Candle Factory Plans, Privatizing Park on JCC Agenda

Candle Factory Plans, Privatizing Park on JCC Agenda

By Desiree Parker Saturday, May 22, 2010

James City County supervisors have another busy agenda for their meeting Tuesday, including discussions on two separate developments at the current Candle Factory location, a new gas station on Centerville Road, and a lease agreement for Little Creek Park.

Two neighboring parcels of land where the Candle Factory is located in Norge are planned for developments by different developers.

Candle Development, LLC is looking to rezone 64 acres behind where the current Candle Factory shops sit along Route 60 in order to allow for a mixed use development that would have about 175 residential units, 30,000 square feet of commercial and office space, and a 90,000-square-foot assisted living facility. The plan first came on the books in 2007, and had some issues to address after the first visit to the planning commission. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning.

Supervisors discussed this proposal at their April meeting, but agreed to defer a decision until they could examine both developments together. At their previous meeting, supervisors had concerns about changes made in the original proffers since the approval by the planning commission, whether the creation of an assisted living facility would be assured, and the amount and price of workforce and affordable housing in the development.

The other development planned for the Candle Factory would include a CVS pharmacy and a Food Lion. The developer, KTP Development LLC, has had the project in the works since 2006, and has put the plan on hold several times. The planning commission unanimously approved the application on April 7, and supervisors asked to see the two plans on the same date in order to evaluate how well they would mesh.

At their meeting Tuesday supervisors will also open a public hearing on leasing Little Creek Park to a management company. A request for proposal was issued and a committee chose Headhunters Headquarters, a local business, to operate and manage the park. This will save the county $46,000 in 2011. Normal park operations will still be offered to residents.

View the agenda for the meeting and related documents on the county website. The meeting will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. in building F of the county Government complex on Mounts Bay Road.

Other business
Supervisors will also hold a public hearing on a cell tower planned for Ingram Road, near Five Forks at Route 5. Based on balloon tests, the tower would be highly visible from several areas nearby. The planning commission voted 5-2 recommending denial of the application.

Supervisors will hold a public hearing on extending the Cox Cable franchise until December 31.

Comments

+1 #14 Guest 2010-05-24 12:15

I live in the upper County and I'm tired of Farm fresh pharmacy. The lines at the Farm fresh pharmacy are always really long and I would welcome a CVS in Norge. It seems a lot more thought needs to go into this development. Why a Food Lion? We don't need another supermarket. Haven't people noticed the abandoned Ukrops on Mooretown Road? We have too many already. What would be much more fitting would be some kind of year-round Farmer's market or perhaps an upscale market, something different from what we already have. I also don't want to see the Amish store in the candle factory close. It's unique and we go there all the time. How about protecting the businesses that we want to keep? What's being done about that in this project?
As for the property behind the Candle Factory and church, I don't think it's zoned for residential. Why is it the supervisors are under the impression, and seemed to have been for 20 years, that rezoning is a right. Rezoning should be the exception not the rule. When people buy a home they should be more or less certain the surroundings will remain zoned as they are.

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-1 #13 Guest 2010-05-24 06:14

I agree that 30 minute driver is probably one of the unscrupulous builders who keeps building these empty buildings. They trick the county supervisors into letting them build, they get their $$$, and then they leave the vacant storefronts to rot in our neighborhoods.

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-1 #12 Guest 2010-05-23 22:37

30-minute-drive person seems to be in la-la land. All these empty stores are going to be filled up "one day?" Hello, but there are more and more each month. Empty stores are increasing not filling up slowly.

Also, every private landowner knows they can't just do whatever they want with their land. They always must abide by public input and/or regs of some sort.

30-minute-drive person seems to not understand the reality of much of anything. Or as I suspect they may be one of these vampire developers themselves!!

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+2 #11 Guest 2010-05-23 15:47

Quoting Norge Defender:

30 minute drive - You have misunderstood and are incorrect. Trader Joe's itself does a good business, but the overall shopping center it resides in is most absolutely a barren wasteland. Roads that go nowhere - complete with rows of streetlamps that light nothing - demonstrate the abject failure of that shopping center. Bizarre and misguided, this type of "change" is certainly not something we need in Norge.

High Street, New Town, and other centers are also awash in abandoned empty storefronts. The blight is all over JCC. You are an advocate of this?!?!

Those of us who see this most obvious phenomenon have eyes wide open and see clearly. Join us!

Trader Joes is busy, just like all the stores next to it, and people are coming to Newtown, just look at all the nonbuying teenagers, but that can be fixed.

The area next to TJ's and the Bread Factory will be built because they are in a prime location. Did you fight against the I99 extension? That is the cause of the development. I absolutely love the rural beauty of this area, and do not want to change it. But it is changing. Those lots are empty for a reason, but will be filled. The mismanagement of the builder caused this, nothing else. I don't see how anybody in this free country can tell another what to do with the land they already own.

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0 #10 Guest 2010-05-23 14:12

drive through Denbigh and you'll see shades of the future: advance pay, rent-to-own, adult stores, store-front churches, thrift shops, and vacancies, vacancies, vacancies!

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+2 #9 Guest 2010-05-23 09:21

Does anyone understand zoning? I mean, do you ever look at zoning areas in the county? Many of the areas mentioned have had commercial zoning designations for years. The Candle factory site is what is encouraged in the county, re-development of existing site (aged) with new site design. This is in essence urban re-newal. The old candle factory buildings are in dire need of removal or re-newal. In regards to the Stonehouse area, no such market is going in there. The project, Moss Creek was approved years ago and fits with the master planning of the Stonehouse Community Development Plan.

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+1 #8 Guest 2010-05-23 08:47

I don't want to see this, either - I was just telling a client yesterday about the cool old house with the artsy shops that used to be there when I was young. But it's their land. We need to organize and buy these tracts if we want to preserve them - not the county but private citizens united. Even if a piece of it would have to be developed to pay for it, we could preserve or at least guide the development of the rest.

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+2 #7 Guest 2010-05-23 08:13

30 minute drive - You have misunderstood and are incorrect. Trader Joe's itself does a good business, but the overall shopping center it resides in is most absolutely a barren wasteland. Roads that go nowhere - complete with rows of streetlamps that light nothing - demonstrate the abject failure of that shopping center. Bizarre and misguided, this type of "change" is certainly not something we need in Norge.

High Street, New Town, and other centers are also awash in abandoned empty storefronts. The blight is all over JCC. You are an advocate of this?!?!

Those of us who see this most obvious phenomenon have eyes wide open and see clearly. Join us!

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+3 #6 Guest 2010-05-23 07:54

Quoting 30 minute drive:

Barron Trader Joes??? That place is always busy.

The poster you quoted was not referring to TJs, itself, but the area beyond it. Have you not noticed the huge cleared area with lots of roads that lead nowhere? Or the fact that TJs is the only business in the retail building it is part of? Lots of "For Lease" signs there...

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0 #5 Guest 2010-05-22 19:23

Quoting Norge Defender:

Having wrecked the middle county with the likes of New Town and the barren Trader-Joe's wasteland, the JCC Supes are now destroying the rural beauty of Toano & Norge. They may as well be working for BP.

Barron Trader Joes??? That place is always busy. Your head must be lost in the rural beauty already buried (and not enjoyed) behind the candle factory. If you want to keep it as a rural beauty, buy it, then you can do whatever you want. :-x

This area is a changing, like it or not.

We need a CVS, but a Food Lion?? That must be why Farm Fresh improved their customer service.

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