Rendering courtesy Brett Burkhart
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect approval of the project after our March issue went to press.
Developers Brett Burkhart and Derek Cha, of Sweet Frog fame, believe they can draw hundreds of thousands of people annually to an outdoor entertainment oasis in the suburbs. Before signing off, though, Chesterfield County officials want to be sure their grand vision isn’t a mirage.
Burkhart and Cha unveiled their Waterford Park proposal last spring. Its most distinguishing feature is a $35 million water park, although “water park” may be a bit of a misnomer. As Cha told Richmond BizSense last fall, there will be no slides. Instead, the developers envision an “adventure park” where visitors cable ski across a man-made lake and whitewater raft through a course built to simulate real rapids. And it’s not just thrill seekers they’re after. Burkhart thinks the park can become a sort of community gathering spot for families looking for a place to unwind. Festivities — concerts, vendors, events — will offer entertainment, whether patrons are interested in getting wet or not. He points to the popularity of a similar facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I tell people, ‘You like going to [Dominion] Riverrock? Well, at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, they call that Saturday.’ ”
Despite the fun-in-the sun pitch, the project landed with a thud at Chesterfield County’s Planning Department. That’s due in part to the fact that Waterford Park is unlike typical mixed-use proposals the county weighs.
The tried-and-true model for mixed-use development in the region depends upon a grocery or big-box store as an anchor tenant, alongside which smaller retailers and restaurants can flourish. Building apartments and homes around the stores creates a natural customer base to support them. The retailers’ proximity doubles as a plus for house hunters. Instead of a Wegmans or a Walmart, Burkhart and Cha want the adventure park to serve as the anchor of their $333 million proposal. Surrounding the park, situated on a 105-acre plot bounded by Genito Road, Genito Place and Route 288, would be 790 homes and apartments, 250,000 square feet of commercial space and a hotel.
The problem, says Kirk Turner, director of Chesterfield’s planning department, is the dearth of recreation-anchored mixed-used developments around the country; there’s no way of knowing whether it will work. If the county ultimately approves the project and the water park folds, it jeopardizes the rest of the development and surrounding area, he says.
“The real tragedy we see across the county happens when someone gets part way through the project and then they’re not able to realize it to fruition, so the property sits there, halfway completed,” Turner says.
To alleviate the concern, Burkhart and Cha agreed to complete the water park and a portion of the commercial space before the county grants building permits for about a quarter of the units they’re proposing. Additionally, the developers worked with county staff for 18 months to address traffic, noise and water quality concerns. However, Turner did not ultimately recommend the project for approval.
Burkhart is diplomatic about Chesterfield’s scrutiny of the proposal.
“Any time you challenge the status quo and try to do something differently, you’re met with a little bit of skepticism and kind of curiosity of how the mechanics work,” he says.
Despite the setback, the proposal found favor with neighboring Brandermill, home to some 13,000 people. Charlie Davis III, president of the community’s board of directors, says the developers held several community meetings and were very receptive to residents’ concerns. “They knew that opposition from Brandermill would have further complicated this thing,” he says. “They’ve been very good to work with.”
Davis wrote a letter of support for the project to Chesterfield’s Planning Commission last fall. In January, the commission gave its stamp of approval for the developers’ rezoning request in the form of a 4-1 vote. The county’s Board of Supervisors, a five-person body, unanimously approved the project at its Feb. 22 meeting. The developers must now get OKs from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers. At the earliest, construction could begin in the spring of 2018, Burkhart says.
Chris Winslow, who represents the Clover Hill District on the board, stopped short of endorsing the proposal in a late January interview. However, he conceded it did offer something vital to the county’s future.
“We need destinations in the county,” he says. “This could be a regional or statewide destination for people, and, frankly, it could have some serious economic benefit.”
