New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

Editorial: If it’s built in Charles City or New Kent, will people really come?

By Andre Jones | February 14, 2018 12:04 am

In hindsight, both Charles City and New Kent are living on a familiar saying: “If you build it, they will come.”

That saying is both a positive and negative for both counties. There are a lot of past, current, and future projects that have challenged the saying. Some of those projects have benefited the counties, while others haven’t been not so hot. Some are even yet to be determined. Allow me to provide an example of each outcome.

First, the positive. The influx of the housing market in New Kent has provided a substantial amount of revenue in the county. In the proposed budget, it is listed at $1.9 million in new real estate dollars. That is a sign as the county is continuing to grow. By growing, that means developers are building more houses, which has now led to the construction of a new elementary school in the county.

But now let’s look at one of the downsides. Colonial Downs started off thriving and bringing money for several years. It looked like New Kent was going to flourish because it had a monopoly on horse racing in the state of Virginia. But a dispute between the track owners and horsemen association that has now lasted four years has kept hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. A bill is currently being presented in the Virginia General Assembly to bring slots, better known as legalized gambling, to Virginia. While it would start in New Kent, it could open a floodgate for other businesses throughout the state, keeping the revenue from Colonial Downs even if it reopens.

Finally, let’s look at one of the projects yet to be determined. I am turning to Charles City for this example. I am not a historian nor is my memory up to par. However, I have a vague memory about the Virginia Capital Trail. I am probably wrong about this, but when the project was first proposed, I believed it was scheduled to be completed in 2007 for the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement. The trail opened several years later, with a majority of the mileage located in Charles City. The question now remains will the trail attract businesses to be constructed along that corridor and will cyclists who use the trail provide patronage to local businesses?

As you can see, there are several questions that will go unanswered about projects in both counties. Will new businesses or amenities attract new residents and customers? So far in New Kent, Heritage Public Library reported an increase in visitors and patrons to the new building located in the Maidstone Development. The question now turns to Charles City. When their library is constructed, will it be worth the $2.5 million investment and attract patrons?

No one knows for sure what the outcomes will be. That is just a risk that companies and people take. It’s like going to bank to acquire a loan; you may have support from others, but will the lender support you to take a stand and back you? Both Charles City and New Kent are building and growing; let’s see if the results of their building will make others come to the area.