Fredericksburg Parent

www.FredericksburgParent.NET 23 Reid's Court is featured in the 1946 "Book of Houses." Reid was only willing to serve... because the citizens wanted him. Before designing houses, Reid designed hydroelectric power plants, such as the Embrey plant. Reid began to design and build homes in the College Terrace neighborhood while he was serving on City Council, according to Spencer. He had bought and sold real estate before, but design was new to him. In addition to Reid's Court and Caroline Terrace, he designed and built homes on Grove Avenue, Sunken Road, and Canal Street. Cost was always an important factor for Reid, according to Spencer, which is why he designed with concrete block instead of brick. The entire Reid's Court project had a permitting cost of $7,000, according to Spencer—about $155,732 in today's dol- lars—and the Reid house at 312 Canal Street was even more cost-effective at $1,200. The "economical designs [Reid] used … when coupled with the introduction of quality materials [such as slate roofs and con- crete blocks] and green space, serve as one of Fredericksburg's few noteworthy references to the interwar (1918–1939) Garden City planning movement," Spencer wrote, and still help define the College Terrace neighborhood. Cottage courts like Reid's Court and Caroline Terrace are gain- ing attention as examples of "missing middle" housing, along with duplexes, fourplexes, and live-work buildings, that used to be more common in neighborhoods before World War II. The City of Waynesboro last month approved an amendment to its zoning ordinance that would allow for cottage court hous- ing, which it describes as "a group of small, detached houses, attached houses, townhouses (limit of 4 attached units per structure and up to 50% of development), or tiny homes front- ing around a common space.

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