Hanover's Winding Brook gets going after slow start

A stretch of Hanover County fronting Interstate 95 is expected to become a destination retail hot spot once the recession-delayed Winding Brook development gets going.

Construction on a 375,000-square-foot outlet mall — initially proposed in 2008 — could begin early next year.

Outlets at Richmond, being developed by the California-based Craig Realty Group, is expected to open in 2013 next to Bass Pro Shops.

The vision for the 185-acre Winding Brook development — and other open tracts along I-95 north of the Virginia Center Commons mall area in Henrico County — is to make Hanover a destination for interstate travelers to stop and spend money, generating tax revenue that benefits the county and its residents.

"We're trying to make sure we feather our nest with the right types of commercial opportunities," said Susan K. Deusebio, acting economic development director for Hanover.

But the poor economy delayed much of the development planned at Winding Brook after its first occupant, Bass Pro Shops, opened three years ago.

Construction activity appears to be on an upswing.

A $4 million, 63-room Country Inn and Suites in Winding Brook, located north of the Bass Pro Shops, is nearing completion and is expected to open by mid-August.

Indiana-based Holladay Properties Inc., which owns and is developing Winding Brook, is scheduled next month to break ground on The Shoppes at Winding Brook, a 10,000-square-foot retail center that will include a Mariachi's Mexican Grill.

Once complete, Winding Brook will give Hanover what Deusebio describes as an "interesting commercial corridor" on I-95, north of the Interstate 295 interchange, that contains traditional retail, a high-end business park, destination retail and an amusement park.

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When Hanover approved its comprehensive plan in March 2007, Winding Brook was zoned destination retail, part of a land designation that stretches north to include the Kings Dominion theme park in Doswell.

County planners wanted to take advantage of interstate access and draw visitors from outside the metro Richmond area on I-95, the East Coast's key thoroughfare stretching from Maine to Florida.

Water and sewer lines were already available, and the site, between I-95 and U.S. 1, does not encroach on residential or rural areas. Nearly 70 percent of the county, as it's currently planned, will not have water or sewer and will be reserved for a rural-type atmosphere and character.

"That corridor is intended to be predominantly business," County Administrator Cecil R. "Rhu" Harris Jr. said. "We're trying to drive the opportunity for business, retail (and) commercial into these areas that are adjacent to the interstate."

The prospect of more retail development — and the I-95 corridor's potential to become a destination retail hub — is an exciting prospect for existing local businesses in Hanover, said Jennifer Y. Scott, executive director of the Hanover Association of Businesses and Chamber of Commerce.

"There are so many wonderful things that can happen there, so I think everyone is waiting for the economy to take off again so that development can take off again," she said.

The land originally was zoned for light-to-medium industrial uses, but that changed as destination retail was examined as a more practical use for the land.

"We feel that this will provide folks with easy access to some of the best stores in the nation," said county Supervisor John E. Gordon Jr., who represents South Anna District, where much of the development is occurring. "We're excited about the potential."

Bass Pro receives heavy traffic from people who travel an hour or more, said Greg Bulkley, the store's general manager.

"They come to stock up, they come to see what we do next," Bulkley said. "We're built for the family. We're not your cut-of-the-mill hunting and fishing store; we've got something for everybody in the family."

Brian Glass, a senior vice president with the commercial real estate firm Grubb & Ellis/Harrison & Bates, said Bass Pro can pull visitors from an enormous radius with its easy access from Northern Virginia, Charlottesville and Lynchburg.

Factor in the attraction of an outlet mall and Winding Brook can be a big draw for those traveling on the interstate as well as people from central Virginia, he said.

"We will see how this outlet mall develops; that is going to be a big key," he said.

Hanover created a Community Development Authority for the Winding Brook development.

The authority issued about $28 million in bonds to install water and sewer lines, extend Lakeridge Parkway from the Lakeridge office park as a four-lane road to Lewistown Road, acquire about 40 acres for a public park and construct parking lots for Bass Pro Shops.

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County officials believe a long-term effect of the Winding Brook development will also be a boost to tourism in Hanover — home to Revolutionary War patriot Patrick Henry and numerous Civil War battlefields — and the Richmond region.

Holladay is planning to build a 69,094-square-foot building on the northwest section of Winding Brook for a Capital Region Welcome Center to provide information to visitors.

Gordon said it will be a gateway to the Richmond region.

Kay Pangraze, senior vice president with Holladay Properties, said there have been discussions about the different ways Winding Brook can be a starting point for a newcomer's introduction to the region's history.

"If someone came here and then they got interested on the bird's-eye view, we'd have maps and different things that they could continue their investigation," she said.

And when the economy turns around and the outlet mall is completed, officials believe the entire Richmond metropolitan region will benefit.

"Anytime any of us can get a traveler off of 95 ... the chances they will not only visit Hanover, but may venture into any of our jurisdictions, goes up," said Harris. "If you're on 95 and keep going, none of us get any business."