JLL selected as listing agent for Waterford Park

Despite delays in zoning, the developers of a $35 million proposed water sports park in western Chesterfield County are moving forward on other fronts.

Waterford Park LLC announced Monday that it has hired JLL as the exclusive listing agent for its 105-acre, mixed-use development. Waterford Park, proposed for a site off Genito Road, has been designed to offer office, retail, residential and restaurant space.

The centerpiece of Waterford Park will be a large, man-made lake.  It would offer cable skiing, kayaking and other water activities with a separate area for whitewater rafting, a zip line, ropes course, climbing wall and an amphitheater to host concerts. The development also would include a boardwalk with restaurants and shops, as well as a residential component with apartments and townhomes.

According to JLL, the current plan calls for 500,000 square feet of commercial space and as many as 790 multifamily residential units.  Supporters say it will serve as a new tourism attraction for the Richmond area.

“As we’ve spent time discussing the project with interested parties, we’ve been met with an overwhelmingly positive response. People recognize that this is an entirely new concept and see real potential here,” Tom Dunn, vice president, JLL, said in a statement.

Waterford Park is modeled after the U.S. National Whitewater Center that opened 10 years ago in Charlotte, N.C. That 700-acre park is an outdoor recreation and training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking and hiking. Although on a smaller scale, the Chesterfield development seeks to emulate the whitewater center’s impact as a local tourist attraction while incorporating a retail and residential component that will make it more of a community rather than just a destination.

The owners behind the concept are Derek Cha, founder of the Sweet Frog frozen yogurt chain, and his partner, developer Brett Burkhart. To ease potential traffic impacts, JLL said the developers have incorporated upgrades to intersections and road systems nearby.

However, the project, originally scheduled to open next year, now is looking at a 2018 opening because of repeated delays in the local zoning process. The Chesterfield County Planning Commission has deferred a public hearing on the project several times. A hearing is now expected to be held in December.

“Chesterfield County is alive with lots of possibilities right now. A development like this one will bring jobs, investment and tourism interest that can lift the whole area,” Cha said in a statment. “We’re so enthusiastic about the possibilities that we’ve recently acquired an additional 30 acres to enlarge the footprint of this project to include all of the amenities we’ve envisioned.”

JLL will serve as the exclusive brokerage team for the office and retail components of the project. The JLL team is comprised of Charlie Polk, Tom Dunn, Jimmy Appich and Greg Ferrante.