Colonial
Beach's growth spurt
April 7, 2006 12:50 am
By RICHARD AMRHINE
AS HE WALKS along Irving Avenue in Colonial Beach
from the new coffee shop to his condominium construction
project, Steve Bassett watches as the operator of a
front-end loader drops its large shovel through the
porch roof of an older, yellow house nearby.
"That was my house," said Bassett. "Yeah,
that one."
The situation instantly crystallizes what is happening
in Colonial Beach: out with the old; in with the new.
These days, the once-sleepy Potomac River town is seeing
a surge in new development as never before.
To Bassett, the growth results from a confluence of
circumstances. After Hurricane Isabel damaged the town
in 2003, people saw an opportunity to give Colonial
Beach a fresh start. At the same time, baby boomers
are reaching their financial peaks and and contemplating
retirement opportunities. And with Colonial Beach offering
waterfront property within easy reach of the Washington-Richmond
corridor, it answers the post-Sept. 11 desire for second
homes not so far away.
To Chuck Bird, the town's director of building and
zoning, the growth, for whatever reason, is explosive
by Colonial Beach standards.
"Five years ago we might have had five new homes.
Last year we approved 141 new homes," he said--almost
all of them infill, and almost all of them allowed
by right under existing zoning. That includes Bassett's
condos.
"That sort of development is going to have an
impact on what the character of this town has always
been. We used to be one of Virginia's best-kept secrets.
Not anymore."
Few would disagree. From the center of town to its
outer edges and beyond into Westmoreland County, the
growth is unprecedented.
Bird predicts that this year he'll see the first 60
to 100 building permit requests for Potomac Crossing.
Approved two years ago by the Town Council, the 512-acre
project by national builder Ryan Homes will include
913 housing units surrounding a golf course.
The town will also feel the effects of development
just outside its borders. Bird said developer Richard
Ward has proposed a 600-home development nearby in
Westmoreland County.
"There has been lots of speculation about the
town's future," Bird said, which is reflected
in the calls he's been receiving from entrepreneurs
looking at Colonial Beach for relocation or expansion.
Bird said the growth is prompting the town to review
its zoning ordinance and its comprehensive plan to
put them in sync with one another and to make sure
the town's best interests are addressed. He also noted
that an environmental downside of the new development
is the increased stormwater runoff that's created.
Under the Chesapeake Bay Act, that's something the
town must also deal with to avoid further polluting
the Potomac.
Real-estate values rising
Given the increasing business and development activity
around town, Bassett was confident that there would
be a demand for his condominium project, which he calls
Potomac Renaissance.
"We are seeing new businesses come in here. We're
seeing more affluent people, second-homers, and young
couples just trying to get in the game," said
Bassett.
Multifamily housing on the scale of Bassett's project
is something new in Colonial Beach. The initial five-story
building will have 28 units plus nine or 10 retail
spaces on the ground level. There are two- and three-bedroom
units with either 1,000 or 1,450 square feet, ranging
in price from $329,000 to $450,000. He has sold 25
of the 28 residential units, and anticipates occupancy
by the end of May or early June.
Just behind that building, where Bassett's former
home is being razed, a second, slightly smaller condominium
with 24 units will be built. Nine of the units have
already been sold, he said.
Existing housing renewed
Even the old is becoming new again in Colonial Beach,
as a quick tour of the town reveals many older houses
being revitalized.
Kevin Phillips, who has rehabilitated homes in Fredericksburg,
has ventured into Colonial Beach. The house at 25 Irving
Ave. was a blight on the riverfront neighborhood when
it was brought to his attention.
"It wasn't long from being condemned," he
said. What was a 1,600-square-foot, two-story eyesore
will be completely redone from the framework out. An
addition will double the square footage.
Phillips is banking on finding a buyer who would enjoy
life in Colonial Beach the way it used to be--in a
70-year-old house that's been thoroughly modernized--and
be willing to pay well into the $400,000 range to own
it.
"There's a market for work like this because
building lots are getting harder to find here," he
said.
More ideas than land
How will Colonial Beach blend its past and its future?
Building director Bird views growth as a train that'll
run you down if you don't get on board.
Leaders are are trying to anticipate the challenges
they'll face in an era of growth. Joining the conversation
in Bird's office is Mayor G.W. "Pete" Bone
Jr., who says he knows the need to expand services
will come before the town realizes the tax revenues
generated by the new development.
Those growing pains will also manifest themselves
in how the town's finite amount of land will be used.
Kevin McKinney, owner of Value Craft Homes, has been
building in Colonial Beach for the past six years and
is Bassett's general contractor for the condominiums.
He thinks the town needs to make itself attractive
to both residents and tourists, and hopes to organize
a local committee to help the town down its future
path. "We need an overall picture of what the
town could look like," he said, "with everyone
having a say."
He also wants the town to be ready--with quality lodging,
for example--if Maryland reintroduces slot machines
and Colonial Beach's pier casinos of the 1950s return
to the Potomac. The river belongs to Maryland.
The new condominium, facing Taylor Street just a block
back from the waterfront, overlooks a largely vacant
town-owned plot. It is bordered at one end by the new
High Tides Restaurant. What should happen to the three
other parcels depends on your point of view, and there
are opposing ones in Colonial Beach.
McKinney says he and others would be willing to turn
that land into a park as a gift to the town. He says
that would be a much more attractive view for condo
owners than the backsides of restaurants. But Mayor
Bone, noting that those parcels are valued at $1 million
each, says a town-owned park there would be an awfully
expensive sacrifice of revenues.
Stay tuned for future developments, in more ways than
one.
To reach RICHARD AMRHINE: 540/374-5406
Email: ramrhine@freelancestar.com
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Town sees wave of development
