The city will explain its Old Town redevelopment plan and a future expansion around the Old Hospital at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. The meeting is at the Old Hospital, 333 W. Cork St.

The city of Winchester plans to widen its Old Town redevelopment plan to take in the area around the Old Hospital on West Cork Street. It will explain the plan and the expansion at a community meeting next week.

The meeting runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, inside the Old Hospital at 333 W. Cork St. The city’s event listing invites residents to learn about the Old Town planning process “and a future expansion to include the area around the Old Hospital.”

The listing does not say where the new boundary would run or what the plan proposes for the hospital building. Those details are expected at the meeting.

What the Old Town plan is

Old Town is the fourth of Winchester’s Neighborhood Design Districts. In each one, the city draws up a plan for an area first and then rezones it itself, instead of waiting for developers to bring forward their own projects. The city says this gives residents and builders “certainty” about what can go where.

The city’s Neighborhood Design Districts page lists where each district stands:

  • Cedar Valley, along Valley Avenue, Cedar Creek Grade and Weems Lane in Ward 4: approved
  • Cider Hill, along Fairmont Avenue in Ward 1: approved
  • Berryville Avenue in Ward 2: Comprehensive Plan amendment approved
  • Old Town: in progress

A fifth district may follow along South Pleasant Valley Road in Ward 3, the page says.

The city says the Old Town plan complements Friends of Old Town’s “Old Town 2045” strategy. It focuses on areas near the walking mall, not the mall itself.

What the plan has looked at so far

The city showed residents its draft thinking at a public meeting on May 7. The display boards from that meeting say the aim is to keep Old Town’s historic character while allowing new buildings that fit in and the reuse of historic ones.

The boards list Old Town’s weak spots as:

  • underused surface parking lots
  • many empty or underused upper floors
  • few bike paths or bike facilities
  • periodic flooding

They also mark sites for possible future infill and redevelopment. These include the former Southern States site, the Braddock Street United Methodist parking lot and the Moose Lodge. The Feltner Building parking lot and the Jacob Sperry House at 204 S. Kent St. are shown as possible public gathering spaces. The boards also flag an eastern gateway, a South Loudoun gateway, Fairfax Lane and Town Run.

These are planning concepts, not approved projects. Nothing on the boards says any property owner has agreed to sell or build.

How the plan gets approved

The timeline on the May boards aimed for adoption by the Planning Commission and City Council by the end of 2026. The city has not said whether adding the Old Hospital area changes that.

Each district plan goes through the same steps, according to the city:

  1. An advisory committee drafts the plan.
  2. The city holds a community meeting to share it and take feedback.
  3. City Council amends the Comprehensive Plan.
  4. City Council amends the zoning ordinance.
  5. The city sponsors the rezoning of the affected land.
  6. The Planning Commission reviews the plan and makes recommendations, and City Council gives final approval.

The advisory committee has four members of the public, two council members, one planning commissioner and one member of the Economic Development Authority board. City staff and market, zoning and design consultants support it.

The city says it plans to pay for roads, utilities and other public improvements in the districts through tax increment financing. That means the extra property tax from rising values in the district covers the cost, which the city says avoids raising taxes on current residents.

What it means for you

If you live, own property or run a business in or near Old Town, this is the plan that will shape what can be built on your block. The city rezones the land itself once the plan is approved, so the community meetings are the main chance to have a say before the rules change.

The Nov. 19 meeting is the first chance to see what the city has in mind for the blocks around the Old Hospital. Questions before then can go to Rouss City Hall, 15 N. Cameron St., on the city’s main number, 540-667-1815.