Tackett’s Mill Hoping for a Renaissance

Editor’s note: This is the second part of an ongoing series about redeveloping the Potomac Communities.

Lake Ridge, Va. — Tackett’s Mill shopping center in Lake Ridge was ahead of its time.

As redevelopment in the Potomac Communities has shifted from strip malls to walkable, urban centers, Tackett’s Mill — with its shopping, office space, residential neighborhoods within walking distance and transit connections – was the original town center.

Built in 1971, it was one of a only a handful of places to shop in eastern Prince William and was the only center to serve the developing Lake Ridge community. At the time of construction, the paved portion of Old Bridge Road (Lake Ridge’s thoroughfare) stopped at Antietam Drive at Woodbridge Senior High School, but continued west as a gravel road to the site of the present day Chinn Center, linking with Davis Ford Road, (now Prince William Parkway) said Rappaport Companies spokeswoman Sheryl Simeck.

Rappaport owns Tackett’s Mill Center and is in the process of repairing a walkway and elevator at the 40-year-old complex. The company aims to fill empty spaces at the center with new tenants.

The center, which was once home to a movie theater, has seen changes over the years. The theatre gone, a fast food restaurant boarded up and a empty pad site where a gas station once stood, officials hope things at the center will turn around.

“Tackett’s Mill is presently undergoing major renovations…It is also under new management, and I believe they have the desire to inject new life into the center. Time will tell, but between the improvements being made and the community’s renewed interest in walkabilty and ‘live, work, and play’ opportunities, you never know, Tackett’s Mill may very well be poised for a renaissance,” said Prince William County Occoquan District Supervisor Mike May.

The largest remaining store at the center, Safeway, is also undergoing some exterior renovations, and Statements The Salon recently expanded at the center. Negotiations are underway to bring a new tenant to the site of the old gas station, but Simeck is tight lipped about the project.

There are also rumors that the boarded up fast food restaurant, a Burger King, could reopen.

Photos By: Mary Davidson

Many say things started to go downhill for the center when another shopping center with a similar name, Potomac Mills, grew to not only be the dominant retail destination in the Potomac Communities but one of the largest in the state. Stores once at Tackett’s Mill moved to to the  mall in Woodbridge to have better access to shoppers traveling Prince William Parkway and Interstate 95.

And as charming as Tackett’s Mill is, with its old stone mill and lake, success for businesses hinges on traffic.

“While architecture is important, what matters from the retail side of the business is the center’s visibility, how many cars pass by it each day, the number of people who live near the shopping center and what their average incomes are — that can determine success for the center,” said Simeck.

Competition from nearby shopping centers makes it more difficult to find tenants for Tackett’s Mill, but Rappaport hopes to find a large, destination store to lease space at the center and surround it with smaller, locally-owned businesses that cater to a specific customer base, said Simeck.

Overall, Tackett’s Mill is only a portion of the redevelopment effort in Lake Ridge, in a neighborhood where residents say they want to use their cars less and walk more.

“We have added pedestrian paths along Old Bridge in front of Woodbridge High [Senior] School, and more sidewalks and walking paths are going to be constructed starting very soon between the Festival at Old Bridge and Mohican Road on the north side of Old Bridge. Once complete, these sidewalks and trails will form an interconnected pedestrian corridor, where folks can walk to the store or friends home without the need to get into their cars,” added May.

The series: Redeveloping the Potomac Communities
Part 1:  Emerging town centers in Woodbridge could spell trouble for small businesses