If not for America's most crippling financial collapse since the Great Depression, the sprawling, wooded south Chester parcel that county and state officials now envision as an industrial "megasite" most likely would be teeming with house-lined cul-de-sacs. Now, county officials plan to swap one mega project for another.
At the historic county courthouse last week, local and state officials announced plans to develop and market the former Branner Station parcel as a 1,700-acre megasite to prospective manufacturers and large-scale industry. The site's size and proximity to Interstate 95 and the Port of Richmond, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said, could generate a $1 billion investment, up to 5,000 jobs and twice as many indirect jobs.