Breckinridge

Breckinridge is located in Western Branch, Chesapeake, Virginia, just west of Interstate 664 fronting on Portsmouth Boulevard and adjacent to the west of Jolliff Road.

Breckinridge is a vibrant planned community on 482 acres in Chesapeake, Virginia which will combine a grocery anchored retail shopping center with a variety of housing choices. Designed to be a multi-generational community with a broad spectrum of different housing types, Breckinridge will accommodate families, young professionals, and seniors.

Pine Grove Properties, LC is the property owner.  See more about the owner on the About Us page.

Bonaventure Development, LLC has been retained by the owner as a development consultant for the owner.

The property consists of 482 acres of land. 232 acres will be developed with the remainder of the land held for conservation.

The project will be built out as market demand dictates for the commercial and residential. In total, we anticipate just over 400,000 square feet of commercial development, which will
consist of retail, restaurant, office, or hotel.

For the residential portion, we anticipate 948 for-sale residential units and 556 luxury multifamily units over a 10 to 15-year period; these 1,504 residences will complement the commercial development and add to the customer base.

Although we currently anticipate 1,504 units according to our residential mix, we have set 1,625 as the maximum number of residences. The additional 121 residences would be located on Land Bay 6 on the Master Plan.

Yes. The property is being rezoned to R-PUD, which stands for Planned Unit Development. Planned Development zoning districts are created and encouraged for use on unique sites where custom design is necessary to realize a site's potential.

Breckinridge will be designed to fit in with the surrounding area. The residential component will follow a Village Craftsman aesthetic. You can learn more about the design characteristics by clicking here.

At Breckinridge, a village aesthetic principal will be reflected throughout material selection, bracketing and detailing. These are encouraged to emphasize originality of form and visibility of handicraft. The pallet of natural materials and selections of color create a patchwork quilt of forms and facades integrating the villages. Trellis structures and canopies will be used to soften the forms and enrich the spaces between. Attention to details is paramount for structures, amenities, signage and landscape.

The property is comprised of seven parcels of land located primarily in Chesapeake, Virginia, and one small parcel in Suffolk, Virginia. The parcels are of various zoning types, including B2, A1, A and Mixed. Below you will find a summary of the zoning and parcel size for each:

The development team has had many meetings with the City to discuss the project scope. Upon several reviews by the City, comments have been received by the development team, which have been addressed. The development team will make another submission prior to a public hearing; the package will be substantially in conformance with our “Vision for Breckinridge” booklet which can be downloaded electronically here.

The rezoning of the site will have absolutely no effect whatsoever on the zonings of any of the properties or neighborhoods in the City of Chesapeake or Suffolk. An application for rezoning can only be filed with the authorization of the property owner. No rezoning is proposed for any other parcels adjacent to those described above.

At Breckinridge, a wide variety of for-sale and for-rent residential options will be available. Homes for sale will include single family detached, townhomes, and condominiums with a range of choices to suit the needs of any family size. The for-rent options will consist of luxury multifamily residences.

Breckinridge is designed to be a multi-generational community with a broad spectrum of different housing types, to accommodate families, young professionals, and seniors.  The community will also have a broad economic base, attracting workforce households such as teachers and fireman, as well as executive and more affluent families. This approach allows us to provide the broadest potential economic base for the retail that will be onsite and also to execute a financially feasible development project.

The commercial component of Breckinridge will be on 38 acres fronting on Portsmouth Boulevard. Upon completion, we anticipate a balanced mix of retail, to include a grocery anchor, lifestyle and convenience tenants, office buildings, and a hotel. Dave Machupa and Ed Kimple from Thalhimer are the retail leasing team for the project. We expect leasing activity to increase as the plans to widen Portsmouth Boulevard are completed and construction is started.

The development of the property is limited to approximately 400 residential units and zero commercial development until several traffic milestones are reached:

i.      Portsmouth Boulevard is widened by the city (this is an unrelated project to Breckinridge)

ii.     An updated traffic study is completed  by the developer.

iii.    Additional road improvements are made by the developer.

The developer will be installing turn lanes on Jolliff Road as part of this development. The developer is also contributing for the widening of the shoulders on Jolliff Road, which will be completed by the city. The developer has committed to other offsite road improvements as well. The city staff has reviewed and approved the traffic study and proposed improvements completed by the owner’s consultant.

The City’s current plan is to widen Portsmouth Blvd to four lanes from the City line to Jolliff Road. The current city schedule has the 4 lane alignment completed by August 2014.  The 50 year ultimate plan calls for an 8 lane roadway as traffic demands increase. Any widening beyond four lanes would most likely be several decades into the future. All required right-of-way between Jolliff Road and the city line is being provided on the south side of Portsmouth Blvd by the Breckinridge site for the current 4 lane plan as well as the ultimate 6 lane width, at no cost to the city.  An 8 lane width would require some dedication from the north side of the road.

The range of pricing anticipated from $160,000 for condos to $400,000 for large single family homes. There will also be several price points and housing choices in between those estimates.

We expect that the grocery anchor will start construction based on the August 2014 estimated completion date for the Portsmouth Boulevard widening, which suggests completion in about 2.5 years.  The groundbreaking for the grocer depends on the time it would take to construct the store. The the first phase of “for sale” product and multifamily and  will all break ground within the first 18 months after rezoning.  We cannot say definitively which product type of the “for sale” will be the first to go on the market.

We anticipate the total time for the project to be built out to take as many as 10 - 15 years, however this time frame could change as market conditions dictate.

The developer has committed to limit the number of units constructed per year (11 year schedule), regardless of how the economy grows. This will put a ceiling on the impact to the school system annually.

The development team will strive to get consistent input from the community regarding the development. Numerous meetings have been held, and additional meetings will be held, so that our neighbors have a chance to learn about the project, ask questions, and get a better understanding of how this project will fit into Western Branch. If you have any additional questions about the site, please do not hesitate to visit the Contact Us page to submit a request.

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday February 6 at the Western Branch Community Center at 4437 Portsmouth Blvd. Drop by anytime between 6:00 and 8:00 pm.

A significant number of jobs will be created as a result of the construction of the property. According to a fiscal impact analysis completed for Breckinridge, during the build out period, we anticipate 160 full time equivalent jobs will be created as a direct impact from the project. From the fully built out community, we estimate the number of jobs to grow substantially due to the indirect impacts of the project. Indirect growth includes new jobs created in the greater community to accomodate new consumer and service-oriented businesses. Total revenues from the direct impacts alone are expected to total $100 - $110 million during the build out period of 10-15 years. Details on the estimate can be found here.

Upon completion of the build out, we estimate that more than 850 jobs would be created on site. This is comprised of 1 job per 400 square feet of retail space.  Further, we estimate that total payroll from these jobs would equal $17-20 million annually.

556 luxury apartments are currently planned. The maximum number of apartments allowed in the rezoning application is 600. This number cannot increase regardless of market conditions or housing demand. However, the number may decrease.   Luxury apartments are planned, and the owner has committed in the rezoning application that no section 8 housing will be permitted at Breckinridge.

The multifamily areas have the potential to be either for sale condominiums or luxury apartments. Market conditions will dictate the build out. The community will be similar to the Cascades in Virginia Beach, also developed by Bonaventure. The multifamily community at Breckinridge will feature Class A apartments with high quality finishes and a first class amenity package. The residences will offer high end finishes, gourmet kitchens, sunrooms, controlled access and select upgrades. The amenity package will include a clubhouse with lounge area, 24-hour fitness room, business center, and resort style swimming pool.

Several studies have examined whether multifamily housing has any impact on the value of nearby single-family detached houses. These studies have shown either no impact or a slightly positive impact on appreciation rates. Not only is there compelling evidence that development does not hurt property values of nearby neighbors; researchers at Virginia Tech University have concluded that over the long run, well placed market-rate multifamily with attractive design and landscaping actually increases the value of detached houses nearby. The study cites three possible reasons why this may occur. First, the new multifamily could themselves be an indicator that an area's economy is vibrant and growing. Second, multifamily housing may increase the pool of potential future homebuyers, creating more possible buyer for existing owners when they decide to sell their houses. Third, new multifamily housing often makes an area more attractive than nearby communities that have fewer housing choices.

To further understand the impacts on housing prices from new development, we analyzed the home values of seven developments in the region: five in Chesapeake and two in Virginia Beach. Four of the projects are single family and/or condominium, two are apartments, and one is retail. The study looked at the average sale price of existing housing within ¾ of a mile to a newly rezoned project.  We looked first at 2 years before the project started, and then 3 years after the project started. The result of the study was that the new developments either had a zero or positive effect on the value of the existing housing. This includes adjusting for how the rest of the market faired during the same time period. An exhibit of this study is available by request.

At this time, the level of rent for the apartments is not known and will be dictated by market conditions once the apartments are completed. However, we anticipate rents will be as follows:

1 Br/1Bath - $1,100

2Br/2Bath - $1,300

3Br/2Bath - $1,600

Breckinridge will have entry points at Portsmouth Boulevard and Jolliff Road.

The owner is not seeking to have regular vehicular access to Jolliff Woods.

As part of the development design, the City requires that we must hold back post-development peak storm water runoff rate to pre-development levels. Therefore, the peak runoff rate to Bailey’s Creek will not increase as part of this project. It should also be noted that the key pollutant loading (sediment, phosphorus & nitrogen) will be reduced when Breckinridge is built, since a majority of the property is annually farmed.