Chicken restaurant, national coffee chain, Wawa eye Clevengers Corner project

Culpeper County supervisors approved changes earlier this month to the Stonehaven Village development at Clevengers Corner.

The project is located near routes 229 and 211 and was formerly known as Clevenger’s Village. It was first approved in 2005 and was to be developed by Centex Homes into both housing and commercial retail space.

In 2018, the property was purchased by Saadeh Partners, LLC and reengineered with Lennar Homes brought in to handle the residential side. Approximately 300 homes have been built with several hundred more planned.

Simultaneously, Saadeh began the commercial portion which currently consists of grading to accommodate three retail buildings -- two in-line retail areas and a 25,0000 square foot grocery store. Overall, the project will include 144,000 square feet of commercial development and 210,000 square feet of light industrial.

Developer Emad Saadeh said market conditions have changed post-COVID, thus the need for the amendments proposed. He said the project has been reconfigured, with buildings facing Route 211 to draw customers in. He said in-line retail buildings will offer drive-thrus and pick-up lanes, things that have become popular post-pandemic. The plan is for the first building to be erected by the end of 2025.

Saadeh said he already has a letter of intent from a chicken-based restaurant, one that couldn’t specifically be named due to a non-disclosure agreement. There is also interest from a nationally recognized coffee retailer, and the location is currently the top choice for Wawa with Culpeper competing against a location in Fauquier County.

The amendments presented by Saadeh include adjusting the setback to 50 feet plus the reservation of 22 feet of right-of-way, totaling 142 feet from the southbound land of Route 211 to the project. It was initially 178 feet. The amendments also remove 12 apartments that were to be located above the retail space. Saadeh said these just aren’t financially viable, plus the removal of the chance of a data center locating in the light industrial portion of the project.

The amendments also proffer 25-cents per square foot of retail space to the sheriff’s office and $45,000 to fund improvements at the nearby Spillman Park. Saadeh said he also plans to not only follow the county’s lighting regulations, which include provisions to protect communities from light pollution, but will also go a step further by complying with the principles of DarkSky International which are more stringent.

“We’ve been quite clear on the fact we will finish the product to 144,000 square feet as intended by the board,” Saadeh said. “We are committed to it. [These adjustments are] just ironing out some issues in the project that make it more marketable and gets it advanced further and further into development.”

Several residents said they were supportive of the changes. Adam Neal, who owns property adjacent to the development, encouraged supervisors to support the amendments. He said doing so will ensure the county ends up with a nice development, versus a half-finished eyesore.

Volunteer fire company chief Doug Monaco agreed. He said the area is somewhat of a food desert and having additional options would be a benefit to residents.

Meanwhile, Stonehaven resident Brandon Lewis asked supervisors to ensure Saadeh follows through with his DarkSky promise. As a member of the international group, Lewis said many developers claim they will stay within the guidelines, but ultimately don’t.

Piedmont Environmental Council Land Use Field Representative Sarah Parmelee spoke in favor of the removal of any possibility of data centers locating within the project. However, she asked that the landscaping phase of the project be moved up and the design standards be set to something similar to what is seen in the towns of Culpeper and Warrenton with brick facades and designs more in keeping with local architecture.

Supervisors spoke in favor of the amendments. Gary Deal of the West Fairfax District and David Durr of the Cedar Mountain District said the plan was a good one with the changes being positive. Jefferson District Supervisor Brad Rosenberger said the project is a better one than what was originally approved. He said there is no reason to build a bunch of stores no business would go into and the amendments are a better way to go about the project. He also noted that the best dark skies are in Rappahannock County.

The amendments were approved unanimously.