Celebrate Virginia South is getting closer to becoming the tourist attraction Silver Cos. envisioned.
Developer John Elkington, who helped revitalize Memphis' famous Beale Street, will close this month on about 20 acres in Celebrate for his Rappahannock Ridge Entertainment District.
In addition, another group is interested in reviving the WorldStreet concept, which was to have brought more than 300 vendors from around the world under one roof, said Jud Honaker, Silver Cos. president for commercial development.
He said he also hopes to strike a deal with a water park similar to Great Wolf Lodge by year's end.
"The stars are aligning better for Celebrate Virginia South," Honaker said. "It's been a long, hard struggle. We've spent a lot of money and a lot of time chasing businesses."
Rappahannock Ridge and WorldStreet originally were both going to open in Celebrate next year. But development of the 540-acre property across Fall Hill Avenue from Central Park has lagged behind initial estimates for a number of reasons, he said. These include a belated discovery that WorldStreet would be a more management-intensive project that Silver Cos. could handle.
"From our standpoint, it would be difficult to get that many vendors from that many countries here at once," Honaker said. "It was going to be a horrendous logistical issue."
The Fredericksburg Expo and Convention Center, which was counting on WorldStreet, Rappahannock Ridge and other private ventures in Celebrate to help it attract business, recently asked the City Council for a $300,000 per year subsidy for three years.
Councilman Matt Kelly said during a City Council work session last week that Silver Cos. has offered to kick in $150,000 toward that amount in addition to the $140,000 annual subsidy it already gives the center.
"I think when all the pieces that we're working on come together, Celebrate Virginia South will have a positive impact," Honaker said. "Everything that we're chasing will bring more tourists to Fredericksburg, which is consistent with what we're working on and what we've said we were working on."
Rappahannock Ridge, for example, is designed to attract group tours, business travelers, conventioneers and tourists looking for a base within driving distance of Washington, Richmond and Williamsburg.
The 158,000-square-foot project, which is expected to get under way the end of this year or early in 2008, "will reflect the architecture and character of old Virginia towns and will spotlight the music, history and culture of the area," according to Performa's Web site, performa entertainment.com.
The pedestrian- and family-friendly district will feature a Virginia Music Hall of Fame with a 1,500-seat performing arts center, a 60-room Rappahannock Ridge Inn Bed & Breakfast and a variety of retail shops and restaurants.
Elkington's company, Memphis-based Performa Entertainment, already is in talks with Mast General Store, a 125-year-old Valle Crucis, N.C., company that now has seven locations; Mill Mountain Coffee, which originated in Roanoke; and St. Louis-based The Funny Bone Comedy Club.
Several restaurant chains located in other Performa projects also are interested in opening in Rappahannock Ridge, including B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill and Wet Willie's, a daiquiri bar and restaurant, said Donna Williams, Performa's chief operating officer.
"We don't have an opening date set, but we're working on it," she said.
WorldStreet, a $100 million project announced with great fanfare about a year ago, also was envisioned as a tourist destination. People would go there to shop at boutiques owned by retailers from around the world, watch cooking demonstrations and eat in ethnic restaurants, David A. Mign-atti, president of WorldStreet development, said at the time.
But the project, a former division of Silver Cos., turned out to be such a massive endeavor that company officials began looking for partners. Now a group with more experience and connections is interested in doing something similar in the same spot.
"I can't say who they are. I wish I could," Honaker said. "It's possible they will announce something by the end of the year."
Currently, about 65 to 70 of the 240 usable acres at Celebrate Virginia South have been developed, he said. Besides the Expo Center, the site includes the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors office, a Sheetz gas station and several hotels. Wegmans also plans to build a grocery store there by the end of 2008 or early 2009.
"Central Park was a 10-year project and it moved at a very fast pace," Honaker said. "Something of this nature could take 20 years."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407