From: robinarich5@gmail.com <robinarich5@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 2, 2022 7:49 AM
To: Amy Simmons <Amy.Simmons@winchesterva.gov>; Corey Sullivan <corey.sullivan@winchesterva.com>; David Smith <david.smith@winchesterva.com>; Emily Deangelis <emily.deangelis@winchesterva.com>; John Hill <john.hill@winchesterva.com>; Kathy Tagnesi <kathy.tagnesi@winchesterva.com>; Kim Herbstritt <kim.herbstritt@winchesterva.com>; Les Veach <les.veach@winchesterva.com>; Phillip Milstead <phillip.milstead@winchesterva.com>; Richard Bell <richard.bell@winchesterva.gov>
Cc: Dan Hoffman <dan.hoffman@winchesterva.com>
Subject: Economic Development for Winchester
Open Letter to the Winchester City Council – via email
All -
I refer to City Manager Dan Hoffman’s Star Open Forum of November 21st “Recent Open Forum contained inaccuracies”.
Mr. Hoffman was hired in August 2020 and, as a “newbie” to Winchester, having come from Florida, he can be forgiven for not being totally familiar with the erratic meanderings of the city’s recent development attempts.
Stating that Mr. Youmans “has never proposed a new development” is disingenuous at best. Mr. Youmans is a long-term veteran of the city’s current confused economic development objectives, which have mutated depending on who was directing the conversation. He has learned to be flexible, trying to adapt city ordinances to the wishes of the EDA and/or Planning Commission members and/or City Council’s vagaries. It has become a dizzying job in the last few years.
In 2017 a new EDA Director was hired, (since departed), who used taxpayers’ funds to purchase two properties located on Piccadilly/Kent and Piccadilly/Cameron, initially called Piccadilly Street Investments LLC and Cameron Street Investments LLC. The first property cost taxpayers, including demolition, $1,449,000. The second property (Winchester Towers) cost $1,443,000.
Lets’ take the first property on Piccadilly/Kent as an example. Purchased by the EDA in 2017-2018, originally planned for a commercial/residential mixed-use, subsequently called Epicc Lofts, and now called Piccadilly Townes - under construction since April.
Early 2022, developers Aikens purchased the property from the EDA for $480,000. They will theoretically pay an additional “50% of the total profit” with payment due only after the LAST townhouse sells. (Question: who decides what the “total profit” will be?).
The original plans have morphed from a mixed-use project with self-contained parking in a five-story building, to the current 16 three-story residential townhouses under construction, with only 16 on-site parking spaces provided. As the townhouses are all 2 and 3-bedrooms, there will undoubtedly be quite a few cars with no parking spaces, left to park either on Kent or other streets close by. The 30% required green space was fudged by selling the small adjacent public park to Aikens as well.
In March, 2022, the EDA was suggesting that the sales prices of the townhouses would be in the “$250,000 to $300,000” range. They are currently being advertised between $399,000 and $429,000. Hardly “affordable housing”.
In 2019, the B.A.R. had a meeting clearly confirming that vinyl windows would not be allowed in the Old Town Winchester district. You wouldn’t know it by looking at the Aiken townhouses, which all have – you guessed it – vinyl windows. No mullions, of course.
Now the city is faced with a similar situation with the Cameron Square project undertaken by Richmond developers Lynx Ventures. Same problems – 100% residential, far too many apartments in a very small space, no green space, insufficient parking; all of which will only increase taxes and traffic congestion downtown.
Why is the City allowing this, or even promoting it against their own ordinances?
In the interest of the well-being of the city and its residents, it’s time for Council, the Planning Commission and the EDA to seriously reconsider their flawed “economic development” approach.
Thank you for taking the above into consideration when deliberating on future economic development in the City.
Robina Rich Bouffault
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