By Diana McFarland

Managing editor

An undisclosed business is looking to locate next to the proposed juvenile correctional center on the Walters Highway site, according to Isle of Wight County Administrator Randy Keaton. 

The prospect was reported to the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors at its meeting Thursday. 

The business, code name “Operation Bolt,” is looking to move in tandem with the construction of the detention center and be located on the parcel being eyed for the project, said Keaton. (It is common practice for economic development to give code names to potential business prospects in the county until the deal is finalized.)

The company hopes to take advantage of the water and sewer lines that will be laid for the juvenile facility, said Keaton. {mprestriction ids=”1,2,3,4,5,6″}

The water and sewer lines, to be run south on Route 258 from Route 460, may have the potential to increase capacity for Windsor’s sewer system, said Windsor District Supervisor Joel Acree.

The Town of Windsor has complained in recent years that its vacuum sewer system is near capacity, making future development problematic for the town. 

County staff plans to meet with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a few weeks to nail down the wetlands delineation on the 139-acre parcel that is located about a mile south of the Town of Windsor and is in Phase III of the county’s intermodal park.  

The current delineation expires in October 2019.

The parcel contains an upland area and another wooded area that, under the current delineation, is deemed wetlands. The property also contains what has been called a stream, but consultants plan to argue that it is a manmade ditch that can be reengineered. 

County staff also plans to have the Corps look at a few other Phase III parcels to see what is usable for future use beyond the detention center — a total of about 450 acres.    

If the company, “Operation Bolt” does locate in the intermodal park, it will be the fourth to do so since the park began more than 15 years ago. 

The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice plans to build a 60-bed residential juvenile correctional facility that would house youth ages 14-20. 

The proposed juvenile correctional center would replace the state’s Bon Air facility in Chesterfield and employ a new model of detention. The smaller facility will be closer to family and focus on academic and vocational education, athletics, as well as treatment and counseling. 

It is also expected to generate 240 new jobs. 

Earlier this year, the Virginia General Assembly put funding for the detention center, to be built in Isle of Wight County, in the state biennial budget. 

Isle of Wight, in turn, has offered the property, as well as $500,000 toward utilities. 

Because the Isle of Wight Economic Development Authority owns the land, public hearings are not required. State facilities on publicly owned land are exempt from local zoning ordinances.  {/mprestriction}