Compromise Reached In West Broad Village Utility Connection Fee Dispute

Florida-based Unicorp National Developments, currently developing West Broad Village, have reached a compromise with the County of Henrico over a $3.5 million bill it received for utility connections earlier this month. At issue was the classification of the buildings in the development. Fees for connecting public utilities, such as water lines, are assessed based on the building’s use. Unicorp filed their buildings as “Other” on the County’s classification forms, and projected their costs to come in at around $589,000.

The County of Henrico, however, billed the developer based on the relatively new “Mixed Use” classification. Both parties came to a compromise by mid-week. Under the agreement, Unicorp will pay around $983,000 over a three year period. The original bill threatened to shut down further development at the project site until Unicorp could foot the bill. Development on the project will continue as planned.