Rocketts Landing gaining new tenants

Business is picking up at Rocketts Landing, with the addition of a popular Shockoe Bottom restaurant and a developer opening new offices in the mixed-use community overlooking the James River.

Zuppa will move from its current location on North 18th Street to a space in the 210 Rock Building at Rocketts Landing, which straddles the city boundary with eastern Henrico County The timing of the move has not been disclosed.

The restaurant will be joined by construction company Felts and Kilpatrick, which will open an office in the same building within the next 30 days. The custom-home builder and aspiring commercial developer has been based at Craig Kilpatrick's Hanover County home since its founding in 2004.

"It's centrally located," Kilpatrick said. "We really like that project. I really respect what they've done down there."

Kilpatrick and his business partner, Nolan Felts, are both runners and mountain bikers, so they also like the new community's setting. "One of the biggest draws of Rocketts Landing is the proximity to the James River Park System," Kilpatrick said.

The company's new real estate arm, Cobblestone Realty, also will be based at Rocketts, where the company is leasing more than 1,400 square feet with an option to eventually buy the property.

Zuppa opened in 2005 at 101 N. 18th St. and has become a popular eatery in the Bottom. "The opportunity to be part of what is happening at Rocketts Landing was just too good to pass up," Adam Schumm, the restaurant's founder, said in a statement yesterday. "Given the proximity to our original location, we expect that our regulars will make the switch with us," Schumm said, "and with the hundreds of residents . . . at Rocketts Landing, we anticipate a robust business."

Schumm said the restaurant also will begin offering breakfast at its new location.

Another restaurant, The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing, is expected to open later this summer in a former power plant building on the property.

The WVS Companies, the developer of Rocketts, has completed 250 condominiums in four buildings, including 210 Rock, and eight townhouses, with 13 more being built.

"We're excited to welcome our first commercial residents, who will begin to enhance the character of our community," said Jason Vickers-Smith, president of WVS.

Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or .