezoning request Tuesday night that paves the way for a grocery store to be built at Mount Clinton Pike and North Main Street, perhaps by next spring. | |
|
|
|
|
Homes removed (and moved) for Reservoir Street expansion |
|
 Be sure to check out the levitating house on Reservoir Street. As of a few days ago, this house (shown above) was hovering a few feet above the ground -- presumably being moved away from Reservoir Street to make room for the road expansion. Many homes along Reservoir Street had been removed entirely to make room for the wider road -- but this one is apparently being (slightly) relocated. Details about the Resevoir Street expansion can be found here. | |
|
|
|
|
JMU proposes to permanently close (to vehicles) sections of Mason Street, Grace Street |
|
 click here for a much more interesting larger version of this image JMU is hoping to close a section of Mason Street and Grace Street internal to land that they now own on both sides of each street to make the area more pedestrian and bike friendly. Read lots of details in this article from yesterday's Daily News Record. | |
|
|
|
|
Are You Interested in Downtown Streetscape Improvements? |
|
 Are you interested in downtown streetscape improvements? The City has scheduled a pre-construction public information meeting next week. Read more via the Daily News Record or the City website, or review the Downtown Streetscape Plan. | |
|
|
|
|
Will Hotel Madison ever be built in Harrisonburg? |
|
 If Hotel Madison is built in the location shown above, it is likely to be without any financial support from the City of Harrisonburg. A private developer, JMU and the City of Harrisonburg have been negotiating for months on details of a potential partnership between the three entities to build a hotel and conference center on the site shown above -- but that deal has now apparently fallen apart. The developer was asking for $10 million towards the conference center construction, which would be a part of the overall $40 million cost of the entire project. Per today's Daily News Record article, after nearly every detail was in place, the City made a few changes to the draft memorandum of understanding, and the JMU Foundation could not agree to those changes. The developer indicates that the project will not be able to move forward without the now unlikely private-public partnership. Read more in today's Daily News Record article, or catch up on how this all played out....
| |
|
|
|
|
Sentara to open Primary Care Facility in Bridgewater? |
|
 Sentara may soon open a primary care facility in Bridgewater, and they have an option to purchase an 8 acre parcel of land owned by the Town of Bridgewater located on Dinkel Avenue as shown above. Town Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the potential sale at its regular meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p. m. at 201 Green St. Read all the details in the Daily News Record article. | |
|
|
|
|
Understanding the 2015 City of Harrisonburg Budget |
|
 Are you curious about how the City of Harrisonburg spends their money -- and where it comes from in the first place? Check out this very helpful illustration on Old South High -- graphic by Elwood Madison, commentary by Old South High. | |
|
|
|
|
9.5% Increase In City Real Estate Tax Rate? |
|
 The City of Harrisonburg may increase its tax rate from $0.63 (per $100 of assessed value) to $0.69. This would be a 9.5% increase in real estate taxes for property owners in the City of Harrisonburg. This would still leave us with a very low tax rate compared to many other areas around Virginia:
As noted in today's in depth article in the Daily News Record: Under the fiscal 2015 proposal to raise the rate 6 cents, the owner of a city home valued at $ 150,000 will pay $ 1,035 in real estate taxes, compared to $ 945 now. A house valued at $ 200,000 will be taxed at $ 1,380 next year, according to the draft. That owner pays $ 1,260 now.Read the DNR article here, and view the proposed City budget here. | |
|
|
|
|
No change proposed for real estate tax rates in Rockingham County |
|
 Per the proposed budget published in the Daily News Record on 04/14/2014, Rockingham County is not proposing an increase in the real estate tax rate. If the budget is approved as proposed, the tax rate would remain at $0.64 per $100 of assessed value. Click here to view the entire proposed budget. | |
|
|
|
|
Rezoning Approved for 8 Acre Commercial Development on Port Republic Road |
|
 As suspected a few years ago, the location of the new hospital (now Sentara RMH Medical Center) did indeed bring with it plenty of additional commercial (and residential) development in its immediate vicinity. Earlier this week, the Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning request for "Coffman's Corner" -- a new commercial development intended to be developed at the intersection of Stone Spring Road and Port Republic Road, and with frontage on Ridgedale Road. It is a small, and somewhat irregularly shaped piece of land, so much so that it won't have a VDOT road system -- it will have private roads, maintained by a Property Owners Association. County staff approved this rezoning in February 2014, and the Planning Commission on March 4, 2014. This property is across the street (more or less) from The Reserve at Stoneport, an upscale apartment complex currently being constructed. Per the developer's narrative....
Board OKs Land For Development (Daily News Record, March 28, 2014) Details from the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors Agenda Packet | |
|
|
|
|
Ice House in Downtown Harrisonburg to feature brewery, jewelry manufacturing facility |
|
 Construction is under way on the Ice House in downtown Harrisonburg, to feature apartments, office space, and more. Earlier this week, City Council approved two special use permits for the Ice House earlier this week, one for a jewelry manufacturing business (6000 SF, to include retail and showroom space), and the second for a brewery (9000 SF, to include a tasting room and bottling distribution section). Read more about it in the March 13, 2014 Daily News Record article. | |
|
|
|
|
Grace Street Project Community Design Charrette |
|
 Are you interested helping to re-imagine what Grace Street might look like in an ideal context? Join stakeholders from the community (residents, government, leaders, etc.) alongside JMU students, staff and faculty for the Grace Street Project Community Design Charrette. Grace Street Project Community Design Charrette Saturday, March 22, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Icehouse 2nd Floor Collaborative Space 217 S. Liberty Street, Harrisonburg, VA You will be joining JMU's Systems Design & Placemaking Course and facilitator Lindsay Kinkade (Design RePublic) throughout the day in sharing ideas, telling stories, collaborating and having fun! Learn about the past, present and future of Grace Street. Brainstorm develop and rapid prototype design ideas. Plus, a musical interlude and a chalk street stencil workshop! Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For Information or to RSVP contact Audrey Barnes (barnesal@jmu.edu) or Elise Barrella (barrelem@jmu.edu). | |
|
|
|
|
The Village at Chicago Park approved for development |
|
 Earlier this month, City Council approved a proposed project on Chicago Avenue that will include 15 residences --- 9 single family homes and six duplexes.  Per the developers narrative provided to the Planning Commission.... The Village at Chicago Park intent is for environmentally friendly, relatively small mixed residential development with single-story and two-story homes with footprints from 1,500 sq-ft to 2,100 sq-ft under roof.  Click here to review all of the details from the developer's presentation to the Planning Commission. | |
|
|
|
|
Harrisonburg Downtown Streetscape Plan |
|
 Have you checked out Harrisonburg's Downtown Streetscape Plan? With the rapid growth and unique challenges in our downtown area, the need for a comprehensive planning document for public infrastructure has arisen. To meet this need, city staff, along with a committee of key stakeholders, have been working to update the Downtown Streetscape Plan. This plan will build upon the 2005 Downtown Streetscape Plan by expanding the study area and covering additional elements that are necessary to clarify the vision for downtown.There is a 36 MB, 89-page PDF here that has lots of exciting details about the Downtown Streetscape Plan. Happy reading, and I'll draw out a few highlights in coming weeks. | |
|
|
|
|
Understanding Real Estate Assessments |
|
As recently published in the Shenandoah Valley Business Journal.... It's that time of year again, when homeowners (at least in the City of Harrisonburg) are receiving notices of the reassessment of their property. As you strive to understand the new (or current) assessment of your property, let's have a brief refresher course on real estate assessments. First, many people (erroneously) believe that the assessment of their property is an indication of their home's value. In actuality, the assessed value of a property is the value assigned to the property by the local assessor's office, for the purpose of determining how much you will pay in taxes. Certainly, the assessed value is intended to be the precise value of your home – but it is quite possible that there is a disparity in this assessed value and market value. The market value of your home is the price at which it would sell in the current market. Sales Prices vs. Assessed Values in the City of Harrisonburg  To better understand how assessed values relate to market value, I checked on the 2014 assessed value for each of the 328 properties that sold between January 1, 2013 and November 30, 2013. What I discovered, is that properties in the City of Harrisonburg sold, on average, for 97% of their assessed value. Looking a bit deeper, just over a third of City properties (39%) sold within 5% of their assessed value – the remaining 61% had a sales price that was more than 5% higher or lower than the assessed value. Sales Prices vs. Assessed Values in Rockingham County  Performing the same analysis in Rockingham County, we discover that County properties are selling for slightly more than their assessed value (average of 106%) as compared to City properties that are selling for a bit less than their assessed value (average of 97%). Given the great variation in assessed values and market values, homeowners should not rely on their tax assessment for an understanding of their property's value. Furthermore, home buyers should not rely on assessed values to guide them in understanding the market value of a home that they might purchase. Both buyers and sellers should strive to understand the market value of a particular piece of real estate my analyzing similar homes that have recently sold and those currently on the market in a given neighborhood or price point. The relationship between assessed values and sales prices varies based on the price, size, age and location of the home. For a more thorough analysis of the topic, visit HarrisonburgAssessments.com. | |
|
|
|
|
Update on Hotel Madison |
|
 A 205-room hotel and 21,000 SF conference center might be built on South Main Street between Grace Street and Cantrell Avenue through a public-private partnership. This $40 million project could result in over $1 million in tax revenues for the City during its first year of operations per a feasibility study recently provided to the City. The City of Harrisonburg is being asked to pay for $10 million of the project, which would cover the cost of the conference center. The developer would build the hotel and conference center on JMU-owned land in the location described and shown above. As a side note, this is being described as a downtown hotel and conference center --- though the corner of Cantrell Avenue and South Main Street doesn't quite seem downtown to me --- or to the creators of the downtown maps. Read more about this project....
| |
|
|
| Newer Posts | Older Posts |
Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Home Search
Housing Market Report
Harrisonburg Townhouses
Walk Through This Home
Investment Properties
Harrisonburg Foreclosures
Property Transfers
New Listings
