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Economic Development Zones

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The Hanover County Board of Supervisors has designated seven Economic Development Zones (EDZs) to give priority consideration for development of infrastructure and fast track permitting to support new and expanding industrial and office projects in Hanover County.

Selection of the EDZs was based on several factors including: proximity and access to business resources; Comprehensive Plan designation; site location; cost to serve the site with infrastructure; the amount of product currently available for sale; and the level of private sector activity occurring in the area.

Adopted policies in the EDZs include:

  • Priority for revenue sharing funds and advanced road design and permitting by the County;
  • Advanced utility design, permitting, easement acquisition, and funding for utility improvements;
  • First priority for development review, applications, advice and assistance with review agencies, and advanced zoning;
  • Advanced design, permitting, and land acquisition for stormwater management facilities, and;
  • Partnerships with developers to establish business and industrial parks and sites and to market speculative buildings.

The designated EDZs are:

Lewistown Road

The Lewistown EDZ provides one of the best economic development opportunities for Hanover County, particularly the west side of Interstate 95.  The County has collaborated with multiple developers representing over 500 acres of new business and destination retail uses.  Northlake Business Park and Winding Brook Retail Center anchor the development at this interchange.  The completion of the Lakeridge Parkway extension from Route 1 to Sliding Hill Road provides a significant development corridor for retail, destination retail, and business uses including office, logistics and manufacturing, and allows Hanover County to take better advantage of the growth opportunities along the I-95 corridor.

Sliding Hill Road

The Sliding Hill EDZ has become an important economic development asset with the completion of the upgraded Atlee/Elmont interchange.  This area is becoming a prime location for major retail, office, and light industrial uses, including the North Cross Retail Center and Crescent Business Center.  The Sliding Hill EDZ also contains the Hanover Industrial Air Park, which provides a location for over 400 small- and medium-sized businesses.  The Air Park was one of Hanover’s first industrial parks and provides a wide range of business opportunities, ranging from legal offices and artist’s studios to heavier industrial uses.  Lakeridge Industrial Park is another strong anchor within the EDZ and has benefited from the completion of the Lakeridge Parkway connection between Lewistown Road and Sliding Hill Road.

Chamberlayne

The Chamberlayne EDZ includes Hanover’s most upscale business park, Atlee Station.  Atlee Station is home to the Richmond Times-Dispatch production facility, the Owens & Minor Home Office, Federal Express, and Infinity Medical. This site has the potential to attract quality companies to the County given the superior development standards adopted by Atlee Station’s owner, Media General.  Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 Company, has recently purchased an additional 50 acres adjacent to its 160,000 square-foot home office bringing its total holdings to 75 acres. It intends to use the additional acreage for future expansion and other complementary development opportunities. Another major element of this EDZ is Rutland, a mixed use development, which will ultimately contain 495 dwelling units, a 110,000 square-foot Kroger-anchored retail center, and 160,000 square feet of professional office condominiums. SuperValu, a Fortune 500 food distribution company, has its Eastern Regional Headquarters in the Chamberlayne EDZ, with more than 1.3 million square feet of space and more than 1,000 employees.

Pole Green Corridor

The Pole Green – Meadowbridge EDZ represents a strategic area for business development.  Adoption of the Meadowbridge Small Area Plan by the Board of Supervisors in 1998 reserved a significant portion of this area for future office and other business uses.  The EDZ is anchored by Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center (MRMC) which has exceeded its growth projections each year since it was opened in 1998 and has significant expansion plans programmed over the next three to five years.  The Bell Creek Business Park provides 170 acres of retail and business uses located east of Interstate 295.  Bell Creek is part of a mixed use development with 550 dwelling units, a grocery-anchored retail center, and medical and other office uses.  Pole Green Commerce Center is a new development which will house the ABC Headquarters and Warehouse facility, as well as other commercial and industrial spaces.  Future potential development in this EDZ could include several mixed use projects, which would contain significant office and retail components.

Creighton Road

The County rezoned the Brooks Site at the northeast quadrant of the I-295/Creighton Road interchange to M-1, limited industrial in 1995. Adjacent parcels, not included in the original rezoning of this property, appear to have development potential and efforts should be made to include them in the same zoning district as the original property. Parcels on the west side of the I-295/Creighton Road interchange contain a mixture of zoning, with the parcel fronting on Creighton Road zoned A-1. Measures were initiated to encourage rezoning the entire area for industrial/commercial use in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan so that the parcels can be effectively marketed. The Department of Public Utilities has designed the sewer extension to this area as part of the County’s capital improvements program.

Old Ridge Road

The Board of Supervisors designated the Old Ridge EDZ as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Plan update.   The Old Ridge area extends from the south side of Old Ridge Road to Interstate 95 and the Town of Ashland on the west and south.  A potential new interchange location is shown in the EDZ, somewhere between Old Ridge Road and Hickory Hill Road.  The Old Ridge EDZ includes some of Hanover County’s largest industrial businesses such as Bear Island Paper and the DLP peak power generating facility.  The area south of Old Ridge Road is designated for Business Park use in the Comprehensive Plan and includes several intact parcels of land in excess of 500 acres.  These sites are unique to the County and should be preserved for future business development given their strategic location along Interstate 95.