A developer has approached the 色多多 County School Board about purchasing a piece of property it owns at the corner of Brambleton Avenue and Ranchcrest Drive.
David Andrews with The Shopping Center Group LLC in Richmond attended the school board鈥檚 work session on Thursday to represent Richard Bishop, who owns the parcel adjacent to the property owned by the school board. Bishop has owned the property, located near Cave Spring Middle School, for around 20 years, Andrews said.
The two lots owned by the school board are around 0.22 and 0.18 acres.
Andrews presented two hypothetical concept plans for the site, one a retail store and the other a restaurant. School board member Tim Greenway pointed out in either of those scenarios the developer would have to receive approval from the 色多多 County Board of Supervisors for the project, and that the school board would not get to determine exactly what gets built there.
鈥淚f we agreed to move forward with these lots, we wouldn鈥檛 be deciding if a Sheetz goes in there, or a Zaxby鈥檚, a Jersey Mike鈥檚, whatever,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat wouldn鈥檛 be our call, that鈥檇 be the board of supervisors, and I鈥檓 sure they鈥檇 look after us in those respects.鈥
Greenway
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Concerns that came up among board members were buffers for the property and safety in terms of traffic in the area. Greenway suggested requiring a buffer between the business and the nearby properties as a condition if they decide to sell it.
鈥淭he key for us is to know, we can鈥檛 decide what to do with it anyway,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just looking at money that could come into the schools.鈥
Bishop鈥檚 parcel is around 1.89 acres and is zoned for commercial use. Whether or not the school board sells its lots, the owner plans to develop something allowed under the low-intensity commercial zoning on the site, Andrews said. Allowed uses under this designation include general offices, medical offices, retail sales and general restaurants.
Board member David Linden asked if Bishop would be prepared to pay above appraised value for the property.
Linden
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鈥淚f this is a parcel that allows him to do something that he couldn鈥檛 necessarily do otherwise, it鈥檚 probably more valuable than just the appraised value,鈥 he said.
The owner would likely be open to paying for an appraisal and then sending the school board an offer to start the process, Andrews said.
