Earlier this month, Chesterfield County invited public input on the future of the Route 10 corridor — a zone county officials believe will undergo significant change over the next 15–30 years.
The highway runs southeast for nearly 95 miles, from the intersection of Hull Street Road and Belt Boulevard in South Richmond through Hopewell and Smithfield en route to Suffolk.
Drew Noxon, a principal planner on the county’s comprehensive long-range planning team, pointed out that new development is set to bring 166 new housing units to the intersection of Route 10 and Kingsland Road near Beulah Road — which not everyone is necessarily excited about.
“We’ve got some folks who are a little concerned about the new development where there’s been a farm field and forests there for years and years right next door to them,” he said.
At a Nov. 4 meeting to gather input from residents, county workers put up dry erase boards for suggestions.
Residents quickly filled the board marked “What do you NOT want to see along the Rt. 10 corridor?” with sticky notes: no truck parking, apartments, massage parlors, car washes or storage units.
“We just don’t want it to be like Hull Street,” said Nancy Glomb, who’s lived in Chesterfield for 35 years. “That’s our big concern: traffic.”
Glomb said she hoped the area would be home to more locally owned restaurants, and lamented the fact that it’s currently a fairly long drive from her home to eat out.
Terry Cheatham lives near Chesterfield County Airport, which sits just west of Route 10, and runs a delivery business. While he concedes that more businesses may help his business, traffic is also a concern.
“I’m a little concerned that maybe there’s too much growth,” he said, citing the intersection of Hull Street Road and Midlothian Turnpike. “I’ve seen how that has turned into a traffic nightmare.”
Brett Meadows, a senior planner on the long-range planning team, said the new housing units “will not flip a switch on development” in Chesterfield.
“But it is going to shape it differently from the old plan,” he said. “It’s a 15–30 year outlook.”
Apartments and other small dwellings are important for two reasons, Meadows said: They offer young people housing options they can afford, and they offer older people a chance to downsize.
He also said the county will likely see a significant departure in the coming years from the way corporate office space is currently imagined.
“The old drive in to a corporate office, and drive out, without any amenities nearby, that’s just not a popular way to develop anymore,” he said. “How offices are integrated with other uses is a big part of the changing landscape.”
