Bowling pin the key to Chesterfield’s Uptown Alley

A 29-foot rooftop bowling pin sign could make or break plans for a giant entertainment complex in Chesterfield County.

If built, the 52,000-square-foot Uptown Alley would boast 40 bowling lanes on two floors, two restaurants with outside dining, arcades and private party rooms on a 12-acre site at Commonwealth Centre near Hull Street Road.

The $17 million project would have 100 employees and attract 250,000 people a year, estimated Steve Uphoff, the developer and owner of Chesterfield-based Uppy's Convenience Stores.

The county's Planning Commission recommended approval of a zoning amendment request on a 4-1 vote last week, with Chairman Russell J. Gulley dissenting. The Board of Supervisors will hear the case in September for a final decision.

A bowling pin sign atop the building was the chief item of contention at the Planning Commission level.

Uphoff claims it's necessary to attract business to the entertainment center, which would be three-quarters of a mile from Hull Street Road. But some nearby Brandermill residents aren't sold on the idea.

"The bowling pin is considered to be an iconic image," said Andy Scherzer with Balzer & Associates Inc., which is representing Uphoff Ventures LLC. "It's almost integral to the architecture in order to really have this building come alive."

Scherzer said the pin was welldesigned, to be lit at night by a "soft glow from within the building."

Joyce Rowe, president of the Brandermill Community Association, said that even so, the pin likely would be visible from some homes within the community. "There was no input from our 3,700-plus residents concerning this," she said.

Brandermill resident Andrea Epps was supportive of the project and the pin but took exception to the height from the top of the building.

"I think that the bowling pin is beautiful, personally. I think it looks like a bottle of Dom Perignon," she said, suggesting it could be made smaller or relocated.

Said Uphoff: "We have to make the economics work. In order for the economics to work, we have to be visible to the public for the site to have success."

In dissenting, Gulley said excepting the roof-mounted pin from zoning policy could open the door for many similar requests. "I'm a little bit troubled by the precedent that would be set," he said.

Matoaca Commissioner F. Wayne Bass pointed out that the project would generate new jobs and $153,000 a year in tax revenue for the county.

"That's money in our pockets," he said, noting that Chesterfield sorely needs new businesses. "We don't need any more residential. We need commercial."

Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or .