Commission approves rezoning and master plan to convert Fort Magruder Hotel to mixed-use with workforce housing

The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Z-24-0014 and MP-25-0001 to rezone the Fort Magruder Hotel property to a Mixed Use District and to adopt a master plan converting the existing hotel and conference center into a mixed-use development with apartments and commercial space.

Staff said the proposal would convert the existing hotel footprint to approximately 126 residential units (formed from hotel rooms) and roughly 32,000 square feet of commercial space. The applicants proffered that 40% of the residential units would be offered as workforce-affordable housing (a mix of 60% AMI, 80% AMI and market-rate units was discussed during the public meeting) and that parking, landscaping and stormwater facilities would be brought into current code compliance. Staff found the application consistent with the 2045 Comprehensive Plan’s mixed-use designation and recommended approval with proffers and conditions.

Applicant representatives described plans to add and enhance landscape buffers, bring the parking lot and ADA-accessible spaces into compliance, and improve stormwater and impervious-surface management while retaining and improving an on-site open space that contains a Civil War–era redoubt. The applicant proffered amenities including fitness and media rooms and two pools; staff and applicants said the historic redoubt would be preserved and that additional park/playground options were constrained by that historic resource.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about unit breakdown and how affordability tiers will be allocated across unit sizes; the applicant responded with proposed AMI targets and said they would phase the project so commercial space is delivered along with residential units. After discussion, the commission recommended approval and recorded a roll-call vote in favor.