GROWTH CENTER PROJECT UNDERWAY IN FAIRFAX

Growth center project underway in Fairfax
Sixty housing units village green part of long term plan
By LEE J. KAHRS
Messenger Staff Writer

FAIRFAX — A long-awaited development project in the growth center here broke ground this week.

Developers John Workman and David Modica have begun construction of the road and infrastructure for the project, which calls for 14 single-family home lots and a 47-unit building designed for elderly housing with a parking lot below.

The project has been plagued by setbacks and delays for more than four years. In 2003, the District 6 Environmental Commission determined that 22 of the 35 acres involved contained agricultural soils as defined by Act 250.

In order to receive state construction approval, property owners can opt to mitigate, meaning to buy and preserve agricultural land elsewhere as a trade-off for developing property containing agricultural soils.

Last summer, Workman and Modica agreed to pay the state $63,000 for agricultural soils mitigation.

One drawback to mitigation is that it can add to the overall cost of homes. The project was originally planned to ease the affordable housing crisis in Fairfax, one of the fastest growing towns in the state.

It could have been worse. An original mitigation estimate in 2003 put the cost as high as $150,000.

Now, with an Act 250 permit in hand, the developers are finally moving ahead.

Cross Consulting Engineers in St. Albans designed the project. Sam Ruggiano, formerly of Cross, will be the consulting engineer during the construction process.

Ruggiano said the road and utilities should be finished within the next two months, and the single-family building lots should be ready for sale by mid-summer. Plans call for the lots to be sold to individuals or to a housing developer.

Ruggiano said Phase 2A of the project also has been approved, clearing the way for construction of five more homes with one duplex on each lot for a total of 10 units.

Developers are still awaiting a permit on Phase 2, which involves 10 single-family lots, a village green, and a 61-space above-ground parking lot. There also has been discussion about adding a recreation path.