The Lake, a mixed-use development planned by Flatwater Cos., is expected to include a surf pool and recreational lake as well as more than 1,000 residential units. (Renderings courtesy of Flatwater Cos.)
The developer of a $323 million mixed-use development called The Lake said the stage is set to begin work in earnest now that Chesterfield County has approved an eight-figure grant agreement for the project.
The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors on Wednesday greenlighted a performance-based grant agreement between the county and Lake Adventures LLC, which is linked to project developer Flatwater Cos.
Central to the development is a 6-acre surf pool and 13-acre recreational lake. The development is also currently planned to include 1,190 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail and 100,000 square feet of office space. The development’s site is at 13400 Genito Road, and 2500, 2601 and 2991 Genito Place.
The grant agreement is expected to provide about $27 million to $28 million in incentives for the project. It calls for Chesterfield to pay Lake Adventures 80 percent of the increase in real estate, sales and occupancy taxes generated by the development’s commercial and entertainment components for the first year through the 10th year of the agreement, using the property’s 2022 real estate and sales tax value as a baseline.
Lake Adventures will get 60 percent of the increase in tax revenue generated by real estate, sales and occupancy taxes on the commercial and entertainment pieces of the development from years 11 to 20 based on the agreement’s 2022 tax baseline.
Forty percent of the increased real estate, sales and occupancy taxes collected on the development’s two 300-unit mixed-use apartment buildings would go to Lake Adventures based on the 2022 baseline for 20 years.
The county will provide annual grant payments. The residential-only element of the development isn’t part of the grant agreement.
Per the agreement, the project is required to be built within 36 months of it getting from the state the operation and maintenance certificate for the development’s anchor lake feature, or when the company tells the EDA it’s ready to start, to get grant payments.
Brett Burkhart of Flatwater Cos. said the agreement’s approval was the final piece needed to get the years-in-the-making project moving, and called the board’s vote a “major milestone.”
He said the site has been mostly cleared, and that a 10-month process of removing dirt from the site to pave the way for construction was about to kick off.
The Lake development, which is planned to rise near where Powhite Parkway and Route 288 meet, is expected to feature 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
English Construction is the general contractor. Timmons Group and Rummel Klepper & Kahl are handling engineering. Liquid Design is the lead architecture firm.
Though a 170-bed hotel had been on the drawing board for the project already, Flatwater Cos. announced it was exploring “multiple” hotels on the property in a news release this week.
The details of those added hospitality features are still being worked out. Burkhart said in an interview Thursday that there probably wouldn’t be more than two hotels at the development. He said the proposed 170-bed hotel could potentially end up bigger than currently planned.
Beyond the water features, the development’s entertainment component is planned to include an amphitheater that would hold 40-plus free concerts a year.
“The amphitheater is designed for regional acts on a smaller scale and designed to be integrated into the recreational and retail and office components. It’s more a lawn-chairs-and-blankets venue,” Burkhart said.
Chesterfield supervisors split 3-2 on the vote. Supervisor Chris Winslow said The Lake stands to further boost the nearby River City Sportsplex, which the county is looking to further develop.
“It is complementary to the uses at River City Sportsplex because it offers people places to put heads on beds, it offers places for people to have dinner and lunch and breakfast,” Winslow said during the meeting. “And then things to do in the area that keep people here so they have that second or third night that they otherwise may not have had.”
The Sportsplex is slated for millions of dollars in improvements and expanded facilities in the surrounding area, for which county staff is working on a land-use plan to guide development that will support the 115-acre youth sports tournament venue.
Supervisors Jim Ingle and Kevin Carroll voted against approval of The Lake agreement. They said they weren’t against the project or the idea of a performance agreement but didn’t care for the specifics of the agreement at hand.
“The property value is going to increase as it is developed over time and that performance agreement can actually be worth more than what today’s dollars are based on tomorrow’s. I do think it could be worthy of a performance agreement. I certainly want it to succeed. But I’m just not happy with the structure,” Carroll said at the meeting.
The Lake, a mixed-use development planned by Flatwater Cos., is expected to include a surf pool and recreational lake as well as more than 1,000 residential units. (Renderings courtesy of Flatwater Cos.)
The developer of a $323 million mixed-use development called The Lake said the stage is set to begin work in earnest now that Chesterfield County has approved an eight-figure grant agreement for the project.
The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors on Wednesday greenlighted a performance-based grant agreement between the county and Lake Adventures LLC, which is linked to project developer Flatwater Cos.
Central to the development is a 6-acre surf pool and 13-acre recreational lake. The development is also currently planned to include 1,190 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail and 100,000 square feet of office space. The development’s site is at 13400 Genito Road, and 2500, 2601 and 2991 Genito Place.
The grant agreement is expected to provide about $27 million to $28 million in incentives for the project. It calls for Chesterfield to pay Lake Adventures 80 percent of the increase in real estate, sales and occupancy taxes generated by the development’s commercial and entertainment components for the first year through the 10th year of the agreement, using the property’s 2022 real estate and sales tax value as a baseline.
Lake Adventures will get 60 percent of the increase in tax revenue generated by real estate, sales and occupancy taxes on the commercial and entertainment pieces of the development from years 11 to 20 based on the agreement’s 2022 tax baseline.
Forty percent of the increased real estate, sales and occupancy taxes collected on the development’s two 300-unit mixed-use apartment buildings would go to Lake Adventures based on the 2022 baseline for 20 years.
The county will provide annual grant payments. The residential-only element of the development isn’t part of the grant agreement.
Per the agreement, the project is required to be built within 36 months of it getting from the state the operation and maintenance certificate for the development’s anchor lake feature, or when the company tells the EDA it’s ready to start, to get grant payments.
Brett Burkhart of Flatwater Cos. said the agreement’s approval was the final piece needed to get the years-in-the-making project moving, and called the board’s vote a “major milestone.”
He said the site has been mostly cleared, and that a 10-month process of removing dirt from the site to pave the way for construction was about to kick off.
The Lake development, which is planned to rise near where Powhite Parkway and Route 288 meet, is expected to feature 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
English Construction is the general contractor. Timmons Group and Rummel Klepper & Kahl are handling engineering. Liquid Design is the lead architecture firm.
Though a 170-bed hotel had been on the drawing board for the project already, Flatwater Cos. announced it was exploring “multiple” hotels on the property in a news release this week.
The details of those added hospitality features are still being worked out. Burkhart said in an interview Thursday that there probably wouldn’t be more than two hotels at the development. He said the proposed 170-bed hotel could potentially end up bigger than currently planned.
Beyond the water features, the development’s entertainment component is planned to include an amphitheater that would hold 40-plus free concerts a year.
“The amphitheater is designed for regional acts on a smaller scale and designed to be integrated into the recreational and retail and office components. It’s more a lawn-chairs-and-blankets venue,” Burkhart said.
Chesterfield supervisors split 3-2 on the vote. Supervisor Chris Winslow said The Lake stands to further boost the nearby River City Sportsplex, which the county is looking to further develop.
“It is complementary to the uses at River City Sportsplex because it offers people places to put heads on beds, it offers places for people to have dinner and lunch and breakfast,” Winslow said during the meeting. “And then things to do in the area that keep people here so they have that second or third night that they otherwise may not have had.”
The Sportsplex is slated for millions of dollars in improvements and expanded facilities in the surrounding area, for which county staff is working on a land-use plan to guide development that will support the 115-acre youth sports tournament venue.
Supervisors Jim Ingle and Kevin Carroll voted against approval of The Lake agreement. They said they weren’t against the project or the idea of a performance agreement but didn’t care for the specifics of the agreement at hand.
“The property value is going to increase as it is developed over time and that performance agreement can actually be worth more than what today’s dollars are based on tomorrow’s. I do think it could be worthy of a performance agreement. I certainly want it to succeed. But I’m just not happy with the structure,” Carroll said at the meeting.
Congrats! Great project for our County.
I kind of think that 28 million in tax breaks could have gone to building the Powhite Parkway Charter Colony diverging diamond interchange that was less then a quarter mile away from the project. And I’m not going to talk about the many miles of sidewalks and local road improvements that need to be built around this mega project with in two miles of it.
Some great elements here but I’ll reserve my skepticism of the water sports angle.
Agreed; I’ll reserve my thoughts on it all. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte still has NOTHING built around it (or even near its interstate exit). SportQuest was a disaster (and c-field seems to have learned from that) but despite the success for huge tournaments at River City no private hotel have pushed into the area even along Hull from Genito to 288.
Hardwork and determination pay off! I look forward to experiencing the finished project.
Sound like a corporate welfare project. Traffic pattern in that area is already disrupted just on the construction and not a tree left standing on this eyesore. With 80% tax giveaway, it should make plenty of money for the developer. Rest of Chesterfield will pay for the utilities to support it. Remember in November and make sure to drive by the site sometime.
Hopefully it turns out better than Stony Point mall
That mall came along at the same time as the retail development of Short Pump which had multiple interstate access advantages. Stony Point was handicapped from the get-go.
There are no other similar surf wave pools from here to South Carolina so if it fails it’s because the market for it never existed.
It’s a head scratcher for me but it’s not my specific real estate expertise. The real benefactor on this site will be the subsidy granted to develop the apartment zoned land. No one else is getting that tax break. Access will still be an issue.
I think Stony Point Mall would be a good place for the city to upzone a large section of it’s parking lot for businsses with 10 stories of apartments above it that would help get it in the right shape.
What specifically is meant by ‘surf pool’?
A generated wave. Generally a hydraulic pump or screw at regular intervals so that you get the same wave on consistent cycles all day long.
Thanks. What I meant is this for the sport of surfing or a wave pool like at water park.
Hi Julian, Form all the information I have seen and the renderings looks like it will be for the sport of surfing
Thanks Will.