The Harrisonburg City Council has postponed a request to rezone a property downtown. They plan to vote on the matter in September after collecting more information about a controversial six-story apartment building design. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.
More than 230 people attended the city council meeting Tuesday night, filling the main hall and spilling into overflow rooms to voice their support and opposition to The Link, a proposed mixed-use development to be built on ten parcels between South Main and South Liberty streets near Harrisonburg City Hall.
Vice-Mayor Dany Fleming requested a delay on the vote to give the council six weeks to gather their input, obtain more information, and speak with additional residents to understand their concerns.
DANY FLEMING: This proposal has officially been public, in front of us, for just about a month. And that’s really too short for a full public hearing of it, for a project of this importance and scale.
Harrisonburg Fire Chief Matt Tobia, dealing with the massive amount of people in attendance, took the unusual step of providing logistical guidance to allow for the more than three hours of public comment.
The air conditioning stopped working early in the meeting, according to city spokesman Michael Parks. The fire department added fans to the main and overflow rooms, while many people were seen fanning themselves as the meeting stretched past midnight.
The building could include up to 265 apartments, over 2,000 square feet of commercial space, and 450 parking spots on 2½ acres. The property where Lindsey Funeral Home currently sits is zoned as "R3," which only allows three-story buildings, but "B-1C" zoning permits a higher-density, mixed-use, and taller development.
Following the unanimous decision last month by the planning commission to recommend the approval of the zoning change, many residents in the Oldtown neighborhood began a campaign against the proposed complex, calling themselves "No to B-1C."
Community Development Director Adam Fletcher, presenting the plan to council, said that one member of the planning commission admitted later that they regretted their vote. Documents attached to the meeting agenda confirmed that planning commission member to be Kate Nardi.
The group says the complex will raise traffic concerns, alter the distinctive character of the downtown area, and make parking more difficult to find.
MARCIA MCGRATH: It’s just going to be another JMU dorm, right at the entrance of our beautiful city.
Marcia McGrath said that while she and her husband embrace change, she doesn’t believe it will solve the affordable housing crisis and will ruin the city’s aesthetics.
MCGRATH: As you are going into the city and you have all of these beautiful aesthetics of buildings, trees, et cetera, and then – bam!
Others shared their views that the complex would support the city’s need for affordable housing, help downtown businesses, and match the city’s plan for mixed-use zoning that lets people live, eat, play, and work in the same area.
Emily Huffman supports the project, saying she is glad downtown is lively, a change from her childhood when the town was empty.
EMILY HUFFMAN: When I was young, it was dead. … I think The Link would help that because you are bringing people and you’re bringing business downtown.
Councilwoman Monica Robinson expressed her concerns about what would happen when The Link loses popularity with students.
ROBINSON: My concern is with the structure that is this large, when it’s not the number one place to live anymore for JMU students, are we going to see a decline in the property like we’ve seen in several other areas of Harrisonburg? And it would be right at the entrance to the gateway to downtown.
The complex would be the densest in the city at 96 units per acre, surpassing the Urban Exchange apartment complex, which has 73 units per acre. While city officials do not have a specific range of what rent prices could look like, the projected rent would be market rate, according to Parks.
Development firm Timberwolf Capital Partners is behind the $109 million project. Their previous developments include off-campus apartment complexes near Clemson, Shippensburg, and West Virginia universities. The developers promise to include 90 indoor and eight outdoor secure bike parking spaces and a minimum of 10 EV charging stations.
During public comments, representatives for the project said they would welcome a six-week pause to answer additional questions. The vote is expected to take place at the September 23 meeting.
Editor's note, 3:57 p.m., a previous version of this story misspelled Vice-Mayor Dany Fleming's name. It has been corrected.
