A shopping center next to the Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department is looking to break ground soon on its second phase.

In 2005, Isle of Wight County supervisors approved plans for the Carrollton Cove Shoppes, which at the time proposed an L-shaped shopping center fronting the four-lane Carrollton Boulevard, also known as Route 17. The first phase, built in 2010, measures just under 10,000 square feet and is anchored by the Fatboys Grill and Steamshack restaurant. Site plans the county approved last year show the second phase would measure just over 16,000 square feet. The shopping center is owned by Elliott Cohen of Chesapeake.

Cohen told the Times he doesn’t have any signed leases yet but confirmed he’s in talks with the owners of Fatboys, who he says plans to open a second restaurant with outdoor seating. He’s also in talks with Dashing Dogs, a kennel service that’s a tenant of the existing phase, for a possible expansion. Cohen said a daycare and coffee shop are also among the second phase’s prospective tenants.

“We’ve been kind of designing on paper what they want so I can build to suit,” Cohen said. 

Isle of Wight County supervisors unanimously approved an application by contractor Ken Bingman of Newport News-based EPOC Construction on March 20 for an amendment to the parcel’s conditional general commercial zoning and proffers to replace the pitched roof shown in circa-2005 conceptual drawings with a mostly flat roof and raised parapet.

Cohen said he specializes in developing what he called “workforce rental space,” which he said is intended to be marketed at an affordable rent to small businesses rather than chain stores.

“I try to keep my places small for the mom-and-pop retail stores,” Cohen said.

The submitted plans state the second phase will be built to match the colors of the existing phase, which was originally designed to be compatible with the Carrollton VFD station.

Prior to the vote, the supervisors voted to invoke an exception in state law that allows the waiving of a public hearing when a proffered change would not affect the “use or density” of what was previously proposed.

Cohen said with the vote now on record, he expects to break ground within the next few weeks.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:12 p.m. with comments by developer Elliott Cohen.