Now approaching seven years from inception, Williamsburg city council reviewed the progression of a downtown study.
Coined the Downtown Vibrancy Study, it came from efforts to re-envision Williamsburg’s downtown area and created a framework for the city to guide economic development and planning.
“This is one of those plans we talked about … that’s got some age on it now,” City Manager Andrew Trivette said. “You can tell that from the recommendations, a lot of circumstances have changed in the environment.”
Mayor Doug Pons lauded the progress the city’s made since 2018, saying the “climate has changed down there.”
“It's a place to gather while you dine and retail and … meet friends,” Pons said. “We can’t be afraid of housing and some density in the downtown area to really help with the downtown vibrancy study (and) the goals that we’ve set forth.”
He proposed considering possible rezoning and development on Armistead Avenue near the corner of Prince George Street “where the Bray School has been removed.”
Councilmember Barbara Ramsey also considered the possibility of a future with an increased footprint for downtown Williamsburg as William & Mary progresses on its Gates Hall conversion, Colonial Williamsburg on its Campbell Archeology Center and the Muscarelle Museum of Art expansion completes.
A committee made up of city staff leadership laid out what’s been accomplished, what’s left to do and what no longer makes sense.
“The real benefit and the real value here is this level of intentionality and thought going into categorizing and thinking ahead,” Councilmember Stacy Kern-Sheerer said.
“Some things (in the study) are enormous … but if we didn’t have them on our radar and thinking about them in different spaces, we wouldn’t be doing our job.”
Listed as complete:
- Installation of flower planters along parts of Prince George and Duke of Gloucester Streets
- New street trees
- Installation of new street furniture
- Completion of master plan for “wayfinding” signs
- Creation of a policy allowing food trucks downtown
- Pursued, but did not award, a contract for bike share services
- Approved incentives for outdoor dining at Precarious Beer Hall
Recommended by staff for consideration in new city-wide comprehensive plan update:
- Encourage conversion of housing on Scotland Street into cafes, restaurants, bed and breakfasts as part of “Restaurant Row” concept
- Update zoning to allow for townhomes, flats and other apartments
- Amend architectural guidelines to balance colonial and modern styles
- Increase building height limits
- Increase housing density limits and encourage new mixed-use development. “The study recommends density be increased to net 36 or 64 buildings fronting on Scotland, Prince George, Francis, Boundary and Henry streets,” said Economic Development Director Yuri Matsumoto.
- Introduce new street typologies: green streets, quality streets and premier streets
- Connect bike and pedestrian infrastructure and integrate it with the broader Trail 757 initiative
Additional staff recommendations:
- Create an entertainment district around the Triangle Building, which would include making surrounding streets one-way, in conjunction with the Blayton Building redevelopment
- Recruit an urban grocer, proposed to be located in the current Blayton Building
- Install new street lighting
- Remove parking as a permitted principal use
- Restrict parking to rear yards
- Remove service stations from uses permitted with a special use permit downtown
- Create a park that connects Williamsburg’s library plaza with the Williamsburg Community Building green space
- Strategically create pop-up parks
- Incorporate more seasonal decorations into the streetscape
- Create programming that encourages people to visit the outer edges of downtown Williamsburg
Recommended to not pursue
- Installation of “gateway features,” or physical indicators that one is entering downtown. “The staff committee expressed concern over visual clutter,” Matsumoto said.
- Pavilions, or small structures, on Prince George Street for “micro-retail.” “Staff noted that there are many vendor and artisan markets hosted downtown, offering ample opportunity for entrepreneurs to sell their goods outside of a brick-and-mortar space,” Matsumoto said. Staff proposed the Triangle building as a site for such a market, which could be part of the Blayton redevelopment.
- Closure and conversion of the P3 parking lot into a pedestrian plaza. “Colonial Williamsburg proposed” the project, including a performance space in 2018, “but the proposal failed during public comment,” Matsumoto said. The second component also proposed demolishing Brown Hall, which William & Mary is now converting into an office and learning space called Gates Hall.
- Allowing high-density development at Peacock Hill. “This is now the possible site of the proposed children’s park,” Matsumoto said.
- Creation of a housing, office and retail development on the current P6 parking lot site. “While this is a strong planning concept, the redesign and reuse of this lot is ultimately the decision of the property owner, Colonial Williamsburg,” Matsumoto said.
