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Housing on horizon
John Mullins moving ahead with plans to develop for Chancellorsville land
By RUSTY DENNEN
01/07/2003Fredericksburg Free Lance Star
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/F...072004/1222149
Houses could soon sprout on land connected to the Civil War's Chancellorsville campaign.
John Mullins, who owns nearly 800 acres along State Route 3, also appears to be moving ahead on plans for commercial development on a portion of the historic tract as well.
Mullins, owner of Covenant Funeral Service, is awaiting approval of a site plan submitted to SpotsylvaniaCounty planners last fall for Section Two of Ashley Farms subdivision. That could happen within the next few weeks.
The plan calls for 32 houses on lots ranging from two to five acres in size. In papers filed with the county, Mullins says site work could begin as early as March.
Section Two encompasses 136 acres of the 273-acre Ashley-Orrock tract. Mullins already has county permission to develop 30 lots in Section One.
Just before Christmas, signs went up on Mullins' property advertising the availability of commercial pad sites. The telephone number listed on the sign is Mullins', who does business as Mullco Inc., with his wife, Barbara.
The signs don't mean that stores and offices will appear anytime soon. No plans have been filed for 55 acres zoned for commercial use by lame duck county supervisors in late 1999.
"The next step would be a site plan," said Wanda Parish, SpotsylvaniaCounty planning manager.
Mullins declined to comment yesterday.
He has made several attempts to develop the 781 acres he bought in 1995 for $2.8 million.
In 1999 he withdrew a plan for a golf course, subdivision and office park. Last year, a plan to sell the land to a Northern Virginia developer who wanted to build a large mixed-use village called Chancellorsville, fell through when the county refused to rezone the property.
Mullins has the zoning he needs to build up to 225 homes, offices and small stores on the Ashley-Orrock parcel.
Even that has been a long and drawn out process due to review by local, state and federal agencies. Last October, the Army Corps of Engineers gave conditional approval to Mullins' plans after reviewing six proposed stream crossings.
Mullins has taken some steps toward preservation. He went along with corps recommendations for an archaeological investigation to determine the boundaries of the Civil War-era Ebenezer McGee house and adjacent outbuildings and agreed to move a road away from that preservation area.
He also agreed to place signs describing the events associated with the first day of fighting of the May 1, 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville, including the Lick Run Element and the McGee house. And he agreed to maintain a visual easement between the McGee house site and Lick Run, a small stream, which bisects the property.
The corps' decision to issue its permit went against a recommendation for a more thorough review by the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Michael Stevens, a local doctor and president of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, said he's still hopeful that some of the rest of Mullins' land can be preserved.
Stevens said yesterday that the nonprofit trust has been in contact with Mullins in recent weeks. "We are in the process now of developing some specific details about an offer. I do believe that there is still an opening."
The trust has been trying to make a deal since 2000 and discussions have been on-again, off-again. At one point, Mullins was reportedly asking $40 million for the land, which last year was assessed at $5.6 million.
Mullins' land, just east of the National Park Service's Chancellorsville battlefield, was part of nearly three days of fighting in the spring of 1863. But some parts of the tract are more historically significant than others.
The Ashley-Orrock tract, for example, is not part of the first-day fighting. However, it is within the Lick Run Element where Gen. Robert E. Lee crossed after that battle.
John Mullins moving ahead with plans to develop for Chancellorsville land
By RUSTY DENNEN
01/07/2003Fredericksburg Free Lance Star
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/F...072004/1222149
Houses could soon sprout on land connected to the Civil War's Chancellorsville campaign.
John Mullins, who owns nearly 800 acres along State Route 3, also appears to be moving ahead on plans for commercial development on a portion of the historic tract as well.
Mullins, owner of Covenant Funeral Service, is awaiting approval of a site plan submitted to SpotsylvaniaCounty planners last fall for Section Two of Ashley Farms subdivision. That could happen within the next few weeks.
The plan calls for 32 houses on lots ranging from two to five acres in size. In papers filed with the county, Mullins says site work could begin as early as March.
Section Two encompasses 136 acres of the 273-acre Ashley-Orrock tract. Mullins already has county permission to develop 30 lots in Section One.
Just before Christmas, signs went up on Mullins' property advertising the availability of commercial pad sites. The telephone number listed on the sign is Mullins', who does business as Mullco Inc., with his wife, Barbara.
The signs don't mean that stores and offices will appear anytime soon. No plans have been filed for 55 acres zoned for commercial use by lame duck county supervisors in late 1999.
"The next step would be a site plan," said Wanda Parish, SpotsylvaniaCounty planning manager.
Mullins declined to comment yesterday.
He has made several attempts to develop the 781 acres he bought in 1995 for $2.8 million.
In 1999 he withdrew a plan for a golf course, subdivision and office park. Last year, a plan to sell the land to a Northern Virginia developer who wanted to build a large mixed-use village called Chancellorsville, fell through when the county refused to rezone the property.
Mullins has the zoning he needs to build up to 225 homes, offices and small stores on the Ashley-Orrock parcel.
Even that has been a long and drawn out process due to review by local, state and federal agencies. Last October, the Army Corps of Engineers gave conditional approval to Mullins' plans after reviewing six proposed stream crossings.
Mullins has taken some steps toward preservation. He went along with corps recommendations for an archaeological investigation to determine the boundaries of the Civil War-era Ebenezer McGee house and adjacent outbuildings and agreed to move a road away from that preservation area.
He also agreed to place signs describing the events associated with the first day of fighting of the May 1, 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville, including the Lick Run Element and the McGee house. And he agreed to maintain a visual easement between the McGee house site and Lick Run, a small stream, which bisects the property.
The corps' decision to issue its permit went against a recommendation for a more thorough review by the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Michael Stevens, a local doctor and president of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, said he's still hopeful that some of the rest of Mullins' land can be preserved.
Stevens said yesterday that the nonprofit trust has been in contact with Mullins in recent weeks. "We are in the process now of developing some specific details about an offer. I do believe that there is still an opening."
The trust has been trying to make a deal since 2000 and discussions have been on-again, off-again. At one point, Mullins was reportedly asking $40 million for the land, which last year was assessed at $5.6 million.
Mullins' land, just east of the National Park Service's Chancellorsville battlefield, was part of nearly three days of fighting in the spring of 1863. But some parts of the tract are more historically significant than others.
The Ashley-Orrock tract, for example, is not part of the first-day fighting. However, it is within the Lick Run Element where Gen. Robert E. Lee crossed after that battle.