FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The city’s Planning Commission will hold a public hearing tonight on a proposal to convert the old Medical Arts Building on Fall Hill Avenue into 30 apartments, part of a wave of redevelopment around the former Mary Washington Hospital campus.
The applicant, Medical Arts Building FXBG LLC, is seeking a special use permit to allow higher residential density at 2301 Fall Hill Avenue. The three-story office building, constructed in 1956, was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure in the Fall Hill Avenue Medical Historic District.
Details of the project
Plans call for 29 one-bedroom units of 600 square feet or less, as well as one two-bedroom unit. The site is just over half an acre and is currently zoned Creative Maker (CM). While the zoning district allows eight dwelling units per acre by right, the developer is asking for a density of nearly 30 units per acre. A provision in the city’s Unified Development Ordinance allows smaller apartments to be counted as half units for density purposes.
City planning staff stated that the project aligns with the goals of the comprehensive plan and the Area 6 Small Area Plan, which prioritizes the adaptive reuse of underutilized medical buildings along Fall Hill Avenue. “The proposed adaptive reuse … represents a significant step in transforming this corridor into the vibrant, walkable, mixed-use district envisioned by the City,” staff wrote in its report, recommending approval.
Traffic, parking, and impacts
A traffic study found the apartments would generate significantly fewer trips than the building’s prior use as a medical office — about 163 daily trips compared to 731 previously. Parking would be reconfigured, with 27 off-street spaces and about six new on-street spaces, for a total of 33.
Staff said the project is unlikely to create noise or light impacts and would not significantly affect schools, since most units are one-bedrooms. The assessed value of the property is projected to rise from $600,000 to $6.5 million, which would boost city tax revenue by nearly 975 percent.
Part of a larger corridor shift
The proposal is part of a broader redevelopment effort near the former Mary Washington Hospital campus, which relocated in 1995. Other nearby projects include the Mary’s Landing townhomes on Elm and Germania streets, as well as discussions about reusing the old hospital site at 2300 Fall Hill Avenue.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to make a recommendation to the City Council tonight. If approved, Council would take up the special use permit at a future meeting. Under state law, the commission must act within 100 days, giving it until late November to finalize a decision.
