Notch at West Creek coming to Goochland - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

Goochland should get an economic boost from a new development called the "Notch at West Creek." Still, some local folks don't like the idea of bringing more people and traffic in the rural county.

The development is called just the "Notch" by Goochland County administrators, who hope to have shovels in the dirt in 45 days. 230 acres of land on Broad Street at VA-288 will be developed to include 300 apartments, 80,000 square feet of medical offices, retail and corporate offices.

"It's going to provide some additional services for folks and bring people to shop and spend money in Goochland," said Becky Dickson, Goochland's County Administrator. "We're really excited about it."

The four-lane road that runs through West Creek's business end will be extended by three miles. It will eventually connect West Creek to Broad Street, making travel easier.

"This is exactly where we wanted the growth to be," said Dickson. "It's where our infrastructure is and preserves our rural character further out."

But some local folks don't buy it. They're fearful the development will continue to expand outward.

"Why haven't we filled up the plaza we're building right across from the mall?" Asked local resident Roger Livermort. "We seem to have plazas just going on and on. The other concern is, what happens to the farmers?"

"Traffic in this area is already horrible so I can only imagine it's going to get worse," said another local resident, Kara Silva.

Dickson says the county is working on putting a stoplight at the entrance of the "Notch" so traffic shouldn't be an issue.

Still, there's little time to argue now. With almost all its permits in place, construction for the "Notch" will begin in little over a month and developers hope to open it for business sometime next fall.

County administrators also say they've had several companies interested in moving into the development but they weren't prepared to disclose potential tenants just yet.

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