More than a year after the long-running Greater Manassas Baseball League learned the city planned to sell the land its fields sit upon, a future home could soon be finalized.
Developer Stanley Martin Homes, which has been seeking to build homes on the former 92-acre Kline Dairy Farm, has amended its plans to include a new baseball and softball complex.
On Nov. 30, the project will be reviewed by the Prince William County Planning Commission, according to county employees and the youth baseball league.
The new proposal greatly reduces the number and size of homes that would be built in the Kline Farm property — it would include a total of 240 townhomes, according to Truett Young, vice president of land in the Northern Virginia division of Stanley Martin.
“It’s taken a while to get here, but we’re very excited about the project,” Young said.
In September 2021, the Manassas City Council pre-approved the sale of 18 acres of city-owned land at the northeast intersection of Route 28 and Godwin Drive, giving Micron Technology Inc. the option to purchase the property within three years for $14.1 million.
The sale would include the E.G. Smith Baseball Complex, prompting outcry from league officials and players’ families. City officials pledged to relocate the baseball league to a permanent home.
“While our preference was to stay at our current location, we are hopeful that this new plan will come to fruition and allow us to continue to work with the youth of Manassas City and Prince William County,” said Colby Poteat, the league’s president.
According to the Greater Manassas Baseball League website, Stanley Martin would provide 45 acres of land to build an elementary school and a baseball/softball complex. Under the plan, 20 acres would be dedicated for the school, and 25 acres would house six baseball and softball diamonds, some of which could be reconfigured for younger players.
Development of the Kline Farms property has been the subject of controversy in the years since 1989, when the dairy ceased production.
In 2020, Board of County Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler told WTOP the project needed a “new set of eyes.” At the time, Stanley Martin’s application included 57 single-family homes, 120 “two-over-two” condominiums and 74 townhomes, surrounding a 145,000 square foot commercial center.
In addition to limiting the housing to 240 townhomes, Young said Stanley Martin Homes has also scaled the project’s retail, to include a pharmacy, drive-through restaurant and daycare.
On Wednesday, asked whether she would support the new Stanley Martin plan that will come before the planning commission, Wheeler seemed optimistic about the possibilities: “We haven’t been presented this project yet, so I have not taken a position, but I would say that the benefits of a needed school site as well as additional sports fields cannot be overlooked or discounted.”
