Redevelopment plan includes more than 40 apartments

The Winchester Economic Development Authority is involved in a public/private partnership that aims to redevelop a section of the city’s downtown.

Last December, the EDA established Piccadilly Street Investments LLC to buy three properties from 204 to 214 E. Piccadilly St. as part of a beautification plan.

In February, the EDA also purchased 202 to 206 N. Kent St. as part of the project. The total price tag for all of the purchased properties was $1.3 million.

The EDA reached out to several developers to see whether they had an interest in establishing a partnership to redevelop the area.

“We had good interest, but the group we are partnering with, Providence Capital Partners LLC, stepped up to do the deal. We are working with them on the best approach and most beneficial redevelopment of the site,” says Shawn Hershberger, Winchester’s development services director.

The EDA is planning to take down the existing buildings to make way for a mixed-use project that will include businesses on the first floor and 40 to 45 apartments.

Only one of the buildings purchased has a business tenant, and the EDA is in the process of “working with them on a relocation plan,” Hershberger says. “There is currently a residential tenant in 204 N. Kent as well. We have spoken with them and made it clear we will give them an adequate advance notice for when the lease will be terminated.”

The overall impact of the project will provide additional residential units with some geared toward workforce housing as well as an increased tax base. “The goal of the project ultimately is to set the stage for future growth in Winchester,” Hersh­berger says.

The EDA would like to see the project completed in the first quarter of 2020, but that timeline is “optimistic,” Hershberger says.

“Right now, there are still some rezonings going on,” he says. “A portion of the parcels we purchased is going through Board of Architecture review. We need to finalize plans and move toward redevelopment.”