Branner Station developer HH Hunt submitted their first proposed site plan to Chesterfield planners just prior to their July 4 break. The site plan will be reviewed while off-site transportation issues are being worked out; the two plans will be considered by the county in a parallel fashion.
Phase 1a consists of 391 lots that hug the northeastern border of the development that will eventually contain 5,000 residential units. Although the Branner Station community will eventually offer a wide range of residential units including condominiums and apartments, this first site plan features only single family housing on lots that average 10,668 square feet or about one-fourth acre.
According to site-plan information submitted to Chesterfield, the total acreage of the first section of lots covers over 242 acres. The completed project encompasses over 1,600 acres. Although the developer initially described the development during the zoning stages as being of a somewhat new-urbanism design, this first phase is much the same as other subdivisions being designed in Chesterfield today; collector roads fed by numerous cul-de-sac streets.
While the site plan has been submitted and is being reviewed, the developer, in accordance with proffered conditions, cannot obtain transfer properties until a number of transportation commitments have been satisfied.
During a stakeholders meeting held in March of this year, Travis Gardner, a Hunt vice president, said the off-site road work, valued at over $100 million, is scheduled to begin in April of 2009, with the first homes in the development delivered the following year. He said stakeholders, such as community leaders and local residents, were an integral part of the success of Branner Station. “With your help, we hope to create not only a sense of place at Branner Station, but a destination,” Gardner told the group.
The first phase of road improvements that are required include a two-lane highway from the development at Branders Bridge Rd. north to Rt. 10 at Womack Rd. and improvements to the intersection at Happy Hill and Harrowgate roads.
The Chester Community Association (CCA), the Bermuda Advocates for Responsible Development (BARD) and other neighborhood groups continue to communicate with Chesterfield County and the developer on the location and design of the off-site roads. The BARD group provides information at www.bardinfo.org and the CCA offers information at www.chesterconnections.org and HH Hunt promotes the Branner Station development at www.brannerstation.com.
mfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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