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Summit Crossing brings questions

Massaponax neighbors quiz Tricord Cos. about plans for Summit Crossing development

By EDIE GROSS

Date published: 10/18/2006

For now, it's just a dark line on a map.

But that line, representing a four-lane, divided parkway that could one day be part of the Summit Crossing project, comes awfully close to Greg Mahnker's Lancaster Gate home.

Mahnker and plenty of his neighbors showed up at a meeting last night to learn more about the Summit Crossing proposal and ask questions of its developer, Tricord Cos.

"I'm all for the development. I know it's going to happen one way or another," Mahnker told Tricord officials. "But a big road being built next door might be kind of noisy."

Mike Jones, principal owner of Tricord, assured those present that if the Summit Crossing Parkway is ever built, it will likely happen north of where current maps show it--farther away from the Lancaster Gate subdivision.

The entire Massaponax-area project, still in its infancy, would also include a new Interstate 95 interchange, a town-style subdivision, a 550-acre Federal Corporate Campus, a technology center, and land along the U.S. 17 Bypass for Fredericksburg Christian School's expansion.

Tricord officials have not submitted the project to the county for approval yet. Instead, they're trying it first in the court of public opinion, taking notes on what residents do--and don't--want in a new development.

More than 130 people attended Tricord's first public meeting at Germanna Community College last night, listening to an hourlong presentation before peppering the developers with questions.

Which part of the project would be built first? What if state and federal officials don't sign off on the new I-95 interchange? What will be the impact on existing roads like Massaponax Church Road and the U.S. 17 Bypass?

The entire project would develop over a 20- or 25-year period, Jones said.

The Spotsylvania Technology Center will probably be the first piece of the project to get off the ground, he said. It already has county support.

Closely following that would be transportation improvements, he said. A new interchange south of Massaponax's exit 126 would relieve congestion there and improve access to the new hospital.

Without it, much of the project dies, he said.

"There's no way all this can happen without an interchange," Jones said.

As for impacts on local roads, Tricord is engaged in a traffic study now that will help identify potential problems and fixes, he said.

Components Road improvements--A new interchange on I-95, about three miles south of the existing one at Massaponax, plus the 4.2-mile Summit Crossing Parkway running from the interchange east to the U.S. 17 Bypass. Summit Crossing Village-- Single-family homes and condos with a "village center," including shops, cafes and trails. The number of homes is not specified, but about 10 percent of them would be classified as "affordable." Federal Corporate Campus-- 1 million square feet of office space designed for federal agencies and others. The 550-acre property includes a VRE station and a town center with hotels, eateries, shops and condos. Spotsylvania Technology Center--Campus for government, academia and small defense-contracting firms to collaborate on high-tech research and development, largely in support of the military. Includes state-of-the-art conference center and internship program for high school and college students. SimVentions, a high-tech software development firm, is actually spearheading the project with support from Tricord. At build-out, the center is expected to provide 300,000 square feet of office space and employ 1,000 people. The center's Web site is SpotsylvaniaTechnologyCenter.com. Fredericksburg Christian School expansion--A new two-story high school for 600 ninth- through 12th-grade students, a fine-arts center for both school and community programs, athletic fields, a new football stadium, gymnasium, fitness center, swimming pool, and cross-country and hiking trails. The existing high school on the property would serve as the middle school once the new one opens.

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Date published: 10/18/2006