The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved developer Jarrell Properties, Inc’s (JPI) newest project, Fountain Park at Downtown Stafford. The Board approved their request to rezone 6.11 acres from B-2 Urban Commercial to UD-5 Urban Development at the corner of Courthouse Road and U.S. Route 1. This decision follows the rezoning of the County’s own adjacent 23 acres.
Fountain Park at Downtown Stafford was the result of a negotiated agreement between JPI and the County. It will provide a mix of commercial and retail businesses at the core and be surrounded by residential options. This mixed-use development will include approximately 72,000 SF of commercial, retail, and restaurant space as well as a “Fountain Park” at the key gateway corner of Route 1 and Courthouse Road.
Last month, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted to change the Stafford County Comprehensive Plan, associated zoning code, and the rezoning of 23 acres of County property adjacent to JPI’s project area. These developments combined will trigger the first phase of development of the Downtown Stafford area and act as a centralized destination catalyst for the community.
Downtown Stafford is a larger area that includes the County Government Center, Stafford Courthouse, the Virginia Smart Community Testbed, Stafford Hospital Mary Washington Healthcare, and potentially a new Germanna Community College Campus. This area creates a new environment to inject new business and community placemaking in the center of Stafford.
As envisioned in the updated Comprehensive Plan, Downtown Stafford is an area containing roughly 840 parcels with approximately 1,743 acres of developable land. The Plan calls for a grid roadway network in the Courthouse area to include pedestrian biking and walking trails encompassing a hierarchical system of interconnected streets.
Centralized walkability and defining a ‘sense of place’ has been a long-standing vision of the Stafford County community for the past 20 years.
Growth across D.C. and the Northern Virginia corridor coupled with a favorable tax climate continues to position Stafford as a new business and residential location. The Stafford Comprehensive Plan calls for the majority of new residential development in what is called the Urban Service Area. The development of Downtown Stafford provides for a new market of commercial and residential space that is critical to attracting a new workforce and ‘talent’ to support Stafford’s growing business opportunities.
Rezoning the County’s 23-acres adjacent to Fountain Park allows the County to proceed and seek a private partner to develop additional land. Fountain Park and the County’s property serve as the catalytic development projects for not only the long-envisioned Downtown Stafford but also Smart Downtown Stafford.
The County’s partnership with the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) has made Downtown Stafford the home of the Virginia Smart Community Testbed. Stafford’s partnership with CIT will integrate smart technology solutions focused on public safety, data security and training, economic development and tourism, and 5G expansion in Downtown Stafford. JPI will utilize smart technology in its new development.
Community forums will be held at the Testbed as new smart technologies are developed and integrated into Downtown design concepts. Stafford will soon release a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a qualified private development partner or team of partners to develop its 23 acres.
Destined to become the economic and cultural heart of the region, Downtown Stafford, along with future private developments, will design and promote a vibrant heart of the community. Downtown Stafford will create and strengthen Stafford’s sense of “place” and unites with the lives of our residents, businesses, and visitor experience.
Ground-breaking announcements are imminent.
To learn more about Downtown Stafford and the future development, please visit our newly launched www.DowntownStafford.com website.