Westchester Commons scores cinema complex
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Heavy equipment is hard at work clearing the land for Westchester Commons, the retail portion of the Watkins Centre, located at the intersection of Midlothian Turnpike and Route 288. Across the road, steel has already been erected for Village Bank's corporate headquarters.

A 16-screen Regal Cinemas movie theatre will provide a major draw for Westchester Commons, the 1.1 million-square-foot outdoor lifestyle center under development at the intersection of Midlothian Turnpike and Route 288. The center is the retail and entertainment showpiece of the 640-acre mixed-use Watkins Centre that broke ground last July.

"Regal is important because it anchors the end of our main street and is a major entertainment component," said Developer Cary Euwer of Zaremba Metropolitan Midlothian LLC. The 66,000-square-foot theatre will seat about 3,200 moviegoers and open in the spring of 2009.

The new Regal Cinemas Westchester Commons Stadium 16 will have all-digital projection systems, the latest digital surround sound systems and stadium seating with highback rocking recliner seats and retractable cup holders. Advance tickets will be available for purchase by phone, at the computerized box office or express kiosk.

Euwer remains tightlipped about any other tenants that might be coming to Westchester. "We have confidentiality agreements with most of our tenants," he explained.

According to real estate sources, other retailers in the leasing pipeline include Boscov's, Target, Ross Dress for Less, Books-A-Million, Circuit City, PETCO, Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts, Office Max and Bertucci's (Italian restaurant). Kohl's and JCPenney are reportedly battling for the same store location.

The corporate headquarters for Village Bank and branch offices for Bank of America and Wachovia have already been announced.

Road improvements for the Watkins Centre are scheduled to be completed by December 2008. Chesterfield was actively involved in the rezoning and helped set up a Commercial Development Authority (CDA) to fund the road improvements. There will be $25-$26 million in new and improved roads to handle increased traffic counts with about $16 million coming from the CDA. Those bonds will be paid by assessments or a special annual tax from property taxes and sales taxes for about 500 acres of the development over the next 12 years.

Behind Westchester Commons, residential developer Grayco already has zoning approved for up to 1,600 multifamily and single-family homes.

Critics of the retail development say the center is bringing few new retailers to the region, and that Westchester Commons poses a threat to Chesterfield Towne Center. So far, the only new retailer is Boscov's, a Pennsylvania-based department store that has 50 stores in the northeast and targets middleincome customers. The company only has one other store in Virginia - at Piedmont Mall in Danville - the company's most southern location.

The Regal Cinemas location at Westchester Commons would be competition for Commonwealth 20, located at Commonwealth Centre off Hull Street Road. The popular movie theatre complex is one of the most successful locations nationwide for Consolidated Theatres and has been drawing customers from around the county without much competition. Regal Cinemas is the largest theatre chain in the U.S.