Armada Hoffler Development Co. of Virginia Beach offered to trade 77,000 square feet of retail space for 225 apartments, a majority of which would rent for below market rates at the proposed Benn's Grant development at the intersection of Brewer's Neck and Benns Church boulevards outside of Smithfield, Virginia. The slated project spans 618 acres and includes 1,087 homes, an office park, medical offices, a ball field complex and a retail district - including a Wal-Mart.
146 of the proposed multifamily units would be rented for lower than the market rate to make up for a deficit of affordable-housing options in the county. Consultants hired by the county to evaluate the proposal suggested adding the rental units. If the county opts for the apartments, it would increase the number of housing units to 1,312.
The project would add nearly 2,900 new residents, including 652 school children, and there will be more residents and schoolchildren if the apartments are added. Traffic will also increase, but swapping apartments for 77,000 square feet of retail will lessen the estimated increased traffic load by about 3,300 vehicle trips a day.
The project would generate 4,309 jobs with about half of them for the medical offices and office park. The other half of the jobs will be in the retail district.
The project will also provide $30.4 million in public improvements - $15.5 million for public infrastructure, $2.8 million the baseball park and $12.1 million in cash. The public infrastructure could be funded through a community development authority, which would create a special tax district requiring residents and businesses in the development to pay an extra fee not paid by residents elsewhere in the county. The project is expected to generate $24 million in additional annual disposable income that could be spent in the county.
Source: Daily Press