Fort Magruder Hotel to be converted into mixed-use residential, retail development

JAMES CITY COUNTY – Another Williamsburg area hotel is set to be converted into housing.

The James City County Board of Supervisors has approved a rezoning application that will allow the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center to be transformed into a mixed-use development featuring 126 apartments and up to 32,000 square feet of retail space.

Previously known as the Crowne Plaza Hotel Williamsburg, the once-thriving destination greeted Historic Triangle visitors for nearly fifty years. Its closure means the area will lose one of its only existing conference centers.

The establishment is currently operated by Wyndham, the largest hotel franchise in the world. It bears the name of the fort that was constructed as part of a line of defensive fortifications built to defend the Virginia Peninsula during the Civil War.

Under the proposed renovation plan, the 303-room hotel will be transformed into 36 one-bedroom apartments and 90 two-bedroom apartments. Of those, 40% will be classified as “affordable” and workforce housing.

The units will rent at price points designed to be affordable to residents earning 60%, 80% and 120% of the Area Median Income.

The development would be named “The Foundry at Williamsburg.”

Conserve Holdings LLC, a New Jersey-based developer that currently owns the Grand Village at Williamsburg complex next to the hotel, has requested to purchase the property.

Plans submitted to the county call for the removal of the hotel’s replica cannons, fence, stockade and tennis court. The developer currently intends to keep the site’s current indoor and outdoor pools as well as its fitness facility.

Vernon Geddy III, an attorney representing the property’s potential buyer. said that the hotel has “has struggled and has been severely underutilized” for several years.

“It’s the adaptive reuse of an aging and underutilized property through a multi-million-dollar renovation to provide quality, affordable workforce and market-rate housing,” Geddy said.

Supervisor Ruth Larson expressed some reservations about the proposal, saying the number of local hotels transitioning into housing is becoming worrisome.

“There’s a need for this type of development in our area, but I’m concerned over losing that hotel inventory,” Larson said. “I don’t want this to discourage someone from coming here, because there are so many opportunities moving ahead. So, this is a real balance.”

Larson questioned whether the Historic Triangle has enough hotels to support the significant increase in sports tourism expected in the coming years. A new Regional Sports Center is slated to open adjacent to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center in 2026.

So far, 40 weekends have been booked for the center’s first year, Larson said.

“Some of these tournaments are quite large and taking every room that we have,” Larson said. “I hate to see those rooms leave our inventory.”

No new hotels have opened in James City County in the past two decades, according to Larson. Additionally, the Fort Magruder Hotel is among one of 20 to hotels permanently close its doors without being replaced by another lodging facility.

“I’m hopeful there will be an opportunity for another hotel,” Larson added.

In addition to apprehension surrounding the loss of another once-thriving hotel, concerns were raised about the potential degradation of a historic redoubt on the site of the proposed redevelopment.

Alison Woodard, a representative of the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, requested the placement of a protective easement over the property.

“This redoubt is one of 14 that was originally built early in the Civil War to defend the Peninsula against a Union Army ascending to capture Richmond,” Woodard said. “There was an artillery battery in the reboubt that was manned by local James City County and Williamsburg soldiers.”

Chris Henderson said preserving the site’s Civil War history is “critically important” and expressed concern that residents could unknowingly cause damage to the site of the redoubt unless sufficient efforts are made to preserve it.

Henderson also argued that the concept of mixed residential and retail use for the site may not make sense.

“The commercial component is going to struggle,” Henderson said. “I fear that a few years down the road, you’re going to be confronted with a situation where you’ve got underutilized space that’s been reserved for commercial uses that simply didn’t come into existence.”

The board approved the ordinance to allow the hotel conversion by a vote of 5-0. They also unanimously adopted a resolution to “encourage the developer” to seek out a historic easement to permanently protect the redoubt.