Hanover supervisors approve grocery-anchored project near VCC

The site of a proposed grocery-anchored commercial project that is planned near the Hanover-Henrico line. The Hanover Board of Supervisors recently OK’d a zoning request tied to the project. (Images courtesy Hanover County)

A commercial project that aims to bring a new grocery store to the Hanover-Henrico border on Route 1 has secured zoning approval.

The Hanover Board of Supervisors last week OK’d a proposal from Dan Hargett’s Roka Partners to build a shopping center on 22 acres at 10364 Kings Acres Road. The project site is near Virginia Center Commons, the former mall that’s being redeveloped just over the county line in Henrico.

A 122,000-square-foot grocery store is envisioned to anchor the development, which would feature additional square footage for other retailers. Plans filed with Hanover show that a Sheetz and a Valvoline are expected to open on outparcels at the site.

The project is expected to break ground next year and is anticipated to cost more than $20 million, Hargett said.

Hargett said in an interview last week that conversations were ongoing to line up the grocery store brand that would anchor the project. He said that while a grocery store is a goal for the development, Roka Partners is open to other potential users for the project, which he said could accommodate up to three anchor-sized businesses.

“We think it’s a great location for a traditional grocer or other entertainment uses given what’s going on in the submarket,” he said. “We have flexibility in the back to do one or two or three users.”

A traffic study for the project factored in a grocery store as well as about 15,000 square feet of additional retail. Other users at the development could include fast-food restaurants, car washes and auto shops, according to the rezoning application. The development as currently envisioned is expected to generate about 19,000 vehicle trips daily.

It would have four outparcels fronting Washington Highway and five vehicular access points, including two on Route 1 and two on Telegraph Road.

A conceptual plan for the grocery-anchored commercial development, which would also feature a Sheetz and a Valvoline, which isn’t shown on the plan.

The project would rise on a seven-parcel assemblage bordered by Washington Highway (Route 1), Kings Acre Road and Telegraph Road.

Roka plans to close on acquiring the site early next year. Hargett declined to disclose the anticipated purchase price. Per online land records, the seven-parcel site has an assessed value of about $4 million total and is split among several owners.

Hanover supervisors voted unanimously to approve the request to rezone the land to General Business with conditions, B-3(c), from the previous General Business (B-3) and Agricultural (A-1) zonings.

Among the proffered conditions for the project are an agreement to have no more than three “anchor tenants” at the property, transportation improvements including several turn lanes on Route 1 to provide access to the development and a sidewalk along the east side of Route 1 and Kings Acres Road.

Roka hadn’t tapped a general contractor or architect for the project as of last week. The engineering firm on the project is Kimley-Horn.

The post Hanover supervisors approve grocery-anchored project near VCC appeared first on Richmond BizSense.