Developers will create small city along Route 288
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

GBS Holding, Ltd. Casey Sowers and his father, Buddy, plan to develop Roseland at the intersection of Woolridge Road and Route 288. With 5,140 homes and at least 1.5 million square feet of retail space, it would be the largest planned residential and commercial development in metro Richmond.

The Chesterfield Planning Commission could get its first official look at the largest planned residential and commercial community in the Richmond metro as early as February. Last week, GBS Holding, Ltd. submitted its rezoning application for Roseland, a 1,395-acre mixed use development with 5,140 homes and at least 1.5 million square feet of retail and office space, located at the intersection of Woolridge Road and Route 288.

One neighborhood within Roseland called North Hallsley has already been zoned for an additional 740 single-family homes on 600 acres. North Hallsley would be bordered by the Norfolk Southern rail line.

Besides the size of Roseland, one of the most unique aspects is how it will be financed - using a Community Development Authority (CDA) to raise about $100 million by selling bonds on Wall Street. GBS will set up a board to oversee the operation, and each property holder would pay an assessment on top of his property taxes. "Each property owner could pay off the assessment when he wanted to," said Casey Sowers, GBS's general manager.

Using a CDA as a financing mechanism offers a number of advantages to paying proffers, according to Sowers. "Roads and schools would be built upfront rather than collecting proffers as the building permits are issued, which requires phasing in the infrastructure. And we can build the roads and schools for about half the cost that the county can," he added.

As much as $100 million in bonds could be sold. If proffers were paid at the county maximum of $15,600 per home, that would total only $80 million.

The application offers sites for two elementary schools. Sowers says the kind of housing to be built would generate far fewer students than using the county's formula, which predicts more than 3,000 at build-out in 15-20 years.

"We haven't heard about Roseland, so our school staff will have to study school needs in that area. What about a middle school and high school? The amount of land needed for those is more than for two elementary schools," questioned School Board Chairman Marshall Trammell.

Sowers and his father, Buddy Sowers, are developing Roseland using principles of New Urbanism. As proposed, Roseland would include seven connected, pedestrian-friendly residential neighborhoods. It would also include "Old Town," a mix of office space, retail and residential uses with buildings as high as eight stories and architecture similar to Alexandria and Georgetown. "North Park," the project's primary retail and office component, could feature buildings 12 stories high, and would be located adjacent to Route 288.

Some commercial real estate agents are wondering if the Route 288 corridor is becoming saturated with too much planned office and retail space. Jay Lafler, vice president of Commercial Properties Management, agreed, but added "that market demand will determine what goes there."

"It's the kind of place where you could live from cradle to death," he observed, endorsing the rezoning. "It's a city within a community, which allows you to relocate within Roseland according to your needs. It fits the Urban Land Institute model to a tee."

With over 350 acres of open space and public parks, the developer is promising residents "will live [within] a five minute walk from a park." There could be 60 parks situated throughout the community.

As proposed, the developer would pay for Woolridge Road to be extended into Roseland as a four-lane road with a landscaped median south to Watermill Parkway where Woolridge Road currently ends.

A future site for light rail will be reserved in Roseland Station, the development's western most neighborhood. "If light rail becomes a reality, we've got an ideal location next to the rail line," said Sowers.

To see the 18-page proposal of Roseland, visit www.ChesterfieldObserver.com and click on "special."