Watkins Centre receives final environmental permits
Construction to begin this September
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

The $25 million improvements in roads around the Watkins Centre includes adding lanes to Route 288 and Midlothian Turnpike and creating new ways to get on and off Route 288.

The Watkins Centre has cleared its last major hurdle by receiving approval from the Army Corp of Engineers and the Department of Environmental Quality to build the 746-acre retail and office project on the western border of Route 288 north and south of Midlothian Turnpike.

"We're doing a restoration project as part of our mitigation… costing from $900,000 to $1.2 million for the restoration for Falling Creek," said Wayne Barber, construction manager for Watkins Centre developer Zaremba/Metropolitan.

The stream restoration is about a mile in length.

"We have a timeline to meet for the permits, and we'll be in compliance with that," added Barber.

Construction on Westchester Commons, the 976,000-square -foot retail portion of the Watkins Centre in the northwest quadrant, is expected to start this September and be completed by the end of 2009.

The Shoppes at Westchester, a separate project adjacent to the Watkins retail, has already begun clearing land for 185,000 square feet of retail and 60,000 square feet of office space. Tenants include CVS, BB&T and SunTrust. Developer Rebkee Company is also trying to persuade a grocery store to locate there. The company will move its corporate headquarters there as will Main Street Homes, CPA firm Gregg & Bailey, Julian W. Black & Son, and Balzer & Associates.

As reported earlier this spring in this newspaper, the Virginia Department of Transportation has approved the road network (see map) for the intersection of Midlothian Turnpike and Route 288 and internal roads. Deputy County Administrator Becky Dickson said there would be $25-26 million in new and improved roads to handle increased traffic counts. About $16 million will be paid by an independent Commercial Development Authority (CDA) that is selling bonds to be paid back over the span of 12 years. Those bonds will be paid by assessments or a special annual tax from property taxes (estimated to be 66 percent of the total) and sales taxes (34 percent) for about 500 acres of the development.

The new roads and improvements are scheduled to be completed by December 2008 before the shopping center is occupied. An advantage of a CDA is that infrastructure precedes the development.

At a meeting last week that provided an update on the Watkins Centre, several citizens still questioned the impact Westchester Commons will have on Chesterfield Towne Center, saying it could create store vacancies in and around the mall.

State Senator John Watkins, whose family owned much of the land for the Watkins Centre, said Westchester will reduce the number of Chesterfield residents who shop outside of the county, boosting Chesterfield retails sales and sales tax paid to the county school system. He cited one study showing that 38 percent of the vehicles parked at Short Pump Town Center had Chesterfield County stickers on them.

"You can't stop it [shopping outside of the county], but you can stem it," Watkins said. "The owners of Chesterfield Towne Center will have to invest…or lose in this free market system."

"I'm absolutely convinced the Chesterfield [Towne Center] mall will do well," added Midlothian Supervisor Don Sower. Earlier this year, the mall reported that Barnes & Noble was moving from across Huguenot Road to open a two-story store where the theatres are currently located.

Land use and site plans for the Watkins Centre are being marshaled by the county to expedite the process. Karen Aylward of the Chesterfield Economic Development Department said the county wants to spur the business project because of the competition it faces in recruiting tenants. Chesterfield also didn't want the location to become the site of more single-family homes in a prime business location.

Grey Land and Development Company is approved for 1,600 homes on 213 acres adjacent and northwest of Westchester Commons.

With 1.3 million square feet of retail and 2.1 million square feet of office space at buildout, the Watkins Centre will be larger than Innsbrook in western Henrico County. Village Bank is expected to be the first corporate office building with four stories and 79,000 square feet at the intersection of Midlothian Turnpike and Otterdale Road.