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Windsor Planning and Zoning Administrator James “Jay” Randolph provided the town’s Planning Commission with an update May 22 on the status of the Windsor Station subdivision. Construction on the project is expected to begin this summer.

In a May 22 memo to the Planning Commission, Randolph stated that it has been approximately two years since the commission reviewed and recommended approval of the rezoning application and conceptual plan for the Windsor Station subdivision. The Windsor Town Council subsequently approved the rezoning request and accepted the proffers associated with the application. 

The subdivision, consisting of 60 single-family residential lots, will be located off of Shiloh Drive, adjacent to the Holland Meadows neighborhood, he noted.

“I just wanted to provide you with an update on the status of the development (and) construction plans and give you a view of what this subdivision layout is going to look like,” he said to commissioners during the May 22 Planning Commission meeting. 

“We have completed the approval of the development and construction plans,” he continued. “That goes through a multi-agency process, not just the town of Windsor here but also Virginia Department of Transportation, as well as Isle of Wight County, who handles the sewer system and the stormwater management in coordination with getting approval from Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.”

During his presentation, Randolph directed commissioners’ attention to an image showing the Windsor Station subdivision’s entire layout. The image accompanies this article. 

“The developer is now in the process of securing their stormwater management permit,” Randolph said. “This will utilize the existing retention pond — or Best Management Practices stormwater pond — that’s located at the Holland Meadows site.

“So through the calculations and the stormwater runoff that will come from the Windsor Station project, there is enough capacity in the existing BMP, and so they don’t have to create a whole new stormwater pond on this project,” he continued. “That was a major positive aspect of this project because it enabled them to do a little easier layout for the lots.”

He noted that one of the developer’s proffers was to provide a recreation area for the community within the subdivision property.

“The council wanted to make sure that that wasn’t just going to be a leftover piece of land and really had no other value, stuffed up near Shiloh Drive or something like that,” Randolph said. “So without having to do an additional stormwater pond on this property, you can see the large, shaded area at the top (of the layout image) will actually be the recreation area. There’ll be a playground there, a little pathway back to the playground, and that whole area there encompasses about 6 acres.

“So the very back end of that will retain its wooded nature,” he continued. “Part of that’s also within the 100-foot resource protection area buffer from the stream, so it could not be developed anyway, but it makes a good location for that recreation area.”

Then Randolph addressed lot sizes, first noting that most of the lots toward the front of the subdivision, toward Shiloh Drive, will be the smaller lots — approximately one-quarter acre in size.

“As you move toward the middle of the project, they get a little bit bigger, up to about third-of-an-acre size,” he said. “And then the ones at the very back, at the cul de sac, would be your largest lots, which will encompass about an acre, acre and a half, which will also have a resource protection area, a 100-foot buffer (where) they cannot develop around those lots.

“So there should be a good range of different-size lots to accommodate potential buyers’ desire or need as far as their lot size,” he added.

He said that Windsor Station is a significant project that will have a big impact on the town due to current housing values.

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in the selling prices of homes,” he said. “I know two years ago when they were looking at this project, they were looking at probably like the high ($300,000) range for these homes. That’s certainly going to be much higher (now that) here we are two years later.”

He said he did not know what the asking values will be.

“That’s going to be determined by the market as to what they can sell,” he said.

He noted that Windsor Station’s homes will be traditionally two-story homes with an attached garage, and they will range “from about 2,200 square feet to maybe 3,000 square feet.”

Randolph said that based on simply a rough synopsis, if the homes on Windsor Station’s 60 lots sell for $500,000 apiece, they would represent a $30 million additional tax base for the town.

“But also, you’re going to have 60 new households moving into town, becoming part of the community,” he added.

In addition to securing stormwater permits, the developer is securing land-disturbing permits, as well as a business license from the town, Randolph indicated.

“The project is anticipated to break ground this summer,” he said.

He noted that another way in which the subdivision will have a substantial impact on the town is in the amount of infrastructure that has to go into it — sewer lines, water lines, street lights, sidewalks, streets, etc.

“So I’m not sure how quickly it’s going to move to the point where the developer is ready to bring the actual subdivision plat to the town,” he said.

Randolph shared more details regarding the subdivision plat.

“The subdivision plat will have to come before this body for your approval, and that will show all the actual lot sizes, any of the easements, the streets, things of that nature,” he said. “They cannot sell any property until that subdivision plat is approved by this body and put to record. Any outstanding infrastructure improvements that still need to be made at that time will have to be bonded with the town, because any time the subdivision plat is put to record, you now have a viable product or a piece of property that can be sold. So we have to make sure there is assurances through a bond/letter of credit to ensure that any of the remaining items get completed in a timely fashion.”

He later added, “Depending on how quickly the site infrastructure is installed will determine at what point the subdivision plat comes to this body.”