What’s next for Martha Jefferson property?

Martha Jefferson Hospital officials are entering an exclusive negotiating agreement with a North Carolina-based developer to shape the future of the hospital’s 14-acre site, a prime tract in downtown Charlottesville.

The hospital’s Board of Trustees voted Monday to negotiate with Charlotte-based Crosland Group, a developer that has been involved with area projects such as the Bundoran Farm residential community in Albemarle County and the Homestead Preserve in Bath County, to partner in redeveloping the hospital’s existing spot as it prepares to move to its new Pantops location.
During the next four months, hospital officials and Crosland will discuss their deal structure, the role the hospital will play in redevelopment, project costs and potential plans for the property.

“We have not got a deal done,” said Steve Bowers, a hospital spokesman. “But we think we’ve found the partner we’ve been searching for this whole time.”
Steve Mauldin, who heads Crosland’s mixed- and multi-use development division, said that during the next several years the existing hospital site could be transformed into a mixed-use complex, complete with residential units, plus retail and office space. Because the hospital does not pay real-estate taxes, redevelopment could send thousands of dollars in tax revenue into city coffers.
“That’s certainly a good thing for our tax base,” said Mayor Dave Norris, who praised the hospital’s decision to choose Crosland.
“I look forward to seeing the project unfold in the coming years,” he said.
Hospital officials and the developer said they would be mindful of the site’s history and how the proposals would fit with the surrounding neighborhood. The 1929 Patterson Wing of the hospital and four historic houses on Locust Avenue would be preserved under the plans — Mauldin said part of the developer’s vision could be to change those homes’ zonings so they could become part of the existing residential housing stock.
“Our plans right now call for the demolition and redevelopment outside the homes and the Patterson Wing,” Mauldin said. Of the Patterson Wing, Mauldin said, “We feel that’s an important, iconic and organizing element of the site.”

Looking years ahead

Hospital officials have been planning for a new facility since 2000 and originally planned to have a developer selected by December, but market forces stalled the decision. The hospital plans to relocate to its 88-acre campus in the Peter Jefferson Place business park in 2012.
Though plans are only in their conceptual stages, Mauldin said, some of the initial ideas submitted to the hospital’s board envisioned around 400 residential units, 50,000 to 60,000 square feet in retail space and 50,000 to 100,000 square feet in office space on the current site.
The residential component of the project could include a range of dwelling types, from single-family homes and townhomes to for-sale condominiums and rental apartments. The retail side could include a grocery store along with other service businesses, and the office space could be used for some medical purposes as well as for traditional business.
“That’s kind of conceptually what we think could happen there, just in terms of use,” Mauldin said.
Development costs, Mauldin said, could range anywhere from $100 million to more than $150 million, depending on the project that is finally approved after being vetted by city officials, the hospital and residents.
“As the plan gets refined in collaboration with the neighbors and the hospital and the city and others, I think comfortably in that range is what we’re talking about,” Mauldin said. But, he added, “it’s really too early to dial in true construction costs at this point.”
A study that the hospital commissioned found that Martha Jefferson’s existing site would be ideal for a mix of housing types, a grocery and housing geared toward senior citizens. The study concluded last year that the site’s new owner would likely remake it with a mix of residential, office and retail buildings, and that the property could easily handle a smaller neighborhood market or even a larger, full-service store.
“We think it’s a use that is needed, just really from our standpoint,” Mauldin said, referring to the potential for a grocery store.

A neighborhood awaits

Maria Chapel, president of the Martha Jefferson Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood has several ideas for what could go on the site, and she said it seemed as if Crosland would be willing to listen to those requests.
“The neighborhood has been anxiously awaiting a decision,” Chapel said.
“For the city, it’s a very dynamic space and there’s the opportunity to develop in a way that’s a wonderful site for our neighborhood and for everyone to use,” she added.