WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Drivers crossing south into Woodbridge from Fairfax County on U.S. 1 could soon be greeted by a new apartment development on the Occoquan River.
A plan to build 720 apartment homes along the banks of the Occoquan River next to a concrete plant is set to be heard Wednesday night at a meeting of the Prince William County Planning Commission. The development is called Rivergate and, if approved, will consist two buildings five to six stories tall, on about 14 acres of property accessible by Annapolis Way in Woodbridge.
This Rivergate plan is a scaled-back version that dates back at least 10 years which called for three high-rise buildings with three levels of parking. Earlier this year during a meeting of the Woodbridge Potomac Communities Civic Association, the developer of the project, Arlington-based Rivergate Holdings, said the homes will attract younger Millennials who would rather not purchase a larger single-family home. The developer also said they would build this project off earlier successes of projects the company developer in Arlington.
The proposed project lies within the North Woodbridge corridor, the area of U.S. 1 and Va. 123 (Gordon Boulevard) has a master redevelopment plan. The hope is, according to officials, high-rise buildings and mixed-use, transit-oriented development will someday replace the series of strip malls that line the streets. While this version of Rivergate is not as tall as originally envisioned, those who review development proposals inside Prince William County’s government offices say that, overall, this plan works and have marked recommended it for approval.
If the Planning Commission approves the project Wednesday, it will then head to the Board of Supervisors where it will ultimately be approved or denied.
And while new development in a blighted section of Woodbridge might seem like a sure thing, a statement from Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi on Monday night pointed out some of the drawbacks of the plan:
“As a County, we need to make sure our infrastructure keeps pace with development. In the Woodbridge District, we have an influx of new apartment buildings, but the proffers offered by developers have not mitigated the effects of the additional children added to our classrooms or the traffic congestion on our roads. The revised Rivergate development proposed for North Woodbridge gives us more of the same. It will add another 720 residential apartments to our inventory and will put additional children in our already crowded classrooms.”
Most concerning is the situation at Belmont Elementary School where, according to county documents, classrooms are already over capacity. At Freedom High School and Fred M. Lynn Middle School, the other public schools that will receive students who would live at Rivergate, conditions are nearing capacity.
By the time Rivergate is built, the latter schools are expected to have exceeded their capacity.
Principi stated:
“Elementary classes in Prince William have climbed to an average of 23 students and secondary school classes topped 30 students, making them the largest in Virginia and in the Washington region. This is not fair to our students or our teachers. It is estimated that Belmont Elementary School, Fred Lynn Middle School and Freedom High School will be over capacity by the time this development is completed. The amount proffered by the developer for the school system is based on proffer guidelines written a decade ago, meaning nearly $5.7 million less for the public school system than we would expect from a similar development project proposed under today’s guidelines.”
Another drawback is the available fire and rescue services in the area. Crews at the closest fire stations are already overworked, according to county documents.
The Planning Commission will meet at the Prince William County Government Center’s McCoart Building at 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge at 6 p.m. for a work session. The regular meeting is scheduled to begin the Pledge of Allegiance at 7 p.m.
Rivergate is one of several new apartment complexes being built in Woodbridge.
