Bonds for Watkins Centre road construction sell quickly
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Heavy equipment (above) is already clearing the land for the Watkins Centre at the intersection of routes 288 and 60. Village Bank (left) is the first corporate office building at the site. When completed, the Watkins Centre could have more than 1.1 million square feet of retail and several million square feet of office space. The county hopes the development will one day rival Innsbrook in Henrico's West End. (Photos by Lisa Billings)

Demand exceeded supply as the $20 million in bonds for road construction funding for the Watkins Centre sold quickly on Oct. 24. There was enough interest - including nine institutional investors - in the Community Development Authority's (CDA) bonds that $50 million could have been sold.

"They were oversubscribed by 250 percent," exclaimed a happy State Senator John Watkins, whose family name is on the retail and office center at the intersection of routes 288 and 60. The bonds were sold by Stoneman & Young, LLC in Richmond.

"The county is paying a 5.4 percent rate of interest on the 13-year bonds, and that's a very good rate," said Deputy County Administrator Becky Dickson. "There's a lot of dirt already being moved - quite a site. It's a huge milestone for the county."

The bonds will be used to build access roads to and from Route 288, widen eastbound Route 60 including the bridge over Route 288 and widen Watkins Centre Parkway 1,000 feet south of Route 60. Construction is scheduled to be completed by March 2009. By prior agreement, the retail portion of the Watkins Centre cannot open until the road network is completed.

Chesterfield was actively involved in the Watkins Centre rezoning and helped set up the CDA to fund roads to handle increased traffic counts. 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 13 years.

The 640-acre mixed-use Watkins Centre officially broke ground on June 29 for what the county and local business leaders hope will rival Innsbrook in western Henrico County and keep Chesterfield residents from crossing the river to shop. It includes over 1.1 million square feet of retail in Westchester Commons and several million square feet of office space including some ancillary retail. Residential developer Grayco is expected to build up to 1,600 multifamily and single-family homes on adjoining land further off Route 60.

The Shoppes at Westchester, a separate project adjacent to Westchester Commons, is already constructing buildings 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 will move its corporate headquarters there as will Main Street Homes, CPA firm Gregg & Bailey, Julian W. Black & Son, and Balzar & Associates.

The Watkins family has owned much of the land for more than 130 years, including what used to be the Watkins Nursery retail location on Midlothian Turnpike. Village Bank will be the first corporate office building with four stories and 79,000 square feet at the intersection of Midlothian Turnpike and Otterdale Road.