RHCA OFFERS ALTERNATIVE SHOPPING CENTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN

In response to a plan (pictured above) from Combined Properties Inc. to redevelop the Rose Hill Plaza shopping center, the Rose Hill Civic Association offers for consideration an alternative proposal that addresses the concerns expressed by community residents.
Specifically, the RHCA suggests that a senior living component be included in the redevelopment plan with underground or garage parking confined to the senior living facility and store front parking preserved for other retail stores. A portion of the residential development could be set aside for personnel needed to operate the center and essential public workers, including entry-level police and fire fighters, school employees and teachers, health care, etc. The new center should also be compatible with the overall comprehensive plan for the area, including adjacent commercial and residential properties, and reflect suggestions from the community about the type of shops and businesses needed.

Recognizing the need for revitalization of a center that is 60 years old, RHCA presents this proposal as a way for Combined to realize the financial benefits of revitalization while at the same time respecting the community’s concerns.

The community does NOT support additional high density residential development.
Rose Hill is more than 65 years old and many of its streets are the same width as they were when the community was first built. Public facilities have been designed and built to accommodate low density residential.

There is little room for additional students at Rose Hill and nearby Bush Hill Elementary and Mark Twain Middle School. Rose Hill Elementary is located on busy Rose Hill Drive and traffic for student pickup at the start and end of school days already causes backups and delays.

Adding a senior living component would be a way to lessen the impact of redevelopment on both traffic and school enrollment.

Any proposed development shall address access points from Rose Hill Drive and Franconia Road through comprehensive traffic studies.
Facilities for people over age 55 produce much less traffic with a corresponding lesser need for onsite parking.  The current center also lacks an upscale sit-down restaurant. Such facilities are often found in Senor Living projects and access to the community would enhance the local dining experience for all. Likewise, small commercial shops often found in Senior Living facilities could serve the public, enhancing the financial viability for leaseholders.
Amenities typically found in senior housing, such as a pool, are already present in the community and would not be needed.
Any new development should have height limits and be compatible with existing developments, such as the Rose Hill Apartments and Heritage Knoll Condominiums. A new grocery story should be located in such a way to accommodate deliveries without impacting access to the Senior Living or commercial area.

Limit the height to three stories over one retail, except over grocery store, which shall have no additional stores over it.
The new center should be part of an overall comprehensive plan for the area now occupied by the center itself, the adjacent apartments and condos, a commercial bank, and the U.S. Post Office. The emphasis must be how the new center fits in with the surrounding suburban communities.

The mix of businesses in the center should reflect the suggestions advanced in the community surveys collected by RHCA. The community will provide the customers that will make the center a success and its desires for the type of shops and business should be taken into consideration.

Retail square footage of the new development will remain the same as in the present shopping center.