It looks like a new set of retail shops on Monticello Avenue will no longer be coming to fruition.
Tricor International, a residential and commercial developer, has withdrawn its special use permit and rezoning application to develop a set of retail shops on 2.75 acres of land on the south side of the Monticello Avenue corridor, said Paul Holt, planning director for James City County.
The withdrawal comes after the James City County Planning Commission denied recommendation during their December meeting.
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“The applicant noted they may ultimately be unable to gain approval of the request and that the project had become economically infeasible,” Holt wrote in an email.
A sign in the area that read “Coming Soon Retail Shops” with the company’s name and information has been removed.
Representatives from Tricor were not immediately available for comment.
In recent months, the company found a struggle for support in the area. An online petition began circulating in December to put a stop to the project and, as of Wednesday morning, had 541 signatures.
The project was aimed to develop 13,000 square feet of commercial space near the intersection of Monticello Avenue, Old News Road and Ironbound Road.
While county staff had recommended approval for the project because of its consistency with the comprehensive plan, locals and Planning Commission members were concerned about the traffic impacts in that area.
Over the course of three years, Tricor worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation to analyze the traffic impact. From that study, it showed the development would create a net increase of 532 new vehicle trips per day with a total increase of 887 trips per day.
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Those concerns were the focus of the online petition.
“As anyone who drives through that part of the county will tell you, there is a high volume of traffic and significant travel delay as it stands today,” according to the petition. “Adding more shops and creating a new flow of traffic that includes an altered stop light pattern to allow for entry into the new shopping area will be detrimental for those who travel that road daily.”
The study also provided suggestions for improving the traffic in the area but it seems as though it wasn’t enough to limit the concern.
The next Planning Commission meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Feb. 5 in the James City County Government Complex.
