A soccer game at River City Sportsplex that was held as part of the 2023 Jefferson Cup. Upgrades to the youth sports tournament complex will be funded by proceeds from a recent round of bond sales by Chesterfield County. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
The first projects to be funded from $540 million in bonds that Chesterfield voters approved in last year’s referendum are being lined up.
The county recently sold an initial $116 million in bonds for capital projects resulting from the November referendum. The first round of the bond-sale proceeds is intended to initiate a handful of projects, and the proceeds are about evenly split between government-side and school projects.
River City Sportsplex improvements, amenities at Horner Park, a replacement Enon library, a new Chester fire station and a police station are among the non-schools projects that will be kicked off with the initial bonds sale.
Also to be funded are initial costs associated with planned replacements for A.M. Davis and Bensley elementary schools, in addition to an elementary school, middle school and high school in the western part of the county in the Route 360 corridor.
Chesterfield is planning to use a total of $17.2 million in bond sale proceeds for improvements to River City Sportsplex, a 115-acre youth sports complex at 13030 Genito Road. Chief among the improvements is the creation of four new sports fields that would bring River City’s total field count to 16.
“It’s really meant to build out the full suite of fields. The other big focus is to add in the other complementary amenities on this site,” Chesterfield Deputy County Administrator Matt Harris said in an interview.
Matt Harris
The fields expansion is part of the county’s $48 million master plan for improvements to the sports tourism venue, which also has amenities that cater to local residents in addition to tournament attendees from out of town.
“Our secret sauce compared to some others is to make sure we have amenities that work for our community and have the ability to be an economic driver at the same time. It lessens the tax burden and diversifies our revenue sources,” Harris said.
Additional restrooms, a playground, splash pad and trails are also part of the improvements to be covered by the initial bonds sale. Harris said this week that design work is underway on the Sportsplex improvements.
Horner Park, a 316-acre park with athletic fields at 17701 Genito Road, is slated for new shelters, trails and restrooms to be funded by the first tranche of bond sales. Overall, Chesterfield intends to put a total of $10 million in bond funds toward projects at the park.
Harris said county officials were in advanced discussions about the acquisition of sites for the new fire station in Chester and the replacement Enon library, projects that will be funded by $12.3 million and $17 million in bond proceeds, respectively.
The Enon library, at 1801 Enon Church Road, is one-fifth the size of its eventual replacement, which is planned to total 20,000 square feet. Harris said the size is in line with Chesterfield’s current standards for library facilities.
“It’s trying to make sure you have that same experience no matter what part of the county you live in,” he said.
Also among the first projects to benefit from the referendum is a new police station to be built as part of the Springline at District 60 redevelopment project.
Of the three schools slated for the western Route 360 corridor, a site has been identified for the middle school, and a ground-breaking is planned for the first week of August. The school is intended to siphon students out of a full Tomahawk Middle School.
“(Tomahawk) has capacity challenges and that’s why it’s up there toward the front,” Harris said.
Both the $40 million Davis Elementary and $42 million Bensley Elementary replacement projects would rise on the properties where those current schools are located.
Looking forward, Chesterfield plans to sell the second tranche of $100.4 million in bonds in the spring of next year.
About $22.4 million in county government-side projects in that round would go toward construction of a replacement Ettrick fire station and new police station in Swift Creek. The school-side funding of $78 million would go toward the Bensley project as well as the western Route 360 corridor elementary and high schools.
The initial $116 million tranche of bonds were sold in June. Chesterfield, which has a Triple-A bond rating, sold the bonds to Bank of America Securities at a 3.3 percent interest rate.
Chesterfield officials anticipate that over the course of the bonds’ 20-year repayment period, the county will save about $20 million on debt service as a result of its bond rating.
Harris said that while there weren’t specific plans at this time for how those cost savings would be reallocated, he anticipated they would be able to help cover costs associated with the projects to be funded through the bonds.
“That frees up future dollars we can put into the program side,” he said. “All these facilities are going to come with other needs.”
A soccer game at River City Sportsplex that was held as part of the 2023 Jefferson Cup. Upgrades to the youth sports tournament complex will be funded by proceeds from a recent round of bond sales by Chesterfield County. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
The first projects to be funded from $540 million in bonds that Chesterfield voters approved in last year’s referendum are being lined up.
The county recently sold an initial $116 million in bonds for capital projects resulting from the November referendum. The first round of the bond-sale proceeds is intended to initiate a handful of projects, and the proceeds are about evenly split between government-side and school projects.
River City Sportsplex improvements, amenities at Horner Park, a replacement Enon library, a new Chester fire station and a police station are among the non-schools projects that will be kicked off with the initial bonds sale.
Also to be funded are initial costs associated with planned replacements for A.M. Davis and Bensley elementary schools, in addition to an elementary school, middle school and high school in the western part of the county in the Route 360 corridor.
Chesterfield is planning to use a total of $17.2 million in bond sale proceeds for improvements to River City Sportsplex, a 115-acre youth sports complex at 13030 Genito Road. Chief among the improvements is the creation of four new sports fields that would bring River City’s total field count to 16.
“It’s really meant to build out the full suite of fields. The other big focus is to add in the other complementary amenities on this site,” Chesterfield Deputy County Administrator Matt Harris said in an interview.
Matt Harris
The fields expansion is part of the county’s $48 million master plan for improvements to the sports tourism venue, which also has amenities that cater to local residents in addition to tournament attendees from out of town.
“Our secret sauce compared to some others is to make sure we have amenities that work for our community and have the ability to be an economic driver at the same time. It lessens the tax burden and diversifies our revenue sources,” Harris said.
Additional restrooms, a playground, splash pad and trails are also part of the improvements to be covered by the initial bonds sale. Harris said this week that design work is underway on the Sportsplex improvements.
Horner Park, a 316-acre park with athletic fields at 17701 Genito Road, is slated for new shelters, trails and restrooms to be funded by the first tranche of bond sales. Overall, Chesterfield intends to put a total of $10 million in bond funds toward projects at the park.
Harris said county officials were in advanced discussions about the acquisition of sites for the new fire station in Chester and the replacement Enon library, projects that will be funded by $12.3 million and $17 million in bond proceeds, respectively.
The Enon library, at 1801 Enon Church Road, is one-fifth the size of its eventual replacement, which is planned to total 20,000 square feet. Harris said the size is in line with Chesterfield’s current standards for library facilities.
“It’s trying to make sure you have that same experience no matter what part of the county you live in,” he said.
Also among the first projects to benefit from the referendum is a new police station to be built as part of the Springline at District 60 redevelopment project.
Of the three schools slated for the western Route 360 corridor, a site has been identified for the middle school, and a ground-breaking is planned for the first week of August. The school is intended to siphon students out of a full Tomahawk Middle School.
“(Tomahawk) has capacity challenges and that’s why it’s up there toward the front,” Harris said.
Both the $40 million Davis Elementary and $42 million Bensley Elementary replacement projects would rise on the properties where those current schools are located.
Looking forward, Chesterfield plans to sell the second tranche of $100.4 million in bonds in the spring of next year.
About $22.4 million in county government-side projects in that round would go toward construction of a replacement Ettrick fire station and new police station in Swift Creek. The school-side funding of $78 million would go toward the Bensley project as well as the western Route 360 corridor elementary and high schools.
The initial $116 million tranche of bonds were sold in June. Chesterfield, which has a Triple-A bond rating, sold the bonds to Bank of America Securities at a 3.3 percent interest rate.
Chesterfield officials anticipate that over the course of the bonds’ 20-year repayment period, the county will save about $20 million on debt service as a result of its bond rating.
Harris said that while there weren’t specific plans at this time for how those cost savings would be reallocated, he anticipated they would be able to help cover costs associated with the projects to be funded through the bonds.
“That frees up future dollars we can put into the program side,” he said. “All these facilities are going to come with other needs.”
Chesterfield County has thus far neglected to build a retaining wall or to shore up the bare earthen slopes/berms that run-off onto the sidewalk that fronts the main fields. This should have been rectified years ago. Covered seating areas instead of the existing exposed areas would also be a benefit as the soccer clubs inexplicably prefer to host large tournaments in the foul weather months of January and February. They really need to prioritize improving upon the existing facilities before building more.