CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- The man who created the Sweet Frog frozen yogurt chain is now hoping to develop a water park and entertainment center in Chesterfield.
Derek Cha, who founded Sweet Frog, is among the developers scheduled to present plans to the Chesterfield County Planning Commission Tuesday for an expansive water park on 105 acres across from Clover Hill High School.
The proposed site is located at the corner of Genito Place and Genito Road near the Powhite Parkway.
Agent Brett Burkhart filed the request to rezone the land from Community Business and Light Industrial to Regional Business.
Rezoning from Community Business (C-3) and Light Industrial (I-1) to Regional Business (C-4) with conditional use to permit multifamily, townhouse, exposition center, stadium, arena, outside storage, public address system, electronic message center signs and brewery uses, and conditional use planned development to permit boat sales/service/repair, model homes and exceptions to ordinance requirements. A mixed use development to include commercial, and townhouse and multifamily residential uses is planned.
In a phone interview, Burkhart called the idea a residential and commercial project. He said while there will be a water park, it is not a traditional water park like you might find at Water Country USA or Kings Dominion.
Instead, he said, the water water skiing and white water rafting.
He said from the time of construction to the completed build-out will take around 20 years and that the project will be completed in phases and as the market dictates.
In 2013, one of the developers hoped to build a $160 million water park, hotel and convention center project on the Brad McNeer Parkway in Midlothian. That project was declined after neighbors expressed concern over traffic and overall impact on the project would have on the community.
There is a public hearing set for June 21 to allow neighbors to weigh in on the current project.
