The rewards for Louisa County's do-it-yourself improvement plan started this week with the opening of a Lowe's store in Zion Crossroads.

The opening of Lowe's yesterday begins the process of making Louisa a shopping destination whose sales taxes will help fill local government coffers, said Fitzgerald A. Barnes, of the county Board of Supervisors. A grand-opening celebration is scheduled for tomorrow.

With a growing population and nearly $140 million projected for long-term school construction needs, county government leaders have been planning for years and investing in infrastructure to make the quiet gas and fast-food stop a regional shopping hub.

"It sends a message that Zion Crossroads is for real," said Barnes, a driving force behind developing the area. "It helps solidify our tax base and gives us the credibility we've been looking for."

Lowe's will offer 117,000 square feet inside and an additional 32,000-square-foot garden center. The store is expected to employ about 150 people, said Barry Richards, the store manager.

Also planned for the area, about 50 miles west of Richmond, is a 146,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter and a mixed-use commercial center of more than 1 million square feet dubbed Merchants Walk. Merchants Walk is to include stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and office space.

Developers believe the interchange will draw from Louisa, Fluvanna, Orange and Spotsylvania counties as well as from Charlottesville and the Washington exurbs down U.S. 29. Louisa County last year awarded an $8.6 million contract to expand sewage capacity sevenfold to handle 700,000 gallons of wastewater per day.

Lowe's was enticed by the heavy business at its Charlottesville store, one of the busiest of the company's 1,525 locations, Richards said.

"We're looking forward to all the growth and development in that area, and we're looking forward to serving our customers in the Zion Crossroads area," he said.

Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at (540) 932-3674 or ctrice@timesdispatch.com