Revitalization Office

Cloverleaf Mall Project

On April 23, 2008, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the rezoning of the Cloverleaf Mall site for the proposed Chippenham Place mixed use project.

The master plan and zoning conditions are available below:

        Master Plan

        March 13, 2008 Textual Statement

In summary, the zoning requirements will guide the development of a mixed use retail, office, and residential project with the following elements:

• 400,000 square feet of retail, office, and other commercial uses are planned,
• 520 dwelling units are planned for the site,
• detailed requirements for a main street "people place",
• quality design requirements.
  

The following are illustrations of the proposed design character and architectural style of the proposed redevelopment of Cloverleaf Mall - the Chippenham Place project. They are not exact drawings of what will be constructed.

• Closeup Chippenham Place Illustration
• Aerial Chippenham Place Project Illustration
• Multi-family Drawing 1
• Multi-family Drawing 2

This mixed use development project of retail, office, and residential uses is proposed to stimulate investment and improvement in the Eastern Midlothian Turnpike area. Chippenham Place developer, Crosland, and Chesterfield County are working on a Community Development Authority to finance part of the required infrastructure improvements for this project. After approved by the Board of Supervisors, the property will be sold to Crosland and construction will begin in late 2008 or 2009.

In January of 2008, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors and Economic Development Authority approved the purchase of an approximately 46 acre parcel under the mall for a price up to $7,370,000. This completes the purchase of all property required for the redevelopment of the mall site.

The Cloverleaf Mall closed on February 29, 2008.

On January 24, 2007, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved a purchase and sale agreement with Crosland LLC, the developer of the Cloverleaf Mall site.

The County agreed to sell the 83 acre mall site to Crosland for $9,225,000 plus the cost of acquiring the ground lease of an approximate 46 acre parcel under the mall structure. This agreement is subject to several sale contingencies including property rezoning, county financial assistance, and other typical development requirements.

Crosland has announced their intention to construct a pedestrian-oriented mixed use project with a minimum of 200,000 square feet of retail use, office, and at least 500 residential units. Called Chippenham Place, it will be anchored by a Kroger food store.

Crosland news release about the proposed project and a pictorial view of the proposed Chippenham Place (PDF).

Chesterfield County has purchased the major buildings of Cloverleaf Mall and surrounding lands to aid in the redevelopment of this key site. Retail experts have advised the County that the mall will no longer work as a regional shopping center and that the County government must act as a catalyst to stimulate new development. The County plans to resell the land for private development as a new office, retail, and residential mixed-use project. This development will spur additional investment and improvement in the surrounding area and overturn recent blighting forces.

In 1998, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors adopted a comprehensive plan for the Eastern Midlothian Turnpike Area. This Plan recognized the Cloverleaf Mall site as a key location and, while the mall may not survive, it is a good location for a wide variety of employment and retail uses. The Plan also recommended that the public and private sectors must work together to arrest blight in this area and sustain the business corridor and surrounding residential neighborhoods as healthy places to live, work, and shop.

Business activity continued to decline at the mall, and in early 2002, the County sought expert advice on what role it should play. Howard Kohn, a national retail expert, was hired to conduct a market analysis for the site and recommend a strategy for the local government. In addition, a group of the best development experts in the Richmond region were brought together through the Richmond District of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to advise the County.

Both groups determined that the future of the site was no longer as a shopping mall and that the County government must play a lead role in the redevelopment of the site. The private sector could not do it alone. The ULI Report stated:

“Chesterfield County should be an active participant in the redevelopment of the study area instead of acting in its traditional capacity as the approving agency. The County should limit its risk to the public areas, supporting infrastructure, and demolition expense and property ownership.”

Chesterfield County is following this advice.

After working with a previous developer during 2005, Chesterfield County signed an agreement on May 18, 2006 to redevelop the Cloverleaf Mall site with Crosland Inc., one of the Southeast’s leading real estate companies.

Particularly attractive to county officials was Crosland’s ability to handle all aspects of mixed- and multi-use development within its company through its retail, land development, office, apartments and contracting divisions. One example of Crosland’s development talent is Birkdale Village in Huntersville, N.C., which in 2003 was named the nation’s best mixed-use development by the National Association of Home Builders, won the International Council of Shopping Centers Design and Development award for best mixed-use development, and was one of 26 international finalists for the Urban Land Institute’s Award for Excellence.

The agreement calls for Crosland to conduct market studies and prepare detailed development plans and a budget in cooperation with the county by the Fall of 2006. Construction on the site is not anticipated until Spring of 2008.

Meanwhile, the county is making every effort to efficiently mange the Mall. With the assistance of Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield, the cost of operating the mall is well under the budget approved by the Board of Supervisors in October of 2004.

The county’s purchase and redevelopment of the Cloverleaf Mall site is part of a broader strategy to revitalize the Eastern Midlothian Turnpike Corridor and nearby neighborhoods. The economic value of this business corridor had declined by 30% since 1995. Since the announcement of the County’s purchase of the Mall with the intent to redevelop the site, the property value decline has stopped and turned slightly upward from 2004-2005 (plus 4%). The county strategy is to create an attractive, economically successful redevelopment project at the Cloverleaf Mall site. The size and location of this project is of such significance to encourage business and residential investment and improvement in surrounding properties.  Several businesses have stated that they will make sizable investments in this corridor once the mall project is substantially under construction.