Hand it to Hanover

Twenty years ago, Hanover County wasn't in the running to attract what became Virginia Center Commons shopping center just across the Henrico County line.

At the time the shopping center was built in 1990, Hanover didn't have the road system and water and sewer lines north of the Henrico line near the Atlee-Elmont exit off Interstate 95 to handle a retail development of that scale, said John Hodges, a deputy county administrator.

But over the years, Hanover has focused more attention to attract more retail businesses along U.S. 1 north of the Henrico line and near the Atlee-Elmont and Lewistown Road interchanges off I-95.

Some officials and observers now say that Hanover has come of age.

Upgrades to the Atlee-Elmont interchange were completed in 2005, helping to pave the way for much of the development near the Henrico line.

At the Lewistown Road exit, Bass Pro Shops is set to open in the next two weeks at the Winding Brook development. A grand opening is slated for Oct. 1.

In that same development, plans call for The Outlet Shoppes at Richmond that would be more than three-quarters the size of the Prime Outlets Williamsburg. The planned center potentially could have some of the same types of outlet stores found in Williamsburg.

"In terms of destination retail, this, I think, is the project [Winding Brook] that will put Hanover on that particular map," said county Supervisor John E. Gordon Jr., who represents the South Anna District, where much of the development is taking place.

In addition to the 150,000-square-foot Bass Pro store and the planned outlet mall, Winding Brook would have another shopping center and restaurants, including Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue, and a Country Inns and Suites hotel.

Winding Brook is being developed by Holladay Properties Inc. of Indiana.

Illinois-based Horizon Group Properties Inc. is planning to build the Outlet Shoppes, which could range from 360,000 square feet to 425,000 square feet, according to Kay Pangraves, a senior vice president for Holladay. The outlet center would have about 80 to 90 stores.

Both Holladay and Horizon declined to discuss specific tenants for the outlet center. But a Horizon executive has said the retailers probably would be similar to those found at some of Horizon's five other outlet centers, such as Brooks Bros., Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Bass shoes.

Marc Weiss, Hanover's director of economic development, said Winding Brook is bringing in about $500 million in new investment to the county.

It will attract as many as 4 million visitors once it is fully built, which could be in 2014, and it will generate about $4 million per year in tax revenue for Hanover, Weiss said.

The county is helping to develop that area.

Hanover created a Community Development Authority for the 185-acre Winding Brook development.

The authority issued about $28 million in bonds to pay to install water and sewer lines; to build a four-lane road from the end of Lakeridge Parkway to Lewistown Road; to acquire about 40 acres for a public park; and to construct parking lots for Bass Pro Shops. A portion of the taxes generated by the project would pay back those bonds over 20 years

Dave Smith, a vice president at Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakeman, a commercial real estate brokerage in Richmond, said Bass Pro is a regional destination. Putting an outlet center near it, he said, will magnify the impact.

"It will pull from the Charlottesville and the Interstate 81 corridor, it will pull from Southside Virginia, it will pull from Northern Virginia," Smith said.

In the past, Hanover has focused more on attracting industrial and office businesses. But about four or five years ago, the county began putting more focus on drawing retail development.

The Northcross Center west of the Atlee-Elmont interchange has a Home Depot and Gander Mountain, an outdoor sports superstore. Costco Wholesale Club might be locating a store there, real estate sources say.

Bill Rankins' R&R Development is about to start construction on Sliding Hill Corner near The Home Depot store. The shopping center, the site of the former Snow White Inn, will include a Wawa convenience store, a Sonic drive-in restaurant, Jiffy Lube and other stores.

Interest in that area of Hanover has surged, Rankins said.

"It is one of the hotter retail corridors around," he said. "It's going to pop here pretty soon with all the things that are planned."

Experts expect to see the resurgence continue along U.S. 1 from the Henrico line north toward Ashland. Along that corridor, some buildings are vacant and dilapidated.

In July, Arby's opened a restaurant at U.S. 1 at Sliding Hill Road.

About two miles north, plans call for the former Wigwam motel, know in its era for dining and dancing, to be turned into a 33,000-square-foot Wigwam Crossing shopping center.

Lakeridge Parkway is being extended from Sliding Hill Road north to Lewistown Road, enhancing the area's capacity to handle traffic, which is a good thing for retail, Hodges said.

"We've tried to set the table," Hodges said. "I think we're there now."
Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or .

Staff writer Louis Llovio and business editor John Hoke contributed to this report.