According to an article by Chris Mayhew of the Community Recorder, Alexandria has granted a two-year extension for the developers of a planned 916-unit housing development on 327-acres known as Arcadia to begin construction.
We consider this to be good news.
This should put to rest for awhile the rumors that one of the developers had withdrawn from the project and/or that the project had been cancelled.
The article is included below or you can read it at this link.
Alexandria extends start time for mega housing development
By Chris Mayhew • cmayhew@nky.com • 4:00 pm, May 4, 2011
ALEXANDRIA – Alexandria has granted a two-year extension for the developers of a planned 916-unit housing development on 327-acres known as Arcadia to begin construction.
The city’s planning and zoning commission unanimously granted the site plan extension at the request of the property’s developers, the Drees Co. and Fischer Homes, at the May 3 meeting. The site plan expires two years from the date of the extension’s passage.
It was January 2007, before the economic and housing downturn, when Alexandria first approved the grading of the property behind a car dealership across from the Alexandria Village Green shopping center. The site plan for the property, featuring a mix of condominiums, townhomes, and single-family homes around a series of parks and lakes, was approved in January 2008. The developer’s plan was to build the 916-unit development, located on property between Tollgate Road and U.S. 27, over the course of 10 years after starting.
Nothing about the original site plan, approved Jan. 4, 2008, has been changed with the decision to grant the extension, said John Jewell, chairman of the city’s planning and zoning commission.
It only extends the time to get started working, Jewell said.
There’s nothing to prevent another extension from being granted in the future if work isn’t started, he said.
“What tickles me is this is a way of showing that their commitment to the project is still there,” Jewell said.
A member of the commission for 12 years, Jewell said in the past someone who brought a site plan to the city typically got right to work before the economic downturn.
This is the first time in at least 12 years that a site plan extension has been requested, Jewell said.
“I’m glad they did come and ask for the extension, to me it was a no-brainer,” he said.
Jewell said that when the original Arcadia site plan was first approved, the commission had sought a second entrance/exit road connection with Tollgate Road, but the developers didn’t own the necessary property at the time, and they’ve since added a 50-acre tract that borders Tollgate Road. So, it’s possible the developer may seek in the future to amend the site plan to create a second entrance for vehicles at a later date, he said.
Michael Schoettelkotte, a representative of the Drees Co., who presented the request for the extension at the meeting, said the plan is for work on the project to start sometime within the two-year extension without committing to a date.
“That would be our intent to do that, and of course we are projecting the economy will turn around,” Schoettelkotte said.
Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford said he’s happy the developers of Arcadia are still pursuing what is an important project for the city.
In the summer of 2009, Ameritek Custom Homes sold its interest in a property, where the company had proposed a 600-unit housing development, on the other side of Tollgate Road directly across from Arcadia. There’s been no extension request to renew the site plan.
So, Arcadia is happy news, Rachford said.
“That’s significant because the property that’s on the other side of the road, I understand they’ve sold their interest in that property,” Rachford said. “So, I don’t know (if) that development is going to take place.”
