Showtime: 12-screen cinema planned for Waynesboro

12-screen cinema, offices, restaurants and housing have been proposed on 42 acres off Windigrove Drive and Interstate 64 near Home Depot in Waynesboro,
city officials said Tuesday.
The city planning department on Friday received an application to rezone 40 acres of property owned by Brandon Farms South LLC (et al), in care of Bill Hausrath, a prominent Waynesboro real estate developer – as well as another two acres owned by the Waynesboro Country Club.
The property, once part of a large farm parcel that has been split off for commercial use over time, would need to be rezoned from single-family, residential and general business districts, to a mixed-use planned unit development with proffers. The land is valued at nearly $2.1 million.
Vice Mayor Frank Lucente said he had not seen the application but he likes the idea of a cinema and noted that the news about the project is good for Waynesboro.
“I think it’s a positive thing for the city with the current economy,” Lucente said. “It shows that Waynesboro is still a viable town, and I hope that we’ll continue to be viable as time goes by.”
Hausrath could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
City Planner Michael Barnes said the project, dubbed Waynesboro Place, would be divided into three parts – a smaller commercial development with 38,500 square feet of office space and a restaurant; a larger, 65,000 square foot retail area that would include the cinema and two more fast food restaurants; and a residential development that could include 234 “dwelling units.”
Buffers of 20 to 50 feet would be established to section off the proposed mixed-use development and to separate it from Interstate 64 to the south, and the residential areas to the north.
In the larger retail area of the conceptual master plan, in addition to the 12-screen, 1,700-seat cinema, there would be space for a stormwater retention pond, a gazebo to host outdoor events, two fast-food restaurants, a 30,000-square-foot electronics store, 18,000 square feet of retail and 8,000 square feet of shops. This area also would include 819 additional parking spaces.
The residential area, Barnes said, could end up as apartments and an assisted-living complex.
Under the proposal submitted to the city, the residential area would be separated from the commercial development. Windigrove Drive would be extended from the current cul-de-sac in front of the Home Depot to the buffer between the commercial and residential developments.
In addition to the entrance off Rosser Avenue at Windigrove Drive, a second entrance would be established at Alston Court, which would extend to Tiffany Drive and empty out on Rosser Avenue near Martin’s.
Barnes said that would give the large residential area to the north access to the mixed-use development without putting all of the traffic onto Rosser Avenue. He noted that it would also serve as a relief valve.
“At some point, interconnections are a good thing,” Barnes said. “You have all these people in these neighborhoods that would want to get to these uses.”
Still, Barnes said he envisions most of the traffic accessing the area from the Windigrove Drive entrance.
“People are going to view it as traffic going through their neighborhood,” Barnes said. “On the flip side of it, it’s a really big street.”
Vegetative buffers would be placed throughout the property.
Part of the plan also includes a second entrance at Alston Court, which is 40 feet wide and would be able to handle the additional traffic, Barnes said.
“The residential to the north and the traffic is what’s really going to drive most of the debate on this thing, most likely,” Barnes said.
The residential portion of the property would have its entrance at Hollins Drive. Those plans show nine structures, which would be no taller than 55 feet – or three to four stories – and would include areas for a pool, clubhouse and a trail.
Also, there would be buffers of 25 to 50 feet between the property and the current residential areas, with the larger buffer for the proposed housing units.
Barnes told the Planning Commission at its meeting last month that a mixed-use development, to include a cinema, would come up for its review sometime this summer.
Currently, city staff and the Virginia Department of Transportation are reviewing a detailed traffic impact analysis for the project.
“We don’t have an opinion on the traffic [yet],” Barnes said.
City staff has undertaken a review of the application, which includes a preliminary site plan; phasing and open space plans; water, sewer and concept stormwater plans; description of design and architectural details.
Barnes cautioned that the current plans are subject to change following review by the city staff, residents, the Planning Commission and the City Council.
A joint public hearing of the City Council and the Planning Commission is expected to take place in either July or August, Barnes said, depending on the review of the traffic impact analysis.