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Marquis to grow again

By Amanda Kerr

YORK -- The administrative yo-yo that The Marquis shopping center has become is taking yet another change of direction.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a request to add 80,000 square feet of space to Phase 1 of the project. That comes just weeks after developer Premier Properties submitted a second application that reduced the size of Phase 2by more than 60%, eliminating more than 350,000 square feet of retail space.

The Phase I increase is considered insignificant by the county. Earlier this month, the Planning Division administratively approved another 40,000 square feet of retail for Phase I. Tuesday's item is on the consent calendar, meaning there will be no presentation on the change and little discussion.

Because Premier already has approval to construct 800,000 square feet of space, shifting small increments between the phases is not considered a big deal. The request for 80,000 square feet is above the county's maximum for administrative approvals, yet small enough that it does not have to go before the Planning Commission.

According to county documents, the 80,000 square feet will include 9,000 square feet of retail space and the remaining 71,000 will be for a 114-room Hyatt Place hotel.

While traffic concerns forced Premier to downsize its application for Phase 2 from 553,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet, traffic studies show that the additional 80,000 square feet for Phase 1 shouldn't pose a problem. The application for Phase 2 is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission Sept. 12.

District 1 supervisor Walt Zaremba said Friday that he was pleased with how The Marquis is shaping up.

"We're excited because it brings a new dimension, a lifestyle shopping center that we don't have in York County," Zaremba said. "We're looking for The Marquis to be a regional shopping center. We're hoping it will be a good complement with respect to what we already have in our area."

Zaremba pointed out that the shopping center will bring stores like JC Penney, Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods to upper-York. The closest existing locations for those stores are in Newport News at Patrick Henry Mall.

Zaremba said he would still like to see more high-end retailers like Macy's or Nordstrom. He seemed confident that the Hyatt Place will do well.

"Conceptually to me it sounds attractive," Zaremba said of the hotel. "This is not a stand-alone hotel, it is a piece of this lifestyle center."

Zaremba said that while it is too early to know how The Marquis will turn out, he said that "it is potentially poised to be very successful."

Want to go? The Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, in York Hall at 301 Main St. in Yorktown.

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