TOANO — Williamsburg Pottery will be home to the Coastal Community Church Williamsburg campus, after a unanimous approval of the James City County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night.
The Church is preparing to relocate to Building “B” at the Pottery, following a favorable recommendation from the James City County Planning Commission regarding a proposed Master Plan Amendment and rezoning request for the property at 6810 Richmond Road.
During its Dec. 3, meeting, the Planning Commission voted 6–0 to recommend approval of the amendment, which would allow Coastal Community Church to occupy one of the largest vacant storefronts along the corridor. The church plans to convert the space into a campus featuring a 1,000-seat auditorium, Coastal Kids Sunday School classrooms, and limited office use, with 208 parking spaces proposed as part of the plan.
The application was presented by Shaun Brown, who has served as pastor of Coastal Community Church for nearly 25 years. Brown told commissioners the church intends to make minimal changes to the exterior of Building “B,” focusing primarily on interior renovations to adapt the space for worship and community use.
Coastal Community Church was founded 25 years ago in Yorktown and has since expanded to seven campuses stretching from Chesapeake to Richmond.
“Williamsburg is the only campus without a permanent home,” Brown said, a need the Williamsburg Pottery location would address.
He also pointed to the church’s experience repurposing large commercial properties, noting a previous renovation of a former Kroger building in Yorktown.
“We have a history of redoing facilities of this size,” Brown said.
Board members expressed support for the proposal, emphasizing the benefit of revitalizing a long-vacant space.
“I hear constituents talk about taxes, but I also hear constituents talk about storefronts,” said board member Jim Icenhour, who said he took that under consideration. “This is one of the biggest empty storefronts of the whole corridor. This is a good repurposing, a good reutilization of a facility that is otherwise lying dormant.”
“I think it will add to the benefit of the community … I will have no problem supporting this application,” he added.
Board member Barbara Null said she was enthusiastic about the plan, calling it “a good use of the property that has been sitting vacant for years.”
