New shopping center proposed at Rt. 288/Rt. 10
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

The days of the Texaco gas station at the intersection of Route 288 and Iron Bridge Road could be numbered. North American Properties of Atlanta is expected to seek a rezoning for the property to build a new power center there. Potential tenants could be Target and Home Depot or Lowe's.

There could be yet another shopping destination for county residents if rezoning is approved for a new 900,000-square-foot power center at the intersection of Route 288 and Iron Bridge Road. As proposed, the center is scheduled to open in the spring of 2010.

A rezoning application is expected to soon be filed for the 100+ acre site known as the Spencer tract, which currently includes a Texaco gas station, a tank farm, transmission line and wetlands.

Applicant North American Properties of Atlanta has also entered into an agreement to purchase a smaller adjoining tract from the county to gain access to the center from Iron Bridge Road. Prior efforts to put a recreational vehicle center, boat dealership and automobile dealership on that tract have been blocked by the county for a more acceptable use.

According to Planning Director Kirk Turner, the county is requiring the developer to remove the gas station and fuel tanks and include a hotel, restaurant and conference center on the site as a condition of zoning.

Courthouse MarketPlace could fill a geographical void since most big box shopping centers are on Jefferson Davis Highway, Hull Street Road and Midlothian Turnpike. One source said possible anchors include Target and Home Depot or Lowe's. Target reportedly looks at a five-mile radius for a customer base when considering whether to open a new location.

Power centers usually include major national retailers like those at Commonwealth Centre off Hull Street Road. Many of the power centers developed by North American Properties have included Target, which already has three Chesterfield locations: next to Bermuda Square Shopping Center, Commonwealth Centre and on Midlothian Turnpike across from the Chesterfield Towne Center. A fourth location is reportedly planned for the Watkins Centre at the intersection of Route 288 and Midlothian Turnpike, but that location has not yet been officially announced. There is another Target location on Forest Hill Avenue in Richmond just across the county line.

"Courthouse MarketPlace will feature three national catalyst retailers along with multiple other complementary mid-box anchors, shop retailers and restaurants," read a press release by North American Properties. "This shopping destination will reflect the architectural tone of the area."

Jeff Garrison, North American's vice president of development, declined to give additional information when asked for a telephone interview last week.

Begun in 1954 with corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, North American Properties often builds power centers near regional malls, 11 of them with Target as an anchor store. The Atlanta office has developed 6 million square feet of retail space since 1996.