Another massive clandestinely named industrial project is in the works in Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County.
The Chesterfield Economic Development Authority is helping shepherd the development of a 600,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility for an unnamed tenant on 62 acres directly adjacent to Amazon’s sprawling distribution center.
That’s according to an application the EDA filed last week with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, seeking a permit to allow the filling of wetlands and streams on and around the site.
Identified only as “Project Buzzard,” the authority’s DEQ application gives no indication as to who the tenant for the planned building will be. Garrett Hart, director of the Chesterfield EDA, confirmed a project is in the works for Meadowville on land the EDA owns but would not comment further.
The Amazon fulfillment center at Meadowville Technology Park. Photo by Burl Rolett.
An Amazon spokesman said Friday the company is “not currently expanding our physical footprint in Chesterfield County.”
The proposed project would sit on land presently owned by the EDA at 1700 Digital Drive, off Meadowville Technology Parkway. The application shows plans calling for two additional phases of construction that would add four additional buildings nearby.
DEQ documents show a similar plan – dubbed “Project Niagara” – was put in motion by the Chesterfield EDA last year for a 557,421-square-foot facility but was withdrawn for unspecified reasons.
The current application includes plans prepared by local engineering firm Timmons Group that call for an indeterminate number of parking spaces, loading areas, and a two-lane access road with a center lane that provides access to both Bermuda Hundred Road and Meadowville Technology Parkway.
According to the DEQ application, the proposed site for Project Buzzard is made up of undeveloped pine and hardwood forest and wetlands. The project will cause permanent impacts to about 10 acres of wetland and 84 linear feet of stream, the application shows. To mitigate the environmental impact, the application calls for the purchase of off-site mitigation and stream credits, which would help replenish wetlands elsewhere in Virginia.
DEQ has given preliminary approval of the EDA’s environmental permit application for Project Buzzard. Allison Dunaway, a Virginia water protection permit manager at the state agency, said a public comment period and public hearing will eventually be held for the permit.
“In consideration of the public interest in the previous application, we decided it’s probably better to hold a public hearing,” Dunaway said, adding that the State Water Control Board will make the final decision.
Meadowville Technology Park is made up of 1,350 acres that the Chesterfield EDA acquired in 2005. The goal was to meet the needs for large industrial sites that are close to major transportation corridors like Interstate 295 and Route 10.
In addition to Amazon, the park today is home to Northrop Grumman’s $35 million 167,000-square-foot operations center, Capital One’s $150 million data center and Medline Industries’ 400,000-square-foot distribution center that was originally developed as “Project Bulldog.”
Another massive clandestinely named industrial project is in the works in Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County.
The Chesterfield Economic Development Authority is helping shepherd the development of a 600,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility for an unnamed tenant on 62 acres directly adjacent to Amazon’s sprawling distribution center.
That’s according to an application the EDA filed last week with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, seeking a permit to allow the filling of wetlands and streams on and around the site.
Identified only as “Project Buzzard,” the authority’s DEQ application gives no indication as to who the tenant for the planned building will be. Garrett Hart, director of the Chesterfield EDA, confirmed a project is in the works for Meadowville on land the EDA owns but would not comment further.
The Amazon fulfillment center at Meadowville Technology Park. Photo by Burl Rolett.
An Amazon spokesman said Friday the company is “not currently expanding our physical footprint in Chesterfield County.”
The proposed project would sit on land presently owned by the EDA at 1700 Digital Drive, off Meadowville Technology Parkway. The application shows plans calling for two additional phases of construction that would add four additional buildings nearby.
DEQ documents show a similar plan – dubbed “Project Niagara” – was put in motion by the Chesterfield EDA last year for a 557,421-square-foot facility but was withdrawn for unspecified reasons.
The current application includes plans prepared by local engineering firm Timmons Group that call for an indeterminate number of parking spaces, loading areas, and a two-lane access road with a center lane that provides access to both Bermuda Hundred Road and Meadowville Technology Parkway.
According to the DEQ application, the proposed site for Project Buzzard is made up of undeveloped pine and hardwood forest and wetlands. The project will cause permanent impacts to about 10 acres of wetland and 84 linear feet of stream, the application shows. To mitigate the environmental impact, the application calls for the purchase of off-site mitigation and stream credits, which would help replenish wetlands elsewhere in Virginia.
DEQ has given preliminary approval of the EDA’s environmental permit application for Project Buzzard. Allison Dunaway, a Virginia water protection permit manager at the state agency, said a public comment period and public hearing will eventually be held for the permit.
“In consideration of the public interest in the previous application, we decided it’s probably better to hold a public hearing,” Dunaway said, adding that the State Water Control Board will make the final decision.
Meadowville Technology Park is made up of 1,350 acres that the Chesterfield EDA acquired in 2005. The goal was to meet the needs for large industrial sites that are close to major transportation corridors like Interstate 295 and Route 10.
In addition to Amazon, the park today is home to Northrop Grumman’s $35 million 167,000-square-foot operations center, Capital One’s $150 million data center and Medline Industries’ 400,000-square-foot distribution center that was originally developed as “Project Bulldog.”