A partnership involving the state and local landowners could help Goochland County realize a years-old plan to attract businesses to the Oilville interchange of Interstate 64.

Goochland's I-64 exits are rural and mostly bereft of development. Almost nothing is visible from the highway. A $4.9 million proposal to bring water and sewer to Oilville could change that.

"What we're trying to do is get [land] uses that we hope would get travelers off of 64 and take advantage of services such as free-standing restaurants or a hotel," said Greg Reid, Goochland's director of economic development.

The idea of bringing businesses to the Oilville interchange to increase tax receipts has been incubating among county leaders since at least 2002, but the area doesn't have the utilities developers need.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is offering the opportunity the county's been waiting for. VDOT has two rest areas just east of the interchange whose water-treatment plant needs to be replaced.

The proposed replacement would use well water and a free-standing sewage-treatment plant that would initially handle 100,000 gallons of sewage per day. VDOT has agreed to pay $1.4 million of the total water and sewer cost for access to 40,000 gallons per day.

Treatment would be expandable to 300,000 gallons, which would be accessible to commercial development near the highway -- not to surrounding homes.

Goochland planners hope landowners whose properties are targeted for development will invest the remaining $3.5 million for a utilities upgrade that local government officials estimate could triple property values. Affected property owners could invest upfront or participate in a tax district to repay county-issued bonds.

The county invited residents in the vicinity of the interchange for an informational meeting on the proposal last Thursday at Randolph Elementary School.

Property owner Garland Anderson said short and long-term costs so far are too vague.

"The problem is, they haven't told us anything," said Anderson, who grew up in the Oilville area but now lives in Henrico County. "I still don't know how much this is going to cost." Anderson said he's leaning toward investing in the plan, but wants more specifics.

Freddie Edwards, a real estate broker representing two property owners, said the county's figures are enough for his clients to invest. "We're ready to go," Edwards said.

The project could rest with the decision of a local investment group, Dover Associates, that owns the prime land at the interchange. A member of the group said the partners would have no comment on the plan.

The county asked affected property owners to respond by Thursday. Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at (540) 932-3674 or ctrice@timesdispatch.com.