July 6, 2007
RTD: Boom time for Petersburg
The article begins with “More than half a billion dollars of investment is pouring into the region’s newest development hot spot. It’s Petersburg.” The article ticks off a number of developments, many in process before the Fort Lee expansion was announced, and many outside the downtown area that is the subject of revitalization attention.
Developments mentioned in the article (and a few not mentioned):
* the ghost mall at Sycamore and Crater has been replaced by a $4.3m upscale Food Lion shopping center
* near Wagner Road and Crater, a $110m, 300-bed hospital is under construction (to replace Southside Regional Medical Center); this project is generating a HealthSouth rehab facility and a $12m medical office complex
* on the other side of I-95, near Wagner, B.I. Chemicals is undergoing a $142m plant expansion
* at south Crater, along the Prince George/Petersburg line…the South Crater Development Group and Axis Development are planning a $170m multi-use development
* Axis is also building a 30,000-sqrft facility for a moving company off Rives, and is a partner in an apartment development downtown
* several multi-million dollar renovations downtown (warehouses –> lofts)
* a number of new one-of-a-kind (not chain) restaurants and retailers have opened
* the city is set to break ground on a new $17m bus terminal along Washington St. in the coming month
* the city is also converting the Farmer’s Market into a Visitor’s Center and should have an info kiosk opposite the new VC in the coming months
* the Appomattox Trail has now been linked with footbridges to form several contiguous miles of trails
ETC