Developers of a mixed-use project that includes rehabbing the 133-year-old Janney–Marshall Co. warehouse in downtown Fredericksburg have gotten a green light from City Council.
Council members, saying it was a difficult decision, voted 6-1 following a public hearing Tuesday to remove Mike Adams and Jon Van Zandt’s proposed The Lofts at Frederick Street from the city’s Railroad District Overlay District. This will allow the controversial four-story, multifamily building that is part of the project to have a height of 46 feet, 8 inches at its highest point.
The overlay limits the height of buildings in that part of Fredericksburg to 40 feet. The city’s Architectural Review Board had voted not to approve the mass and scale of the multifamily building because it doesn’t meet guidelines for the historic district, and several people who spoke during the public hearing portion of the meeting cited the size of the building as a reason for urging City Council not to approve removal of the overlay.
