County sued by mall's landowner
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Cloverleaf Mall has another hurdle to overcome before it can be torn down and revitalized. The owner of the 46 acres underneath the mall is suing Chesterfield's Economic Development Authority (EDA) over the value of the land. Millmar Partnership, LP filed the lawsuit late last month and served it on the County Attorney's Office, which will represent the EDA.

Chesterfield purchased the 83-acre Cloverleaf Mall site at Midlothian Turnpike and Chippenham Parkway in the fall of 2004 for $9.2 million, but the sale did not include the land under the main mall, the former sites of Hecht's and JCPenney and their parking lots.

Negotiations to buy that land led to the Millmar lawsuit.

Originally, the mall site was a farm owned by John H. and Elizabeth R. Marks who leased the 46 acres for 99 years in 1966 to the Leonard L. Farber Company, which built Cloverleaf Mall. Millmar now owns the acreage, and the EDA assumed the lease obligation.

According to the court filing, the EDA can purchase the property at the higher value of 12.5 times "the net minimum annual rent" being paid or by an appraisal process within 60 days of an appraisal. The suit involves the formula for the appraisal.

EDA Vice Chairman John Hughes said the authority has made an offer to purchase the land from Millmar, but he declined to provide details, saying only "there was technical writing within the contract."

Two county officials declined comment on the suit, and the County Attorney's Office did not return a phone call for comment. Attorney John Walk of Hirschler Fleischer, who is representing Millmar, did not return two phone calls for comment.

Crosland, a Charlotte, N.C. developer with extensive experience in redeveloping urban projects, is expected to tear down the mall early next year to make way for a new mixed-use development of residential, retail and office space called Chippenham Place. The project is expected to include 350 apartments, 100-150 condos and townhouses, 50-60 single-family homes and at least 200,000 square feet of retail space. Phase one of Chippenham Place will likely be anchored by a 115,000-square-foot Kroger.

The county's Director of Revitalization Tom Jacobson said the project is still scheduled to go to the Planning Commission in August. The timetable then has the county board approving the sale of the mall to Crosland later this year.

Millmar's lawsuit was filed in Richmond Circuit Court. In his filing, Walk says the Ground Lease Agreement "was executed at least in part in the city of Richmond," as were four lease modifications.