Media Coverage

Richmond Magazine
Jan 1, 2007
Route 288 continues to plant the seeds of development in Chesterfield County
By Donna C. Gregory

When Virginia Department of Transportation officials pulled aside the "Road Closed" signs on the final section of Route 288 in November 2004, they did more than just open a new highway. For those who live and work in western Chesterfield, they unveiled a convenient, new gateway to Henrico's West End and vice versa.

Now, two years later, it's hard for many Chesterfield residents to remember the days of paying tolls on the Powhite Parkway or trekking down Chippenham Parkway just to get to the other side of the James River.

Undoubtedly, the completion of the last stretch of Route 288 eased traffic congestion, shortened commute times and sped up travel west of Richmond. But it's also changing the landscape of western Chesterfield as developers look to cash in on property that's no longer landlocked. Several major residential and commercial developments are now in the works, including the Centre, which has been touted as Chesterfield's version of Henrico's Innsbrook.

"Route 288 is impacting Chesterfield in an extremely positive way" says Will Davis, the county's economic-development director. "This last leg makes moving around the region much easier for the public, and it's opened up a key gateway into Chesterfield."

That gateway is Route 288's intersection with Midlothian Turnpike, which is also the future site of Watkins Centre and the Village of Westchester.

A Retail Center

Described as a hybrid of a retail-focused "power center" and an entertainment- focused "lifestyle center," Watkins Centre has a retail portion, called Westchester Commons, for which Metropolitan Partner ship Ltd. is currently recruiting tenants. The 800-acre site could include up to 13 big-box retailers and a Main Street component with a movie theater and smaller boutique shops.

"We are in the final stages of complet ing the design and engineering drawings. Groundbreaking will occur in the first quarter of 2007. Due to the delays in the zoning approval process, the first stores will open in the second quarter of 2008 says Gary Euwer, Metropolitan's presi dent and CEO, referring to questions from county supervisors and planning commis sioners about who would build the roads for the project (the developer will) and the impact on Chesterfield Towne Center.

Proposed stores for Westchester Commons include newcomers to Chesterfield such as Boscov's, Ross Dress For Less and Red Robin.

The potential overlap between Westchester Commons and Chesterfield Towne Center, located less than five miles east of Watkins Centre, is causing concern among Chesterfield's business community. The fear is mat retailers will pack up and move west to be closer to Westchester's wealthier demographic market, leading to Chesterfield Towne Center becoming another Cloverleaf Mall.

"We are duplicating retailers that are already in the market," says Jay Lafler, vice president of Commercial Properties Management and a former manager of Cloverleaf Mall.

"I think there is some legitimate concern on the tenancy at Chesterfield Towne Center" Lafler continues. "There is only so much in the retail pie in Chesterfield County, and the pie is going to be split up into smaller pieces."

Chesterfield's demographer, Bill Handley, thinks the county can handle another mall, though. "Typically, a mall needs 250,000 people to be viable," he explains. "The Richmond metro has 1 million peo ple, which means it can handle four malls."

The number of malls in greater Richmond already exceeds that, and Watkins Centre is expected to add yet another 1.3 million square feet of retail.

But Euwer isn't deterred.

"We see the completion of 288 as a very critical link between the demographic markets north and south of the James River," he says. "From a commercial-development standpoint, it fills in market gap between Commonwealth Centre [on Hull Street Road] and Short Pump [Town Center]."

'Innsbrook South'

Westchester Commons is actually the support structure for what Chesterfield really wants: an employment center that's similar to Henrico's Innsbrook or Goochland County's West Creek Business Park, Since most of Chesterfield's work force commutes to downtown Richmond or Henrico to work, there's growing pressure to bring jobs to the county and increase tax revenues. Chesterfield has lagged behind Henrico in the creation of new jobs for years, and its property-tax rate $1.04 per $100 of assessed value is the highest of any county in metro Richmond, because there hasn't been enough commercial and indus trial growth to offset the influx of people moving to the county.

Chesterfield leaders hope the proposed 2 square-foot employment center at Watkins Centre will change that.

"Our great hope is that it will create a lot of jobs, and not just retail jobs, but some relatively high-paying jobs," says Handley. "If people referred to it as Innsbrook South, that would be nice."

Live-Work Balance

Theoretically, those who work at Watkins Centre could live right next door. The Village of Westchester, which is being developed by Gray Land and Development Company LLC, could include 1,600 homes alongside 350,000 square feet of retail. The village's design is neo-traditional, with some housing situated over smaller shops.

Now that the Watkins Centre is looming, interest among developers is already high at nearby properties.

"There is a tremendous amount of ener gy going on in the Village of Midlothian these days," reports Amy Satterneld, execu tive director of the Village of Midlothian Volunteer Coalition. "We are in the process of building, which is exciting. We have seen a tremendous presence in terms of development more in the last three years than probably the 10 years before that. Route 288 opened up western Chesterfield County."

Another new urban village, Midlothian Town Center, is also in the works about one mile from the intersection of Winterfield Road and Midlothian Turnpike. The community, developed by the Charleston, SC-based James Doran Company, will feature upscale stores, restaurants, offices, hotel options, and single-family homes and town homes. Amenities will include a 3-acre natural lake, tree-lined streets, outdoor plazas and courtyards. The project is expected to be complete by 2009.

Farther south along Route 288, at its intersection with Woolridge Road, is the future home of the proposed Roseland development. "Everything about this project is different from what Chesterfield is used to," says Casey Sowers, who is developing Roseland with his father, George B, "Buddy" Sowers Jr., through their company GBS Holding Ltd. Roseland's build-out will take between 15 and 20 years.

As proposed, the development utilizes the principles of new urbanism, combining residential, office and retail to allow people to live, work and play in one neighborhood,that's pedestrian-friendly and preserves open space. Roseland would include more than 1.5 million square feet of office and retail space and up to 5,140 residential units, including single-fam ily, condos and apartments. Architecture will combine the best of Alexandria, Georgetown and other historic towns, while mimicking some neighborhoods closer to home such as Windsor Farms and Ginter Park.

At the heart of Roseland would be an "old town" district, a walkable streetscape of shops, small offices and housing.

"At Roseland, someone can leave his or her home in the morning, have coffee at the corner cafe, go to work, go for a run or bike ride, go out to dinner, all without ever getting into a car," explains Sowers.

Still, despite the development's self-contained design, Route 288 is "a critical ingredient in Roseland's planning," admits Sowers. "It's likely our most important asset."

It's also an asset Chesterfield County hopes to capitalize on in the coming years as these and other developments move forward.

"For a lot of our businesses, the opening of Route 288 has been a boom, and it's improved the ability to do business" says Brett Sheffield, president of the Western Chesterfield Business Alliance, adding that Route 288 "has turned us from a rural to an urban county."