Located near historic Colonial Williamsburg, on the banks of the James River, Kingsmill on the James is one of Williamsburg Va’s original master planned golf communities. Set on 2,900 acres, Kingsmill offers a variety of exclusive neighborhoods set against a backdrop of green hills and forests.
Kingsmill Resort & Spa is Virginia’s largest golf resort, boasting 63 holes of world-class golf on 2,900 acres along the historic James River. The Kingsmill community offers it’s residents a gated community with 24 hour security, tennis, a full-service marina, six restaurants and lounges, outdoor pools, tennis, playgrounds,walking trails and much more
History
Steeped in a tradition of gracious Southern hospitality, Kingsmill heralds a rich history dating back to Colonial America. The bucolic land located along the banks of the mighty James River was considered as a permanent base by the first Englishmen on May 12, 
1607. They decided to settle at Jamestown the next day. Located in the heart of Virginia ‘s Historic Triangle, it should come as no surprise that the land now known as Kingsmill featured a bustling plantation from 1619 through the 1800s.
Kingsmill Resort
The Woods Course was named by Golf Magazine in 2000 as a “Top Ten New Course You Can Play.” River’s Edge neighborhood received a Platinum “Best in American Living, 2000,” award from National Association of Home Builders and Professional Builder magazine.
The three Golf courses in Kingsmill are: the River Course, the Plantation Course and the Woods course. The 6,853-yard
, par-71 Pete Dye-designed River Course hosts the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill. The terrain flaunts hills, elevated greens, thick woods and water all around.
Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay’s 6,543-yard Plantation layout is more wide open and less demanding of pinpoint accuracy 
than its sibling. It has water coming into play on eight holes. It is marked by historical landmarks from a 1736 plantation.
Curtis Strange, the Kingsmill Touring PGA Pro, designed the Woods Course, Kingsmill’s newest addition. It has been honored by Golf Magazine as a “Top 
Ten New Course You Can Play. “Its deep ravines, fairway bunkers and elevated greens offer a challenge.
Finally, there is a nine-hole Bray Links course directly behind the resort.
River’s Edge is comprised of 3,000 to 3,900-square-foot, custom-designed, deluxe townhouses 80 feet above the banks of the James River. Enjoyable views are present in every room. cost. Residents also have an auto court, leading to a two-car garage, plus a front porch, and a secluded, brick and stone terrace.
River Bluffs, located above the James River, is area’s most Luxurious Condo Residence. Elegant condo units providing panoramic river vistas of the James River.
Townhomes, Cluster Homes & Riverfront Villas
Two, three, and four-bedroom townhomes with 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 baths, walk-in closets, fireplaces and special sound engineering.
Patio Homes 
Single-family detached homes on minimum sized lots adjacent to the golf course. Single story homes with private patios or decks designed for minimum maintenance. For resale only, from $300,000 to $500,000.
Heavily wooded home sites, custom built and custom designed homes, all 
utilities underground.
Building lots are available in Kingsmill , the newest section of home sites in Spenser’s Mill consists of 38 lots.. The home sites are heavily wooded and provide wonderful privacy and views to conservation easements and distant views to the James River. Prices range 
from: approximately $270,000 – approximately $400,000 +.
This community preserves green spaces (40 percent of the property will remain untouched) and archeologically significant areas.
golf courses available for play throughout the year and the nine-hole, par-3 Bray Links.
dockside fuel service and harbor shop.
fitness center, saunas, steam rooms, whirlpool, basketball, racquetball courts and game room.Social clubs for residents include a Watercolor Art Group , Needle Arts ,Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts ,Children’s Playgroup , Girl Scouts
Neighborhoods in Kingsmill include: Archer’s Mead, Burwell’s Landing, Littletown Quarter, Quarterpath Trace, Wareham’s Point, Burwell’s GreenWilliamsburg/ JCC Schools for Kingsmill are James River Elementary, James Blair Middle, Jamestown High School.
Search all homes for sale in Kingsmill, Williamsburg Va
Search Building lots for sale in Kingsmill , Williamsburg, VA
According to figures from the Williamsburg MLS, 64 Homes sold in Kingsmill in the last 12 months for prices ranging from $250,000 to $3,000,000. There are currently 63 homes listed for sale.
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Location Map of Kingsmill
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114418637777095827713.000462e3056e2fdba67d4&s=AARTsJqnNXWlnYoQLv7Io_DU814zR-UYLg&ll=37.232515,-76.672211&spn=0.065604,0.109863&z=13&output=embed&w=640&h=480]
Ok. It’s been awhile . I am plagiarizing myself from an earlier post.
Reasons We like living in Williamsburg, VA
Voted one of the Top 5 Best places to retire by Money Magazine ( when we reach that age)
Good neighbor passes to Colonial Williamsburg
Grand Illumination at Christmas
Great Wolf Lodge
Farmers Market on Duke on Gloucester St
Kimball Theater
Williamsburg Regional Library Concert series
Williamsburg/ James City County School System
Colonial Parkway from Jamestown to Yorktown
Williamsburg Winery/ Wedmore Place
Dinner at Chownings Tavern/ Fat Canary/ Blue Talon/ Opus 9
Desert at the Trellis ” Death by Chocolate”
Capital to Capital Bicycle Trail
Muscarelle Museum of Art
Dewey Decibel Concert Series at the Williamsburg Library Theatre
Golf at Golden Horshoe Golf Club, Williamsburg National, Stonehouse, Kiskiak, etc 17 Local Courses
First Night Williamsburg
County Recreation Center
Grocery Shopping at Ukrops, The Fresh Market, Trader Joes
An Occasion for the Arts
Brewster’s Ice Cream
SUMMER BREEZE CONCERT SERIES Concerts on Duke of Gloucester Street
Shopping at Prime Outlets, Merchants Square, Williamsburg Pottery
Bush Neck Farm – Pick-your-own strawberries, apples, blueberries, asparagus, sweet corn, peaches, pumpkins.
Busch Gardens Seasons Passes “Howl-Scream”
Water Country
The Plantations along Rt 5 , Shirley, Sherwood, Berkley etc.
Williamsburg Ale Werks Williamsburg’s only Microbrewery
William & Mary Football/ Tailgate Parties in the Fall
Mountain Bike Trails Freedom Park, New Quarter Park York River State Park
Kayaking/ paddle boats at Chickahominy Riverfront Park, Waller Mill Park and Little Creek Reservoir
Concerts at the newly renovated amphitheater at William & Mary
Paul’s Deli, Greenleafe Cafe
The wonderful playground Kidsburg/ Mid County Park
Skate Park at JCC Rec Center
New Town and it’s wonderful shops and restaurants
Prime Outlets
Phi Beta Kappa Hall – Performing Arts Series
Ewell Hall, Department of Music – Performing Arts Series
Christopher Wren Society at William and Mary
Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Classics at St. Bede Concert Series
The Virginia Arts Festival presents performances by the world’s top-flight artists in classical music, dance, theatre and jazz.
The Williamsburg Symphonia, Classical Music Series
Virginia Shakespeare Festival @ W&M
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
at Colonial Williamsburg
Aromas Coffeehouse
An Occasion for the Arts
Colonial Polo Cup
Tavern Ghost Walks in Colonial Williamsburg
“Revolutionary City,”
Spending the night in a Colonial Home in Williamsburg
4th of July fireworks at Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg
The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg
McCormick-Nagelsen Tennis Center
Spending the night at the Williamsburg Inn or Lodge
Youth Sports Teams: Baseball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Swimming, Football, Volleyball, Wrestling, Karate, Ballet, gymnastics, etc.
WISC (Williamsburg Indoor Sports Center)
Blueberry pancakes at Chickahominy House
Christmas Parade in Colonial Williamsburg
Tide Radio and WBACH radio stations and WRRW
William & Mary College”The second Oldest College in the U.S.
Kingsmill, Fords Colony, Governors Land, Stonehouse, Greensprings neighborhoods all with wonderful golf facilities.
Rock and Roll half Marathon in VA Beach
Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach
Paul Shagrue ” Out of the Box on 89.5
North End of Va Beach Ocean Front
VA Living Museum
Hampton Bay Days
Mariners Museum
ECSC East Coast Surfing Championships at VA Beach
Proximity to the Mountains/ Skiing
Proximity to Va Beach and the Outer Banks
Harborfest in Norfolk
Ghent in Norfolk
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in VB
Ferguson Center in NN
nTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Va Beach
VA Aquarium
Sailing on the Chesapeake Bay
Rafting up on the Chickahominy
Boating on the Chick and realizing it looks just like it did in 1607 ( they filmed the movie here)
Relatively low taxes..
Share on FacebookJohn Womeldorf is Mr. Williamsburg, sharing his thoughts, real estate expertise, and “all things Williamsburg” in an effort to spread the word that Williamsburg, Virginia is the greatest place on earth to live!
Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg VA has invited the media to the park for a special announcement today. Most are speculating that they will announce that the park will open for Christmas as the Busch Gardens in Tampa does. No clue yet if they will attempt to do it this year or 2009. Seems very late to attempt an opening in 2008 but who knows.
The website Theme Park Insider reported Tuesday that Busch will make a major announcement on Thursday, and speculating that the news is “probably the long rumored Christmas festival.” Busch has invited media to the park for an announcement it says will show the park “in a whole new light.”
In any case look for the Christmas operating season to be announced. I’ve heard that they plan major decorations of the park and some rides will be open (including Griffon) but not all
My guess is some type of Christmas Light show and Christmas Festival as well as an opportunity to purchase a season pass that is valid for a year/2 years. I would assume the Christmas festival will last during the month of December until after Christmas thru Jan 1. The season passes could be bought as gifts for Christmas.
Whoops, Busch Gardens slipped. Listed under the Job Responsibilities for the Theatrical Services Operations Supervisor on Busch’s talent search site was the following bullet:
installs/strikes, HOS and Christmas Events.
http://www.talentsearchbgw.com/theatricalservicesopsup.html They have since edited the site….
Will update as soon as I know any further. Although the whole world will know for sure after the announcement !
So here’s the update: 
From the official press release:
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Dec. 4, 2008) – Officials today announced plans for an all-new holiday event coming to the Virginia theme park in 2009. “Christmas Town: A Busch Gardens Celebration” will create the anticipation of the season and fill visitors’ senses with all things Christmas. The park will transform into a winter wonderland filled with holiday traditions, new surprises and park favorites that make everyone say, “Now this is Christmas.”
For the first time in the park’s 34 year history, visitors will experience all-new attractions, shows and shopping that will fill them with holiday spirit. Guests can look forward to an immersive experience amid more than a million twinkling lights while they explore the best holiday traditions from around the world. Santa Claus will visit the park each evening to hear Christmas wishes from the young and young at heart.
“We’ll kick off a season-long celebration for family and friends to gather for Christmas fun,” said John Reilly, Busch Gardens’ general manager and executive vice president. “Featuring live entertainment, great food and unique shopping experiences all under the glow of a million Christmas lights, Christmas Town will add a unique holiday tradition to Virginia.”
Christmas Town opens at Busch Gardens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 4 – 9 p.m. beginning Nov. 27, 2009. The park will open each evening Dec. 18-27, 2009, excluding Christmas Day. Some sections of the park will remain closed for the season. Some rides and attractions are weather dependent.
Christmas Town admission tickets will be available for $19.95 beginning January 2009. Guests with active one-year and two-year Busch Gardens’ passes save 50 percent on Christmas Town tickets as well as free parking and in-park discounts.
PLANNED EXPERIENCES at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Christmas Town
Each section of the park will be themed in Christmas décor native to each country or hamlet, and will feature all new attractions, shows and shopping that will immerse guests into the Christmas season. Think of it as a European Christmas with an American flair. Christmas Town will feature:(weather dependent) , Corkscrew Hill and Curse of DarKastle
Special holiday-themed dining opportunities
Unique shopping experiences
Evening Santa Claus visits
Children’s shows
Strolling carolers
Tree-lighting ceremonies
Select rides, including *Griffon
ADMISSION
General admission price for non-pass holders: $19.95
Platinum, 2-Park and 1-Park Pass member prices: $9:95 + free parking and in-park savings on food and merchandise
Tickets go on sale in January and can be purchased at the gate or online at
.OPERATING SCHEDULE
Open evenings 4-9 p.m.
This informational update provided by Mr Williamsburg.com/ John Womeldorf . A local Realtor assisting home buyers and sellers in the Hampton Roads and Williamsburg areas of Virginia.
Contact me at John@MrWilliamsburg.com
Research the area at www.WilliamsburgsRealEstate.com
Or ask any questions about homes, neighborhoods, schools, amenities, recreation , shopping or anything else about the area.
When Belgian brewer InBev completed its $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch by paying $70 a share to stockholders there were quite a few executives who reaped huge rewards.
The takeover marked the end of the line for many senior Anheuser-Busch executives and all but one of its directors. But all walked away with big payouts for their company stock.
A group of 17 top executives received more than $1 billion for their shares, and the brewery’s 12 directors other than Chief Executive August Busch IV surrendered their posts Nov. 18 with a combined $23 million in hand.
Director and former chief executive August Busch III led the payday, collecting $427.3 million for his 1.3 percent stake in the company. About half of that amount comes from stock he controlled directly and through stock options, while the other half he controlled indirectly as the beneficiary of a couple of family trusts, through a charitable trust and through his wife, Virginia.
Busch III, 70, has been a member of the board since 1963 and served as chairman from 1977 until his retirement Nov. 30, 2006. He ran the business as CEO from 1975 to 2002 before handing the reins to Patrick Stokes.
Stokes, the company’s chairman, walked away with $160.9 million. About $10.7 million of that is controlled through a family limited partnership and a trust. Stokes, 65, spent his career with Anheuser-Busch and rose through the ranks to become the president and CEO of the company from 2002 until his retirement on Nov. 30, 2006. During Anheuser-Busch’s 156-year run as an independent company, Stokes was the only person outside the Busch family to hold the top post.
CEO August Busch IV collected nearly $91.4 million through the InBev buyout. The Fourth, as he is called, grew up in the beer business like his father, Busch III. He began working full time for the brewery after graduating from Saint Louis University in 1987. He held jobs in packaging, shipping and brewing and eventually earned his brewmaster’s degree from Versuchs und Lehranstalt für Brauerei, an international brewing academy in Berlin, Germany.
Busch IV, 43, made his mark as vice president of marketing during the late 1990s and early 2000s before rising to president of the brewery in 2002 and ultimately CEO of parent company Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. in December 2006.
Keith Kasen, chairman and CEO of theme park subsidiary Busch Entertainment Corp., made $16.2 million. He oversaw the subsidiary’s headquarters relocation to Orlando, Fla., earlier this year and ran the company’s nine SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, Adventure Island, Water Country USA and Aquatica theme parks.
Michael Harding, president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch Packaging Group Inc., reaped $13.4 million.
Francine Katz, vice president of communications and consumer affairs, received $12.5 million. She has worked at Anheuser-Busch for two decades, leads a staff of 80 in corporate and public relations, and serves as the company’s lead spokeswoman. She was named one of the Business Journal’s Most Influential Business Women this year.
This update brought to you by Mr Williamsburg.com
Share on FacebookBy AOIFE WHITE
BRUSSELS, Belgium
InBev SA on Tuesday formed the world’s largest brewer when it closed its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch Cos.
The new company, named Anheuser-Busch InBev, will be headed by InBev CEO Carlos Brito and will be headquartered at Leuven, Belgium.
InBev promises to keep Anheuser-Busch’s St. Louis base as the company’s North American headquarters. Anheuser-Busch President and CEO August A. Busch IV joins the new company’s board as a non-executive director.
The deal gives InBev a jewel of a brand in Budweiser – the world’s top selling beer – which it promises to sell more widely by pushing into emerging economies in Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe.
This will help generate growth as beer sales decline in North America and Europe where drinkers are cutting back and turning to wine and other drinks.
Brito said the combination had created “a stronger, more competitive global company with a leading international brand portfolio and distribution network, and great potential for growth all over the world.”
InBev said it now had all the regulatory clearances it needed for the deal. Last week it agreed to sell Labatts USA to win U.S. Department of Justice approval for the takeover.
U.S. antitrust officials had worried that beer prices would increase in upstate New York because the two companies would supply most of the beer in the region.
InBev did not say who would buy the U.S. unit. It will keep its Canadian subsidiary Labatts, which is one of the top beer brands in the country.
Anheuser-Busch provides half of America’s beer but it has not managed to expand around the world as fast as InBev – a Belgian-Brazilian hybrid that owns hundreds of local brands but few real stars.
Anheuser-Busch owns several properties in Virginia in the Williamsburg area. In addition to a brewery in Williamsburg, the company’s subsidiaries own the Busch Gardens theme park, the Kingsmill Resort and Spa, and the Water Country USA water park.
InBev has borrowed $45 billion to pay for the deal and secured $9.8 billion in equity bridge financing that it had planned to replace with a share issue in October.
But rocky financial markets forced it to postpone issuing new shares and it says it can keep the bridge financing in place for up to six months after it closes the deal.
Carlos Brito, Chief Executive of the newly combined global brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, talks about the completion of the deal, the significance of today’s announcement and next steps.
Associated Press © November 13, 2008
By LAUREN SHEPHERD and EMILY FREDRIX
Shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. approved the $52 billion sale of the business to Belgium-based InBev SA on Wednesday, a deal that is set to create the world’s largest brewer.
The vote was the latest step necessary to form the company that will be known as Anheuser-Busch InBev and combine brands such as Bud Light and Budweiser with Stella Artois and Beck’s. The deal, reached in July, is expected to close by the end of the year. It is subject to regulatory approval in the U.S., Britain and China.
August A. Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch’s president and chief executive, said the decision to sell the nation’s largest brewer was a difficult one.
“Every alternative was considered,” he told shareholders at the meeting just outside of New York. “In the end, we all agreed the InBev proposal was in the best interest of you, the shareholders.”
The new company brings about the end of the more than 150 years of family rule of the St. Louis-based company, though the newly combined company’s North American headquarters will stay there. InBev has said it will keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch’s North American breweries.
Busch will move into a non-executive role, but will be on the new company’s board. He said he was excited about the future of the new company, especially expanding the brands worldwide, which he said helps in “fulfilling the global ambition of my family.”
Anheuser-Busch agreed this summer to accept the buyout from InBev worth $70 a share. The deal ended back-and-forth wrangling between the two sides, with Anheuser-Busch spurning InBev’s unsolicited offers at first, claiming they were bad for business and were an “illegal scheme” that threatened to defraud shareholders.
InBev shareholders approved the deal in September.
The sale price is a premium to Anheuser-Busch shareholders over the company’s current stock price. On Wednesday, its shares fell 51 cents to close at $66.33. InBev said last week it will not reduce or change its $70-a-share offer, even though Anheuser-Busch’s share price has dropped amid larger market turmoil.
The deal gives InBev a key inroad to the U.S. market, where Anheuser-Busch dominates with about a 50 percent share. InBev, meanwhile, has a small fraction. It also gives the company about one-fifth of the markets in China and Russia, two areas poised for growth.
InBev has said it wants to tap into Anheuser-Busch’s marketing power and make its top-selling Budweiser and Bud Light brands into global powerhouses like Coca-Cola or Pepsi.
Leadership for the new company has already been decided, pulling from executives within both companies. Luiz Fernando Edmond will lead North American operations, leaving his post as InBev’s president of Latin America North.
David A. Peacock, an Anheuser-Busch vice president, will become Anheuser-Busch president and oversee U.S. operations and management of the Budweiser and Bud Light brands.
In St. Louis and Williamsburg, VA, where the company and its heritage play a big role in the community, some residents were sad about the vote, even though they knew it had been coming. “I think people are having a hard time with it, because now it’s finalized,” said O’Brien, who works in the city and lives in the suburb of Florissant. “It’s like the grieving process, something we have to go through. There are certain things you’re proud of in your city – the Arch, the brewery, Busch Stadium. It seems to be a loss.”
Share on FacebookStonehouse Va Frequently asked questions for current or prospective homeowners. This should answer most of not any questions you would have about living in the Stonehouse community of Toano VA, near Williamsburg.
A variety of questions are answered including questions about living in Stonehouse and questions about living in Williamsburg/ James City County/ Toano Virginia.
If you want to review the home owner regulations HOA, POA ) of any of the communities in Williamsburg, James City County, York County, New Kent County including Fords Colony, Kingsmill, Greensprings, Governors Land, Viniterra, Farms of New Kent, Liberty Ridge, Whitehall, Colonial Heritage, or any others in the area give me a call or email me and I will send you a pdf copy for you to review.
Share on FacebookI wanted to share an excellent post by by Andrew Petkofsky for Virginia Business. I have added a few links to direct you to areas of information.
Ken Carr retired to Williamsburg because he didn’t want to get away from it all. As a sales and marketing executive in the fashion industry, he had enjoyed a fast-paced career and was looking for a gentler climate than his home in the Chicago suburbs.
But nice weather and recreational options were only part of it: Carr also hoped for opportunities to keep busy and take on new challenges. “You spend your life working, as many of us have, five or six days a week with the pulse of business,” he says. “To just have that stop, psychologically, I didn’t find that it was all that appealing.”
When Carr moved with his wife, Nancy, to the gated community of Ford’s Colony in 1999, he immediately occupied himself building a retirement house. Someone asked if he would sell it, so he built another.
Then he became increasingly involved sharing his business experience with those just starting out. Carr connects with business clients through the Service Corps of Retired Executives, a national program coordinated locally through the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance. “It’s a great way to use the expertise that you have,” says Carr, who is 65. “It’s also an incredible opportunity for businesses or organizations to get people who are very accomplished to assist them — the kind of team that quite frankly they couldn’t go out and hire.”
In fact, so many former executives and high-ranking military officers have retired to Williamsburg that a number of other organizations, including the College of William & Mary and its Mason School of Business have created local programs to harness their expertise.
The post-career challenges are not reserved solely for former captains of industry. Other retirees in the area take classes in a large continuing education program, teach in the same program and even help operate a professional chamber orchestra in Williamsburg. “We wind up with some very bright early retirees who still want to make contributions,” says Keith Taylor, director of James City County’s office of economic development.
The Williamsburg area (including James City County and upper York County) has become a retirement mecca. Money magazine named the region one of the country’s best places to retire. The magazine cited attributes such as the area’s history, culture, green space and access to health care and airports.
The area’s growing reputation among retirees has been helped by a constellation of attractions including the Colonial Williamsburg living history museum, the College of William & Mary, award-winning golf courses, a handful of prestigious gated communities, close access to tidal rivers and the ocean, and a location only three hours away from Washington, D.C.
As the retirement-age population grows, older residents are redefining the options available for their golden years and, in the process, reshaping the community. Kingsmill on the James, opened in the 1970s as the region’s first gated community, now has the company of several other retiree-friendly residential areas protected by gates or private security forces. These include Ford’s Colony and The Governor’s Land at Two Rivers.
Williamsburg Va real estate search
Two recent arrivals, Colonial Heritage and The Settlement at Powhattan Creek in James City, requires that residents be 55 or older.
A boom in mixed-used developments also appeals to the preferences of an older population. These projects group shopping, restaurants and low-maintenance residences such as condos and town houses in one location. “Folks are looking more and more at access to retail and entertainment within walking distance of their homes,” says James R. Golden, associate vice president for economic development at William & Mary. “The retirement community is sort of a leader in this.”
Golden helped promote the development of New Town, a mixed-use community just outside Williamsburg. Now a second, similar development, High Street, is under construction in the city. Riverside Health System also has proposed a mixed-use community, Quarterpath at Williamsburg, which would include a hospital, a nursing home and housing. State approval has not yet been granted for the hospital, which would be the Williamsburg area’s second.
Community leaders see the retirement boom as a largely positive economic force that may create jobs for younger folks in areas such as health care, retail and other services. The officials point out that many of those retiring to Williamsburg from other areas, especially the Northeast, are well-heeled professionals and business executives who have chosen to end their careers while still in their 50s. “When you develop a vibrant retirement community … they will pay for services that they want and appreciate, and that will open up opportunities for people that want to fill those needs,” says Richard Schreiber, president and CEO of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance.
One side effect of becoming a retirement mecca is that land and housing prices in the region have risen to levels beyond the means of many workers in service jobs. “It’s sort of creating a greater shortage of affordable housing,” says Rick Hanson, James City’s director of housing and community development. “A lot of people that work in James City do find the housing costs prohibitive, and they will commute in.”
The cost of housing can also be a problem for some retirees who spent their working years in the community. But local governments are trying to solve the problem. Hanson’s office recently assembled a parcel for development of low-rent senior housing in cooperation with a local nonprofit organization. He says the county also has commissioned a consultant to analyze housing needs and report this fall.
Numbers help tell the story of Williamsburg’s growing popularity as a place to retire. William & Mary and the Center for Excellence in Aging and Geriatric Health, a local organization created to promote the health of older people, reported in 2003 that the 60-and-older population in Williamsburg, James City and upper York grew more than 65 percent, from 5,688 to 10,686, between 1990 and 2000. The 60-and-over population in Virginia as a whole grew 17.1 percent in the same period. Growth in the same group nationwide was 9.4 percent, according to the study, which was based on U.S. Census figures. During this same period, the area’s overall population grew about 27 percent, from 54,980 to 69,763.
Pete Williamson says he retired in Williamsburg partly because the city and its surroundings seem just as full of families and younger people as folks of his generation. Even his affluent Governor’s Land neighborhood seems to be attracting a good number of families, he says. “We have a community with a mix of young and old with school kids and retirees,” Williamson says. “We’re not some retirement community out in the middle of nowhere where you have to drive a half hour just to go to a grocery store.”
Williamson was living in Wilton, Conn., and working as an IBM program manager when he retired in 1994 at the age of 54. A volunteer job with an ambulance corps became full-time work before he and his wife moved to Williamsburg in 1998.
Now 67, Williamson co-leads a 40- to-60-mile bicycle ride for the local bike club ( Williamsburg Area Bicyclists) once or twice a week. He also serves on the board of his neighborhood’s homeowners association and does computer work as a member of a charity tennis group that raised about $45,000 last year for a local hospice.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact size of the region’s retirement community because there’s no set age for retirement. Louis Rossiter, a former Virginia secretary of health and human resources who’s now director of community health service research for the Center for Excellence in Aging and Geriatric Health, says Williamsburg may serve as a model in developing programs that can be adopted elsewhere.
Thinking ahead is important, says Rossiter, because an older population brings potential problems along with benefits. “When the retirees move here, they’re in good health. Then they age in place,” he says. “Who will take care of them as they become more frail?”
The Center for Excellence is a consortium of colleges, hospitals and health agencies that conducts sponsored research into such subjects as Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis, and studies ways to improve access to medical care. More significant for local retirees, the center also offers geriatric services not generally available in the community, such as memory assessment and driving evaluation.
For high-ranking military retirees, Williamsburg offers something beyond resort communities and golf courses: easy access to Washington. “Lot’s of people continue some kind of consulting but don’t want to live in D.C. — they’ve had that experience,” says William & Mary’s Golden, himself a retired Army brigadier general.
Local organizations increasingly are coming up with ways to capture the interests of these retirees and take advantage of their skills. The Mason School of Business at William & Mary, for example, enlists 90 retirees in its Executive Partners program as mentors for students and faculty and as consultants to companies looking for advice. “The joke is they come, play golf six months and get bored,” says Jonathan Palmer, the school’s associate dean. “We engage them at a very high and active level.”
In addition to mentoring others, Williamsburg retirees are interested in learning something new. William & Mary’s Christopher Wren Association, an education program for retirees, attracted more than 1,400 students last semester to more than 60 classes. Retirees served as faculty for many of the classes.
The Chamber & Tourism Alliance last year began a Community Leadership Service in which 16 retirees who moved to the community recently took a crash course about the region, its governmental structure and inner workings. Participants now are creating a database of retired people with skills that could benefit local nonprofit organizations, says Schreiber, the chamber president.
Leading the database project is Joan Peterson, who was recruited because she chaired the education committee of the Williamsburg Symphonia, a professional chamber orchestra. Peterson moved to Williamsburg from Massachusetts when her husband took early retirement from Hewlett-Packard. She had been director of summer programs for a private school. Now a bit more than four years later, her husband is commuting regularly to consulting jobs in Minneapolis and Seattle, and she is immersed in a project she hopes will benefit nonprofits and retirees. “I absolutely love Williamsburg,” says Peterson. “I would have a hard time coming up with things I don’t like about it. Except maybe for the rapid growth. Everyone wants to be the last one in, I guess.”
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