Chesterfield County offices at 9901 Lori Road. (BizSense file)
Chesterfield supervisors on Wednesday voted to approve the Ridgedale Special Focus Area plan. The document will serve as a guide for county officials as they consider future zoning requests and land-use policies for the roughly 580-acre area just inside Chesterfield’s border with the city.
The plan is the latest such land-use document to be adopted by the county. A Special Focus Area plan is used to provide guidance on how to handle development in specific areas considered ripe for transformation or considered in the midst of change. The plans don’t change existing zoning.
“This is a long-range plan, a 20- to 30-year plan,” Senior Planner Brett Meadows said. “Any new development will still go through zoning and public hearing processes.”
The 52-page Ridgedale plan encourages new commercial, residential and recreational development for the area, as well as provides design guidelines for such things as connectivity, site layouts and open spaces.
Included in the plan’s footprint are the vacant 42,000-square-foot former Martin’s grocery store at 5201 Chippenham Crossing Shopping Center, Ukrop Park soccer fields, youth swimming nonprofit SwimRVA and J.G. Hening Elementary School.
With sports tourism venues situated in the area, Supervisor Chris Winslow said the plan establishes suitable guidelines to inform decisions about the area’s development to allow the county to further enhance those resources.
“Sports tourism is a growing part of our economic framework in Chesterfield. I think that this plan does a really good job of trying to capitalize on that,” Winslow said.
Also in the plan’s zone are several apartment complexes and some single-family homes, as well as a portion of Mary B. Stratton Park. The East Coast Greenway, a bike trail system from Maine to Florida, goes through the area along Iron Bridge Road and is noted in the plan.
A conceptual plan of potential residential, mixed-use and commercial development between Iron Bridge Road and Ridgedale Parkway. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
The plan identifies Chippenham Crossing and adjacent properties as potential places for redevelopment. Conceptual plans included in the document envision the potential for mixed-use and residential development between Iron Bridge Road and Ridgedale Parkway, which includes the center and other properties. The plan floats the idea of a “showpiece” commercial use, such as a food hall or boutique hotel, which could be situated where Iron Bridge and Ridgedale meet.
As for the area between Iron Bridge and Falling Creek Reservoir, the plan suggests that sliver of land could one day take the form of a mixed-use and residential development, as well as amenities that take advantage of the water feature, such as a public-private partnership to establish a brewery or restaurant there. The county owns waterfront properties on Falling Creek Reservoir, according to the plan.
About 49 acres of the Ridgedale area are vacant, according to the plan, which notes the Ridgedale area also has a number of large single-family lots that could be subdivided.
The plan also identities potential hurdles to future development in the area, which is situated between two other large interchanges (Chippenham and Hopkins, as well as Chippenham and Hull Street) that have established commercial development. That, coupled with the county’s determination that residential density is low in the Ridgedale area (1.3 units per acre), could pose challenges to the creation of new commercial development in the area, according to the plan.
A conceptual plan of development overlooking Falling Creek Reservoir. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
The Ridgedale plan’s neighborhoods are split up by the high-traffic roads in the area, which pose a challenge to future pedestrian and bike connectivity projects. The area lacks sidewalks, save for Ridgedale Parkway.
On the environmental front, the plan states that “much of the area” was developed before the adoption of current environmental regulations.
Public outreach efforts related to the plan’s creation found that while residents supported the idea of grocery stores and restaurants coming to the area, as well as bike infrastructure, they had “mixed opinions on the possible density of any new development” and didn’t like the idea of public access at Falling Creek Reservoir, according to the plan.
Five people spoke during the public hearing that preceded the board’s vote. Most speakers were generally in favor of the plan, though a couple people voiced concern about the plan’s suggestion that public access could potentially be implemented at the reservoir.
Ridgedale was identified as a candidate for a special focus plan because it’s considered a gateway into Chesterfield, owing to the presence of the Iron Bridge Road and Chippenham Parkway interchange just outside the city of Richmond.
The county had worked on the project for about a year. Ridgedale’s plan follows adoption of similar planning documents for the former Southside Speedway and surrounding areas, as well as the area that includes aging shopping centers near Rockwood Park.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Ridgedale plan at its August meeting. The Ridgedale Special Focus Area plan document adopted by the county supervisors can be viewed here.
The Ridgedale Special Focus Area is within the purple boundary. (Image courtesy of Chesterfield County)
Chesterfield County offices at 9901 Lori Road. (BizSense file)
Chesterfield supervisors on Wednesday voted to approve the Ridgedale Special Focus Area plan. The document will serve as a guide for county officials as they consider future zoning requests and land-use policies for the roughly 580-acre area just inside Chesterfield’s border with the city.
The plan is the latest such land-use document to be adopted by the county. A Special Focus Area plan is used to provide guidance on how to handle development in specific areas considered ripe for transformation or considered in the midst of change. The plans don’t change existing zoning.
“This is a long-range plan, a 20- to 30-year plan,” Senior Planner Brett Meadows said. “Any new development will still go through zoning and public hearing processes.”
The 52-page Ridgedale plan encourages new commercial, residential and recreational development for the area, as well as provides design guidelines for such things as connectivity, site layouts and open spaces.
Included in the plan’s footprint are the vacant 42,000-square-foot former Martin’s grocery store at 5201 Chippenham Crossing Shopping Center, Ukrop Park soccer fields, youth swimming nonprofit SwimRVA and J.G. Hening Elementary School.
With sports tourism venues situated in the area, Supervisor Chris Winslow said the plan establishes suitable guidelines to inform decisions about the area’s development to allow the county to further enhance those resources.
“Sports tourism is a growing part of our economic framework in Chesterfield. I think that this plan does a really good job of trying to capitalize on that,” Winslow said.
Also in the plan’s zone are several apartment complexes and some single-family homes, as well as a portion of Mary B. Stratton Park. The East Coast Greenway, a bike trail system from Maine to Florida, goes through the area along Iron Bridge Road and is noted in the plan.
A conceptual plan of potential residential, mixed-use and commercial development between Iron Bridge Road and Ridgedale Parkway. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
The plan identifies Chippenham Crossing and adjacent properties as potential places for redevelopment. Conceptual plans included in the document envision the potential for mixed-use and residential development between Iron Bridge Road and Ridgedale Parkway, which includes the center and other properties. The plan floats the idea of a “showpiece” commercial use, such as a food hall or boutique hotel, which could be situated where Iron Bridge and Ridgedale meet.
As for the area between Iron Bridge and Falling Creek Reservoir, the plan suggests that sliver of land could one day take the form of a mixed-use and residential development, as well as amenities that take advantage of the water feature, such as a public-private partnership to establish a brewery or restaurant there. The county owns waterfront properties on Falling Creek Reservoir, according to the plan.
About 49 acres of the Ridgedale area are vacant, according to the plan, which notes the Ridgedale area also has a number of large single-family lots that could be subdivided.
The plan also identities potential hurdles to future development in the area, which is situated between two other large interchanges (Chippenham and Hopkins, as well as Chippenham and Hull Street) that have established commercial development. That, coupled with the county’s determination that residential density is low in the Ridgedale area (1.3 units per acre), could pose challenges to the creation of new commercial development in the area, according to the plan.
A conceptual plan of development overlooking Falling Creek Reservoir. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
The Ridgedale plan’s neighborhoods are split up by the high-traffic roads in the area, which pose a challenge to future pedestrian and bike connectivity projects. The area lacks sidewalks, save for Ridgedale Parkway.
On the environmental front, the plan states that “much of the area” was developed before the adoption of current environmental regulations.
Public outreach efforts related to the plan’s creation found that while residents supported the idea of grocery stores and restaurants coming to the area, as well as bike infrastructure, they had “mixed opinions on the possible density of any new development” and didn’t like the idea of public access at Falling Creek Reservoir, according to the plan.
Five people spoke during the public hearing that preceded the board’s vote. Most speakers were generally in favor of the plan, though a couple people voiced concern about the plan’s suggestion that public access could potentially be implemented at the reservoir.
Ridgedale was identified as a candidate for a special focus plan because it’s considered a gateway into Chesterfield, owing to the presence of the Iron Bridge Road and Chippenham Parkway interchange just outside the city of Richmond.
The county had worked on the project for about a year. Ridgedale’s plan follows adoption of similar planning documents for the former Southside Speedway and surrounding areas, as well as the area that includes aging shopping centers near Rockwood Park.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Ridgedale plan at its August meeting. The Ridgedale Special Focus Area plan document adopted by the county supervisors can be viewed here.
The Ridgedale Special Focus Area is within the purple boundary. (Image courtesy of Chesterfield County)
Thank you so much for covering the Ridgedale Special Focus Area plan. I’m also grateful you included the East Coast Greenway passing through this corridor.
perhaps we can get some food options for those kids/parents starving out at ukrops field after evening practices and weekend games 🙂
Maybe the Kickers can upgrade Ukrop Park or move it to larger location. The parking is not enough even for regular weekend youth games. It’s terrible if they are hosting a tournament. Only 2 fields really have a place for parents to watch their kids and the others require them to stay outside the fenced in fields and basicly stand in a narrow grass area between a sidewalk and the fence. The port-a-johns are not a good look (or smell) at all.
The playing surfaces are nice, but that’s really it.