What is to Become of Cherry Hill Penninsula?

Michael Ragland

7/18/2009

Prince William County in Virginia is right across the Potomac river from Charles County Maryland. If development proceeds on the Cherry Hill peninsula in Prince William County there may well be more renewed interest at a bridge crossing.

 According to the Prince William Conservation Alliance "The recent announcement that the Cherry Hill/Harbor Station development project has gone bankrupt and is being foreclosed comes as no surprise to many - but don't blame it on the recession.

 "This development has struggled from the beginning. In 2002 the property was sold to Lee Carolina LLC. (KSI/Kettler, Sandler & Sons). Over the next several years, Kettler made a series of changes to the development plan that increased residential densities, relocated residential areas, changed the road network and modified proffered open space. Funding for public infrastructure was also an issue.

 "Located far from existing infrastructure, costs for transportation improvements were significant. Supervisors responded by approving a Community Development Authority for the development in 2006. This CDA allows the developer to issue more than $90 million in bonds to fund construction of the primary road through the development, improvements to the Route 234/Route 1 interchange and a VRE station.

"Despite all this adjusting and incentivizing, there's been little or no activity at the Harbor Station development site for well more than a year. Much of the land north of Cherry Hill Road has been cut-and-filled. Erosion controls are in a shambles, leaving acre upon acre of bare soil to erode into Powell's Creek and the Potomac River.

"Major roads left in various stages of construction spider across the landscape. Perimeter roads are blocked by old boats with graffiti or rusting pipes."

 In February of 2002 the Urban Land institute reported, "The largest town center currently being planned in the Potomac Communities is Southbridge Town Center on the Cherry Hill peninsula. The panel does not believe that this Town Center at Legend is likely to be built. To succeed, retail centers need high visibility and accessibility, and this site has neither. It is a dead-end location, away from the arterial road junctions, with no market on its eastern side."

While the economic downturn has perhaps dealt a fatal blow to one of the Harbor Station partners (Sandler and Sons) the Washington Business Journal states Kettler is planning to stay the course. Kettler states the project needs to be "rebooted and repackaged" to match today's economy.

As the Prince William Conservation Alliance states, "It seems likely that we will see yet more changes proposed for the development of Cherry Hill Peninsula."

As they ask, "Will the changes reflect the advice provided by the Urban Land Institute or continue subsidies to a fundamentally flawed design?"

I wonder what Kettler thinks. It has been close to ten years since the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved the rezoning of the Cherry Hill Peninsula. Despite the fact more citizens than ever attended that rezoning hearing and hundreds of people vocally spoke out against it the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved it.

Today all those supervisors who approved the rezoning are gone except for one, Neabsco District Supervisor John Jenkins who stated "I think this is a good development".My question to him would be "Do you still think so?"

 

Editor's Comments

Michael Ragland sent TheBAYNET.com this letter which, while somewhat out of our normal coverage area, does affect lower Charles County should the development proceed.

YourLetters Feedback NOTE: Views expressed below do not reflect the views or opinions of The Bay Net, Bay Media Services, Inc. or the employees of Bay Media Services, Inc.

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