Luxury Complex Coming

March 5, 2014

By JEREMY HUNT
Daily News-Record

HARRISONBURG — Construction recently started on a luxury apartment complex in Rockingham County.

Work is under way on the first 168 units of The Reserve at Stone Port, a complex located off Port Republic Road just south of the Harrisonburg city limits.

The Cathcart Group of Charlottesville plans to build a total of 396 units in 17 buildings between Ridgedale Road and the extension of Stone Spring Road commonly known as the southeast connector.

The company obtained $13.4 million in building permits for the project last summer, but construction was delayed until funding was secured, according to a company spokeswoman.

“With the downturn in ‘for sale’ housing markets and subsequent drop in homeownership rates, we see a significant demand in the market for a luxury rental community in Harrisonburg,” Todd Dofflemyer, president and chief executive officer of the Cathcart Group, said in a news release.

The Cathcart Group is seeking to appeal to “renters-by-choice,” including graduate students, young professionals, professors, doctors and retirees.

Undergraduate college students will not be allowed to rent apartments at The Reserve.

It will be adjacent to the Stone Port development near the intersection of Port Republic and Stone Spring roads, just north of Sentara RMH Medical Center.

Stone Port is a 105-acre mixed-use development with residential and commercial space. It will be bisected by the southeast connector, most of which should be complete by the end of the year.

In addition to the 168 residential units, The Reserve’s first phase will include a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse with space for social gatherings, a professional chef’s kitchen, a 24-hour business and fitness center, and a wide-screen movie theater.

There will also be a swimming pool, spa, outdoor fire pit and dog park.

Sherri Becker, spokeswoman for the Cathcart Group, said construction on the residential units and clubhouse should be completed late this fall.

Eventually, The Reserve will include a 27-acre “village center” with a “large grocery anchor or regional attraction with Main Street shops, restaurant[s], hotels, pharmacies and service amenities — all surrounded by attractive green spaces and water features,” the release says.

Last summer, Cathcart finished a similar project in Charlottesville called The Reserve at Belvedere, which company officials say has been well received.

“Unlike other apartment communities with standard amenities, our amenity package is unparalleled,” Rip Cathcart, chairman of the company, said in the release. “With our residents in mind, we offer a vast number of modern living and community amenities.”