Road plan secures Bon Secours project at Watkins Centre

Durfee With a nod of approval from Transportation Director John McCracken, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors has given the green light to a proposed $30 million medical office park scheduled to open in about two years with 100 new jobs. Bon Secours will build an ambulatory care facility as part of 200,000 square feet of office space on a 15.8-acre campus located in the southeastern quadrant of Midlothian Turnpike and Watkins Centre Parkway across from Westchester Commons.

The board deferred approval in early December because it wanted to make sure the internal road plan had been submitted by Watkins Land, LLC, so it didn’t get stuck with any of the costs of building the road network. Chesterfield wanted to know when a right-hand turn lane off Midlothian Turnpike onto Watkins Centre Parkway will be made, the improvements to Watkins Centre Parkway will be phased in and an east-west road off the first traffic circle will be constructed.

The planning staff had recommended denial of the Bon Secours case because the setbacks were less than required, but that issue was of little consequence compared to the road network. The staff report said reducing the setback from 3.9 acres to 1.6 acres “may result in overdevelopment of the properties; create interruption in the anticipated development pattern along these corridors; and potentially set a precedent for similar requests.”

When completed, the employment center (including the Bon Secours project) will include more than two million square feet of office and office/warehouse space.

Road paving

On a unanimous vote (with Dale Supervisor Jim Holland absent), the board approved $240,000 to pave 1.6 miles of Eppes Falls Road from River Road to the end of state maintenance. Thinking she didn’t have the votes for approval, Matoaca Supervisor Marleen Durfee initially motioned for deferral because Midlothian Supervisor Dan Gecker had previously questioned the expenditure due to the county’s tight budget.

“It baffles me that this road hasn’t been paved,” she said. Chesterfield has 29 roads with a total of 12.5 miles of unpaved, and this road is the longest stretch.

According to Dan Noble, there are 21 homes on the road that began to attract the current homeowners starting in 2000. He was one of five residents who spoke to the board, urging the road be paved to improve safety and allow the school bus to turn around at its end.

Enterprise Zones

The board unanimously enlarged the county’s Enterprise Zone so businesses can relocate and possibly qualify for tax and fee relief. It added 118 acres on Jefferson Davis Highway, and West Hundred, Weir and Briggs roads.

It also added 144 acres on Midlothian Turnpike, Cloverleaf Drive, Starview Lane, Gateway Centre Parkway and Granite Spring, Ruthers, Turner and South Providence roads.

Road signs

The board voted to set a public hearing to increase the use of roadside signs. If approved on Jan. 27, up to 10 temporary offsite signs to promote community events would be allowed. Another amendment determines the size of the signs. Both of those proposed amendments were recommended by the Chesterfield Planning Commission.

A third amendment – which was not recommended by the commission – would permit residential developers of 50 or more homes to place some directional signs to new developments along roads for up to two years.