Thacker’s View is a proposed residential development that would bring more than 260 new housing units to a 139-acre property, shown in blue at left, on Swift Creek Reservoir. (Courtesy Google)
More than 100 acres on Swift Creek Reservoir are slated for development after an events venue shuttered on the property a couple years ago.
Cross Creek Development Corp. is planning a project called Thacker’s View, which will bring more than 260 homes to an assemblage on Woolridge Road.
The property, which fronts Swift Creek and is tucked against the Woodlake subdivision, was formerly home to wedding and events venue Celebrations at the Reservoir and is mostly undeveloped.
Run by Don Balzer, Powhatan-based Cross Creek is developing the 139-acre property in a joint venture with the Thacker family, who own the land.
The project would have 161 single-family lots and 100 townhomes, according to a conceptual site plan filed with Chesterfield last month.
Thacker’s View is planned to feature several types of homes. An existing 7,400-square-foot, seven-bedroom home on the property that was used by Celebrations is expected to remain, and 15 to 20 lots intended for homes of a similar size would be built near it, said Balzer, Cross Creek’s president. Other single-family lots would be for smaller homes.
Conceptual elevations of single-family homes planned for the Thacker’s View project in Chesterfield. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
Townhomes would be situated in two groups, one running along the reservoir and another deeper in the project site, and would be “high-dollar” units, Balzer said.
“They won’t be million-dollar homes, but they won’t be starters either,” he said of the townhouses.
While the project is almost entirely residential, a 5,200-square-foot restaurant is part of the plan. Balzer said talks are ongoing with several potential local operators for the restaurant, which would have a view of the reservoir but wouldn’t be on the water because of restrictions on where development can go on the project site.
The restaurant would have a separate outdoor bar area closer to the water. The bar area would utilize the concrete pads formerly used by the Celebrations events venue, which are grandfathered in and predate the existing resource protection area designation.
“The county is allowing us to leave these pads there so we can put in a permanent covered structure with some seating and a little horseshoe bar so people can enjoy the water views,” Balzer said.
Balzer said the project won’t feature any major new waterfront features beyond what is already there and left over from the events venue, which includes a gazebo, gravel pathways and docks. Celebrations, which operated for about 20 years, closed in January 2022.
A conceptual plan of Thacker’s View, a proposed residential project that would rise on 139 acres on Swift Creek Reservoir. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
Balzer said Cross Creek is taking pains to avoid environmental impacts to the reservoir, and that 44% of the project site would be open space.
“In our design and everything we do we have higher standards we have to reach because we’re in the upper Swift Creek drainage shed. We’re going to be conscious of protecting the reservoir,” he said. “That’s our biggest asset to the property, so the last thing we want to do is hurt the reservoir.”
Other planned amenities for the property include pickleball courts, a dog park and an area for residents to store RVs, campers and boats. Walking trails are also planned and would connect with the Woodlake subdivision.
Balzer said discussions are underway with Woodlake to add Thacker’s View to the existing development’s homeowner’s association. If that doesn’t work out, Thacker’s View will have an HOA of its own. The development would have two vehicular access points on Woolridge Road. Its only connection to Woodlake would be the walking trail.
Cross Creek has filed a zoning request with Chesterfield to allow the construction of the project. Balzer expected the case to come before the Planning Commission this summer and hopes for final zoning approval from the Board of Supervisors this year.
The applicant is seeking to rezone the project site to residential (R-12) with conditional use planned development from its current agricultural zoning, according to county records.
A community meeting regarding the project was held last week. Balzer said more community meetings are planned.
A cost estimate for the project hasn’t yet been determined.
The current timeline calls for the first homes to be built in 2026 or 2027, pending county approval. The project would be built in phases of about 50 to 75 homes, and Balzer anticipated a five-to-10-year buildout. The restaurant isn’t expected to begin operating until 2028 or 2029.
Conceptual elevations of townhomes at Thacker’s View that would be situated on the Swift Creek Reservoir side of the project site. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
Balzer is a friend of the Thackers, and he previously developed the nearby Cambria Cove subdivision in a joint venture with the family.
Thacker-Woolridge LLC, an entity tied to the Thackers, owns the Thacker’s View property, which consists of three parcels at 4701, 4801 and 4901 Woolridge Road.
Balzer said the plan is for the Thackers to sell him individual lots and he will turn around and sell them to a homebuilder as needed. The group hasn’t chosen a homebuilder for the project.
Balzer and Associates, where Don Balzer was formerly president and owner before selling the firm, is the project’s engineer. Benchmark Construction, where Balzer is a partner, will be the Thacker’s View general contractor.
Cross Creek first filed paperwork associated with the project’s rezoning request in mid-2022, but has yet to go before the Chesterfield Planning Commission.
The most recent site plan, which was filed with the county in March, is broadly the same as a June 2022 site plan with basically the same number and ratio of single-family and townhome units, but a slightly different layout.
I’d like to know if access will be maintained for small craft like kayak and canoes at the launch there. There are only a couple legal means of accessing the lake, and if this area is made for resident’s only, it’ll be a sad day for a lot of us who like to have a safe place to paddle when the river is high. Any chance of an improved “official” access?