Chesterfield County kicks off $210M mixed-use project

Chesterfield County officials began demolition Tuesday of the former Best Products Co. Inc. building in the Spring Rock Green shopping center to clear the way for the $210 million first phase of the Springline at District 60 mixed-use development.

The 42-acre first phase of the project, located on Midlothian Turnpike off Chippenham Parkway, includes a six-story building with 27,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 300 apartment units, as well as a 150,000-square-foot corporate office building — expected to cost roughly $50 million — and a sports tournament facility with ice rinks. The county Board of Supervisors approved the plan in April 2022.

Connecticut-based developer Collins Enterprises is the developer for part of the first phase and will build the mixed-use building and a parking garage. Collins Enterprises expects the project to cost roughly $85 million and anticipates beginning development this summer, with phase one to be delivered by December 2024.

Remaining phases are still in planning stages, according to Chesterfield Economic Development Authority Director Garrett Hart. The county expects to have 1,200 residential units total, split between apartments and townhouses, and plans to add another office building, an extended-stay hotel, entertainment venues, a police station and a central square that could be used for festivals.

“We’re pretty much looking at phase two to … be under construction in ’25,” Hart said. “And we’re not really sure what phase two is right now. It’s definitely going to involve some more apartments, but it could also involve the hotel.”

The county EDA bought the land from Bond Cos. in 2021 for $16 million and will build infrastructure and utilities that are expected to cost $20 million or more. Chesterfield will sell the office and first residential pads to Collins in May or June for construction to begin.

Small retail tenants, like restaurants and clothing stores, have expressed interest in the ground-floor space, said Collins Principal Arthur “Art” Collins. Residential units will be mainly one- and two-bedroom units, with three-bedroom units comprising about 2%, Collins said.

Architecture firm Cooper Carry led rebranding for the area. District 60 will include Springline, the Stonebridge Shopping Center and The Boulders Office Park.

“I just want to have that dream one day where someone says, ‘Just meet me at District 60 and we’ll figure out what to do when we get there.’ I think you’re seeing the beginnings of that nexus between this property and across the street,” said Chesterfield County Administrator Joseph Casey.

Springline’s name comes from the Beaufont Lithia Springs Co. that sold bottled water from the nearby Beaufont Springs. James Robertson built a springhouse on the site in 1896 and sold the company to Frederick Sitterding in 1916. The company was shut down in 1940 as water treatment plants improved.