By Greg Pearson
Brandermill Board member
A Northern Virginia builder is requesting 103 acres bordering Hull Street from Market Square north along the west side of Route 288 be rezoned to residential for a mixture of up to 788 townhouses, condos or apartments including 17 single-family homes. Known for years as the Cheatam property and now with added adjacent acreage, the current owners have struggled to find its place in the congested 288/360 marketplace.
County planners hoped for retail, office or a mix of both given its major intersection location near the center of the county. But with the decline of store-front retail and more people working from home, the value of high-end residential now exceeds office space, according to the developer's attorney Brennen Keene of McGuireWoods. Developer Kettler (www.kettler.com) of McLean in Fairfax County has a well-earned reputation as a home builder. Keene said the developer plans on building 463 three-story townhouses and 260 four-story condos priced at $400,000 to $525,000 along with the single-family homes in a yet undetermined price range. Kettler is also seeking the option of replacing those condos with 308 apartments (three stories) with the monthly rental cost not yet known. The first section of multifamily is expected to begin construction in 2024, and the entire community is anticipated to be complete in 2026.
Kettler is in the second stage of the development process called technical review where the details of Cloverleigh's proposal are discussed among staff, including design standards, roads and environmental considerations being fleshed out. The next stage of community outreach actually began early last week with Zoom meetings before the Brandermill community and to additional neighborhoods on Tuesday night. Following additional outreach, county planners will prepare its staff report on Cloverleigh, including recommendations from the Planning Department and Chesterfield's Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Next, the project heads to the Planning Commission where a public hearing will be held before commissioners make a recommendation to the county supervisors. Ryan Ramsey, a Chesterfield planning and special projects manager, indicated it was too early to estimate when the commission would consider the case. Then the development goes to the decision makers -- the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors -- who will hold another public hearing before voting whether or not to approve.
The comprehensive plan that's used as a guide for future development has the land near Market Square listed as regional mixed use. That includes office, retail, light industrial and more densely residential also near the offramp from Rt. 288 southbound.
"There is some flexibility within the zoning depending on roads,” explained Ramsey.
For the property next to the single-family neighborhoods of Nuttree and Rose Glen, the zoning calls for suburban residential with 2-4 detached homes per acre. Almost half of Cloverleigh will be open space with parks, sidewalks and bike trails, and a community pool. Residents will be able to walk to shopping and restaurants at Market Square.
Some county officials and Brandermill residents had hoped any future development would incorporate a revitalized Market Square into its plans. Ownership there is shared by one major player and a few smaller owners. Cobbling together several properties to complete a commercial real estate transaction can be complicated.
“Kettler would be happy to redevelop it if it were on the market,” Keene told residents Tuesday night.
Market Square is part of Brandermill and its inward design with stores not having
direct access to Rt. 360 is a problem for attracting retail clients. Its dated exterior also likely contributes to the turnover of some tenants.
Roads
The major obstacle Kettler will have to overcome is traffic congestion (click here for road diagram). Studies show 77,000 vehicles per day go through the intersection of Brandermill's primary entrance on Hull Street, and that congestion often makes the intersection one of the most accident-prone in Chesterfield. CDOT points out that average vehicles per day were likely lower the past two years because of the pandemic.
During the past two years, accidents have declined, likely due to less driving with more people working from home. Chesterfield police reported just 7 accidents there in 2020 and 9 last year. Even the roundabout at Brandermill Parkway and Old Hundred reported more accidents – 17 during that two-year period.
The independent traffic impact analysis provided by Kettler's road consultant reports at buildout Cloverleigh will generate 2,700 trips daily using Market Square Lane and a new entrance/exit just south of the Old Hundred roundabout. Of that traffic, 70% will head to Hull Street and 30% the other direction.
Recognizing the traffic issue, Kettler is voluntarily offering $5.5-7 million in road improvements outside of its community. Some of that could go to creating a second right-hand lane for vehicles on Old Hundred turning onto westbound Hull where traffic congestion is at its worst during afternoon rush hour.
Both entrances to Market Square from Old Hundred are due for makeovers. What is today the primary (across from Millridge Parkway) will likely become secondary when traffic becomes right in and right out only. In addition to sidewalks, Market Square Lane will be widened to four lanes divided with a traffic light added at Old Hundred. Traffic will be able to turn either direction outbound.
Turn lanes on Old Hundred would be added at the new entrance to Cloverleigh both southbound and northbound. The existing lefthand turn lane from Old Hundred southbound onto Market Square Lane would be lengthened. All road improvements are to be made by Kettler when approximately 30% of the homes are occupied.
CDOT uses a six-measurement system to rate level of service (LOS) during peak periods at intersections with traffic lights with A being the best and D being acceptable. Levels E and F are less than acceptable. Currently at the intersectjon of Old Hundred/Charter Colony Parkway at Genito Road, in AM peak periods that intersection is rated F and level D in the afternoon peak period. However, if the traffic light is “optimized” by 2041, both in the morning and afternoon by 2041, a level D is achieved.
At the 360 traffic light at Old Hundred, the LOS is currently E in the morning (delay of 62 seconds) and F (delay of 128 seconds) in the afternoon. Even if Cloverleigh isn’t built, the LOS in 2041 will be F in both rush hours with a delay of 141 seconds in the morning and 250 seconds in the afternoon. With restriping the lanes and Cloverleigh being built, both morning and afternoon peak periods will still be rated F and delays increase to 171 seconds and 275 seconds respectively.
Adding a second exit lane on 288 southbound to 360 westbound on Hull Street is being paid for by Chesterfield and is not part of this zoning case. Construction there begins later this year. During the Brandermill meeting Board members focused their questions on the additional traffic Cloverleigh will create. Not included in the traffic analysis are two new
projects on Genito Road that motorists from the south of Chesterfield might access by turning left off 360 eastbound, heading northbound on Old Hundred.
The waterpark on Genito across from Clover Hill High School is expected to be a major attraction for the local area, regionally and even out-of-state. It will include surfing, waterskiing, and an outdoor amphitheater. Its developer has estimated the latter would hold 40+ concerts and another 200+ events annually. CDOT’s Steve Adams has said that additional amount of traffic is too difficult to predict. Concerts/events held in the early evening hours on weekdays would add to the evening rush hour congestion.
Chesterfield is considering adding three more fields to its soccer complex plus a potential stadium that seats 3,500, a multipurpose building of 15,000 square feet, a large playground and other recreational uses. The 288/Special Area Focus Plan is located on Genito from 288 east to the defunct Southside Speedway. The most recent traffic count there on Genito is 16,000 vehicles daily on a four-lane, divided road.
Schools
If Kettler builds 308 apartments instead of 260 condos in addition to the 17 single-family homes and 463 townhouses, the total number of students is projected to be 184 to 240 additional.
At Clover Hill Elementary School that would add 77-115 students and increase its capacity from 96% today to 106% in 2026 when build out of Cloverleigh is expected. To accommodate being above capacity, the report says,”…staff is evaluating alternative solutions and exploring strategies for addressing capacity, to include redistricting, program relocation or constructing a new facility.”
At Swift Creek Middle School, now at 99% capacity, it would enroll 47-53 students from Cloverleigh by 2026, but the modeling predicts a decline in enrollment elsewhere, bringing the school down to 95% capacity. The development will generate 60-72 new students to Clover Hill High School in four years. However, the number of students elsewhere will also decline. Its capacity today is at 92% but is projected to be 88% in 2026.
If Kettler opts for 260 condos instead of the 308 apartments, the number of students added to the three schools will total between 174 and 224. But in 2026 the percentage of capacity at each school remains the same.
Currently, there are five trailers at Clover Hill Elementary and three at Swift Creek Middle. There is just one at Clover Hill High, which is being used for administrative purposes only.
