|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Decision time for Salamander
"Relaxed elegance" and "relaxed luxury" is how Prem Devadas – lead spokesman for the Salamander Resort and Spa -- describes the five-star, 168-room retreat that has been vying to make Middleburg its home for six years.
This week, a decision to bring the resort to the historic town may be at hand. Town Council meets Aug. 9 and is scheduled to vote on the project after a public hearing.
Former Black Entertainment Television co-owner and Salamander entrepreneur Sheila Johnson started plans for a small upscale country inn in 2001 after buying the Harriman estate north of Middleburg for $7 million.
Since then, the plans have escalated into a grand resort and spa, with rooms ranging in price from $250 to $600 a night, Guest rooms, measuring 550 square feet, feature flat-screen televisions and custom-built Virginia-style furniture.
Faced with the presence of such a resort, town residents and business owners continue to debate the complex's positive and negative impacts on the community of 650 residents.
Local businesses
Many shop owners in Middleburg see the 340-acre resort as a boon to business, bringing upscale tourists to the downtown.
The resort “is going to bring the clientele that Middleburg merchants need to increase business, which is so vital to long-term growth,” said Cathy Magee, sales and marketing manager for Books and Crannies. Magee said the owners of the shop remain in full support of Salamander owner Johnson's plan.
As part of the resort's charm, Salamander's Devadas says, miles of foot and bike paths will lead through the resort grounds and connect the resort to the town.
To be within walking distance of the town, "We relocated the resort from back in the woods out into the field," Devadas said.
The increased foot traffic, Magee said, will help merchants keep up with rising rents. She said Johnson has even asked the bookshop owners to help build a library at the resort.
And business owners who offer similar services are optimistic about the resort.
JoAnn Hazard, who owns the Middleburg Country Inn with husband Kevin, said she has no fear that the resort will interfere with her bed and breakfast because the two businesses offer completely different lodging experiences.
"I think we complement each other," Hazard said.
Shaina Berry, co-owner of Cuppa Giddy Up coffee shop, said she understands why people are reacting to the size of the resort, but in the end she thinks it will be good for the town.
"I think that everything [Johnson's] doing in the town has been nice ... like Market Salamander. It'll be good growth for Middleburg."
David Hamilton, co-owner of Greystoke & Verner, an antique and fine art dealer in Middleburg, voiced the reservation of some community members. Hamilton said he thinks the resort will “overpower” the town. He expressed doubt as to whether people who go to the resort will even visit Middleburg, with all of the amenities offered on site.
“They might come into town, but they won't have to,” he said.
Traffic
“I can't see how [traffic] could get much worse,” said Shaina Berry.
As part of the agreement between the town and resort, Salamander has agreed to help the town's traffic-calming efforts. This includes a project to increase the turning radiuses on Pendleton Street's north and south ends so that construction and other service vehicles can move through the area without disturbing traffic.
In addition, Salamander is giving Middleburg $50,000 in cash as "seed money" to look for grants and start plans with the Virginia Department of Transportation for improvements to the intersection of West Marshall and North Madison streets, said Town Manager Jerry Schiro.
As part of the planning application for the resort, the Salamander development team conducted a traffic study to show the impact of the additional drivers the resort would bring to the town.
"The traffic study showed that there would be no significant impact and that it would not create unsatisfactory conditions," Devadas said.
But Middleburg Vice Mayor Darlene Kirk disagreed.
"Of course there is [going to be an impact]," she said. "Even if you have a hundred people staying [at the resort], that's a hundred cars."
The resort had planned on busing visitors in from the airport or from an out-of-town location, Kirk said, but even so, there would still be the added traffic caused by employees and supply trucks.
"[Salamander] should do a lot more," Kirk said. "They want us to have Madison Street fixed. Well, the town can't afford that. If they want it, they can do it."
Other improvements, additions
According to Devadas, Salamander plans to employ about 200 people to work in the resort and spa, the restaurant (where entrees will run from $25 to $30), the 28-stall horse barn, as well as a landscaping team to maintain the 340 acres – of which Salamander has agreed to put 255 acres in conservation easement, thus preventing further development.
As part of its agreement with Middleburg, Salamander will build the town a new water and sewer treatment plant, estimated at $5 million, which will service the town and resort.
In addition, plans for Salamander now include a mixed-use village, with 30,000 square feet of commercial office space and about 50 housing units, including 48 apartments. These changes will also be voted on Aug. 9.
The resort, spa and mixed village is within the town limits, which means the town, as well as the county, would share in the tax revenue.
“The taxes on the meals and services could help a lot,” Town Planner David Beniamino said.
He said that if the Salamander Resort is denied by the town, Johnson has the right to build 49 homes on her property – spread out over the entire property -- without any permission from Town Council.
Middleburg Mayor Betsy Allen Davis, who would vote Aug. 9 only to break a tie, said the escalation in room numbers and the size of the project are due to a change in the economy and the costs of the Salamander project -- estimated at $130 million.
"Some of those early numbers like 40 [rooms] were never really formally looked at by the town," she said. "That was years ago and expenses change. "
The increase is needed "for the numbers to work for them to be a success," Davis said.
The mayor said she thinks the resort will be a good addition for the town and it will likely be approved at Thursday's meeting.
Contact the reporters at hhobbs@timespapers.com and akeisman@timespapers.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.