Biz Buzz: Chesterfield center’s shopping filling out

Sitting in the shadows of the Westchester Commons, The Shoppes at Westchester is quickly filling up and becoming a major shopping and office complex on Midlothian Turnpike.

The Chesterfield County development is part of the Watkins Centre, a nearly 640-acre project that includes retail, an office park and eventually residences.

The Shoppes at Westchester sits on a 32-acre piece of Watkins Centre. It has 28,000 square feet of retail in the middle of the center and an additional 23,700 square feet in outer parcels.

The land and center are owned by developer The Rebkee Co.

Rebkee, which had planned about 70,000 square feet of retail, was informed last week that the county would allow it to build as much as 120,000 square feet, said Amy Berryhill, a leasing agent for the developer.

"We think it's the perfect spot for a retailer in the big-box home-improvement category," Berryhill said.

But, she said, even if they aren't able to land a company like a Home Depot or Lowe's, there is some flexibility in their plans.

"We can build out parcels to fit most anyone," she said, adding that because it hasn't begun construction, Rebkee can offer options to potential tenants -- including leasing less space and using the additional allotment for other retailers.

Rebkee also found out last week that Bon Secours is planning to build an ambulatory-care center in the Watkins project. It will be built in two phases for a total of 300,000 square feet.

"Obviously with Bon Secours, that's a great thing for our center," Berryhill said.

Rebkee is also considering building a 30,000-square-foot medical office building on The Shoppes at Westchester property. Rebkee already owns a three-story, 60,000-square-foot office building on the property, which Berryhill says is 90 percent leased.

The shopping center is about 50 percent leased, she said.

In the past three months, Subway Sandwiches, Italian eatery Palermo Trattoria Pizzeria and a Burger King have opened. Chopstix Sushi & China Bistro opened this month.

The center also has a nail salon and a CVS pharmacy. And Berryhill said Salon Bliss, an upscale salon, is scheduled to open next month.

The center also will have two banks; a SunTrust branch will open in December, and a BB&T will open next year.

"We're very happy with our progress," Berryhill said.

Café Caturra closes

Café Caturra has closed its original store in Alverser Plaza in Chesterfield County.

The café-and-wine bar opened in 2005.

Dexter Brown, director of communications and investor services for Café Caturra, said the lease had come up and the company decided not to renew it. He cited the space's smaller size and the proximity to the Midlothian Turnpike shop as reasons for not re-upping for another five years.

The store had 12 full-time employees. He said anyone who wanted to continue on with the company was placed in another store.

Café Caturra had been expanding in recent years. It has three shops in the area, including the Midlothian shop, one on Grove Avenue in Richmond and one in Short Pump, which opened in September.

Sam's Club expands

The Sam's Club in Colonial Heights has expanded.

The store on Southpark Boulevard added 27,000 square feet, bringing its total size to 140,000 square feet.

Among the additions to the Wal-Mart-owned membership discount store club are a vision center and digital photo-processing center. It also expanded produce, frozen foods and deli offerings. The extra space has created 10 more jobs.

The redesign is part of an effort by Wal-Mart to update its stores. The chain expects that 30 percent of its 3,538 U.S. retail stores will be renovated by the end of this month, with 70 percent redone by the end of fiscal 2012.

The plans include remodeling 10 stores in Virginia -- including at least two in the Richmond area that are already finished.

Wal-Mart plans to remodel up to 55 Sam's Club stores by the end of this year and as many as 90 by the end of next fiscal year.

The Midlothian Turnpike Sam's Club in Chesterfield recently went through a similar remodel.

The company was not sure whether the Richmond area's two remaining Sam's would get face-lifts.

Chesterfield workout

A new workout facility opens today in Chesterfield.

Rare Fitness is in the Ivymont Square Shopping Center on Midlothian Turnpike near Charter Colony Parkway.

It offers martial arts, kickboxing classes, group exercises, personal training and yoga.

The center opens in an area that has a large fitness presence. Gold's Gym opened a 45,000-square-foot facility this year about a mile to the west in the Westchester Commons. And American Family Fitness is building a 68,000-square-foot facility on Midlothian Turnpike and Woolridge Road that is set to open next summer.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or . Follow him at http://twitter.com/RTDBizBuzz.