Planners OK design change for The Crossings

 

A movie theater and an “upscale” grocery store are among the prospects developer Jerry Bowman is courting for the commercial phase of The Crossings.

The development’s residential phase, which will include up to 240 condominium units, broke ground last year at the intersection of Carrollton and Brewer’s Neck boulevards. But Bowman’s plans for its commercial phase, he argues, are contingent on Isle of Wight County allowing him to scrap the circa-2002 plans for a shopping center and instead subdivide the land into multiple smaller commercial sites.

Isle of Wight’s Planning Commission is on board, having voted unanimously at its March 22 meeting to approve Bowman’s proposed design change. The matter will head to Isle of Wight’s Board of Supervisors in April for a final decision.

“What we’re seeing today is a lot of retailers want to own their own property,” Bowman told the commissioners.

Shopping centers, by comparison, are typically owned by a single entity and lease space to renters.

The Crossings’ developers had presented a revised conceptual plan to the county in February showing a smaller shopping center and parking lot — and four detached buildings, each with its own parking lot. But Bowman isn’t bound to that particular layout, according to Amy Ring, the county’s director of community development.

Under the requested changes, the density of the commercial phase would still total no more than 202,100 square feet — the same as originally approved for the shopping center. But a letter from the Virginia Department of Transportation warns traffic generated by the development could potentially increase from what was previously forecasted if the detached buildings are changed from retail to higher-intensity uses. According to Ring, the developer isn’t required to perform a traffic impact analysis since the density isn’t changing.

The grocery store, Bowman said, would total 46,000 to 48,000 square feet. He declined to specify the name of the store, citing a nondisclosure agreement, but said it would be a large national grocery chain.

He’s also in discussions with an arts-and-crafts store and a dollar store.

There also may be a market for “a nice office building,” he said.

The commercial phase will be buffered by several parcels along Carrollton Boulevard. According to Ring, the county has received three applications to date: one for a Royal Farms, one for a Hardee’s and one for a medical office building.