Elevations of the “organic food market” planned as the anchor tenant of the Midlothian Depot project. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Zoning amendment for grocery-anchored project comes before Chesterfield Planning Commission
The Chesterfield Planning Commission is slated Tuesday to consider a tweak to a grocery-anchored development planned at Midlothian Turnpike and Alverser Drive.
Atlanta-based SJC Ventures is seeking an amendment to the 2022 zoning case tied to the development firm’s Midlothian Depot project, which would feature a grocery store and other retail space alongside residential units on 13.5 acres.
The developer wants to swap out 350 apartments previously approved for the project in favor of 60 condos, according to a staff report, which refers to the units as planned to be “constructed in the form of townhomes.” The units would be in buildings three and four stories tall.
The proposed amendment would also increase the commercial space at the project. The latest proposal is to build 90,000 square feet of retail space at the development, including a 36,000-square-foot grocery store.
The grocery brand that would anchor the development hasn’t yet been announced. Renderings refer to it as “Organic Food Market.”
Planning commissioners will vote on whether to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that it approve the request, which supervisors will vote on at a future meeting. County staff recommends approval.
The full agenda for the meeting can be found here.
Zoning request pending for Chester-area Fall Line trailhead, fire station
A conceptual plan of a proposed trailhead in Chester for the region-spanning Fall Line trail. The site would also be home to a new fire station. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Chesterfield planning commissioners are also slated at this week’s meeting to consider a proposal to create a Fall Line trailhead and tee up a new fire station on a 9-acre site, including 4730 W. Hundred Road and several other parcels, in Chester.
The Fall Line is a proposed regional north-south pedestrian and bike route that would run from Ashland to Petersburg. Hanover County recently held a ground-breaking ceremony on its portion of the trail.
A section of the Fall Line is planned to run through Chesterfield, and the proposed Chester trailhead would be an access point for the route. A concept plan shows a parking lot and restrooms as well as a shared-use path that would connect Route 10 to the Fall Line trail.
The fire station proposed for the site would be a 17,000-square-foot replacement for the existing firehouse at 4325 Old Hundred Road. The rezoning request for the projects slated for the site was filed by the county.
Staff recommends approval of the zoning request. The Planning Commission will decide whether to recommend the request be approved. The Board of Supervisors will make final decisions on the proposal at a later date.
Henrico providing funds to improve youth swimming group’s Regency facility
NOVA of Virginia Aquatics’ conversion of Regency’s former Macy’s South building. (File image courtesy Historic Richmond)
Henrico County has agreed to provide $2.5 million to fund a portion of the next phase of improvements at the NOVA of Virginia Aquatics facility at Regency.
A 1,000-seat mezzanine is chief among the improvements in this latest capital project, which also includes new restrooms and kitchen facilities. County officials and representatives of the youth swimming organization gathered last week at the western Henrico mall to announce the project, which had long been planned for the facility. The 50,000-square-foot center has a 50-meter Olympic-sized pool as well as two 25-yard pools.
The mezzanine will about double the venue’s seating capacity. The expansion would allow the center to hold larger swim meets and make it a more economically impactful sports tourism venue, Henrico Supervisor Jody Rogish said in remarks at the event.
“It will allow NOVA to host the largest, most prestigious meets because many of the competitions do not allow spectators on the pool deck,” Rogish said. “The economic impact of the NOVA facility is estimated around $2.8 million per year. By adding the mezzanine seating and attracting regional, statewide and national meets, this impact is projected to explode to more than $20 million per year.”
NOVA Executive Director Leigh Peterson said the center, which opened in 2021 in the mall’s former Macy’s South building, currently hosts about 30,000 event attendees a year and with the improvements would be able to accommodate 60,000 event attendees annually.
The upcoming capital project is expected to cost about $6.5 million. NOVA plans to raise an additional $1 million through a capital campaign, and will finance the rest of the project’s cost, Peterson said.
Construction is expected to start in January and is anticipated to take six months. The center plans to continue to operate during the project. Baskervill has been tapped to handle the design of the improvements. A general contractor hadn’t been selected as of last week, Peterson said.
NOVA’s facility eyes its next phase of construction amid a larger project at Regency to revamp the mall into a mixed-use development. Regency owners Thalhimer Realty Partners and Rebkee Co. are planning more apartments at the development, which in addition to the NOVA facility is anchored by Performance Pickleball and trampoline venue Surge Adventure Park.
Henrico approves Costco expansion, townhome projects at Bacova, River Mill
Elevations of the four-story townhomes planned at Pouncey Tract Road and Liesfeld Farm Drive. (File image courtesy Bob Babcock)
At their meeting last week, Henrico supervisors approved Costco’s plan to expand the footprint of its warehouse store at 9650 W. Broad St. and relocate its gas station to the neighboring plot at 9700-9750 W. Broad St.
The board also introduced a budget amendment to establish a housing trust fund to promote housing affordability and availability in the county. The amendment would establish the fund with $60 million in cash with economic development revenue generated specifically from data centers. A public hearing on the amendment is scheduled for June 25.
The Henrico Planning Commission last week approved developers Robert Babcock and Lawrence Liesfeld’s plan for 32 four-story townhomes at 4600 Pouncey Tract Road in Short Pump. The 3.6-acre parcel northwest of Pouncey Tract’s intersection with Liesfeld Farm Drive was previously planned for office use to support the adjacent Bacova community.
The commission also supported HHHunt Homes’ plan to build 57 townhomes on an 8-acre site southeast of Woodman and Winfrey roads. The undeveloped site adjoins HHHunt’s River Mill community and is just west of an 82-unit townhome section that was part of the original 2016 rezoning.
Ribbon cut on multijurisdictional Cool Lane Commons apartments
The apartments are along Cool Lane off Mechanicsville Turnpike. (Photos courtesy Virginia Supportive Housing)
Officials with Virginia Supportive Housing, Henrico County and the City of Richmond held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening for Cool Lane Commons, an 86-unit supportive housing community at 1900 Cool Lane on the border of Henrico and Richmond’s East End.
The $24 million conversion of the former Seven Hills Health Care Center opened in March. The mixed-income community for unhoused and low-income residents serves households with incomes at or below 50% of the area median income. VSH manages the property and offers supportive services on-site, and the building houses the nonprofit’s administrative offices, which moved from Forest Office Park in western Henrico.
Years in the making, the project involved coordination from Henrico and Richmond, as the 6-acre property near Mechanicsville Turnpike straddles their border southeast of the Interstate 64 interchange. Separate approvals from each government were finalized in 2019, and a groundbreaking ceremony kicked off the project in 2022.
Officials cut the ribbon during the ceremonial opening of Cool Lane Commons.
Elevations of the “organic food market” planned as the anchor tenant of the Midlothian Depot project. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Zoning amendment for grocery-anchored project comes before Chesterfield Planning Commission
The Chesterfield Planning Commission is slated Tuesday to consider a tweak to a grocery-anchored development planned at Midlothian Turnpike and Alverser Drive.
Atlanta-based SJC Ventures is seeking an amendment to the 2022 zoning case tied to the development firm’s Midlothian Depot project, which would feature a grocery store and other retail space alongside residential units on 13.5 acres.
The developer wants to swap out 350 apartments previously approved for the project in favor of 60 condos, according to a staff report, which refers to the units as planned to be “constructed in the form of townhomes.” The units would be in buildings three and four stories tall.
The proposed amendment would also increase the commercial space at the project. The latest proposal is to build 90,000 square feet of retail space at the development, including a 36,000-square-foot grocery store.
The grocery brand that would anchor the development hasn’t yet been announced. Renderings refer to it as “Organic Food Market.”
Planning commissioners will vote on whether to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that it approve the request, which supervisors will vote on at a future meeting. County staff recommends approval.
The full agenda for the meeting can be found here.
Zoning request pending for Chester-area Fall Line trailhead, fire station
A conceptual plan of a proposed trailhead in Chester for the region-spanning Fall Line trail. The site would also be home to a new fire station. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Chesterfield planning commissioners are also slated at this week’s meeting to consider a proposal to create a Fall Line trailhead and tee up a new fire station on a 9-acre site, including 4730 W. Hundred Road and several other parcels, in Chester.
The Fall Line is a proposed regional north-south pedestrian and bike route that would run from Ashland to Petersburg. Hanover County recently held a ground-breaking ceremony on its portion of the trail.
A section of the Fall Line is planned to run through Chesterfield, and the proposed Chester trailhead would be an access point for the route. A concept plan shows a parking lot and restrooms as well as a shared-use path that would connect Route 10 to the Fall Line trail.
The fire station proposed for the site would be a 17,000-square-foot replacement for the existing firehouse at 4325 Old Hundred Road. The rezoning request for the projects slated for the site was filed by the county.
Staff recommends approval of the zoning request. The Planning Commission will decide whether to recommend the request be approved. The Board of Supervisors will make final decisions on the proposal at a later date.
Henrico providing funds to improve youth swimming group’s Regency facility
NOVA of Virginia Aquatics’ conversion of Regency’s former Macy’s South building. (File image courtesy Historic Richmond)
Henrico County has agreed to provide $2.5 million to fund a portion of the next phase of improvements at the NOVA of Virginia Aquatics facility at Regency.
A 1,000-seat mezzanine is chief among the improvements in this latest capital project, which also includes new restrooms and kitchen facilities. County officials and representatives of the youth swimming organization gathered last week at the western Henrico mall to announce the project, which had long been planned for the facility. The 50,000-square-foot center has a 50-meter Olympic-sized pool as well as two 25-yard pools.
The mezzanine will about double the venue’s seating capacity. The expansion would allow the center to hold larger swim meets and make it a more economically impactful sports tourism venue, Henrico Supervisor Jody Rogish said in remarks at the event.
“It will allow NOVA to host the largest, most prestigious meets because many of the competitions do not allow spectators on the pool deck,” Rogish said. “The economic impact of the NOVA facility is estimated around $2.8 million per year. By adding the mezzanine seating and attracting regional, statewide and national meets, this impact is projected to explode to more than $20 million per year.”
NOVA Executive Director Leigh Peterson said the center, which opened in 2021 in the mall’s former Macy’s South building, currently hosts about 30,000 event attendees a year and with the improvements would be able to accommodate 60,000 event attendees annually.
The upcoming capital project is expected to cost about $6.5 million. NOVA plans to raise an additional $1 million through a capital campaign, and will finance the rest of the project’s cost, Peterson said.
Construction is expected to start in January and is anticipated to take six months. The center plans to continue to operate during the project. Baskervill has been tapped to handle the design of the improvements. A general contractor hadn’t been selected as of last week, Peterson said.
NOVA’s facility eyes its next phase of construction amid a larger project at Regency to revamp the mall into a mixed-use development. Regency owners Thalhimer Realty Partners and Rebkee Co. are planning more apartments at the development, which in addition to the NOVA facility is anchored by Performance Pickleball and trampoline venue Surge Adventure Park.
Henrico approves Costco expansion, townhome projects at Bacova, River Mill
Elevations of the four-story townhomes planned at Pouncey Tract Road and Liesfeld Farm Drive. (File image courtesy Bob Babcock)
At their meeting last week, Henrico supervisors approved Costco’s plan to expand the footprint of its warehouse store at 9650 W. Broad St. and relocate its gas station to the neighboring plot at 9700-9750 W. Broad St.
The board also introduced a budget amendment to establish a housing trust fund to promote housing affordability and availability in the county. The amendment would establish the fund with $60 million in cash with economic development revenue generated specifically from data centers. A public hearing on the amendment is scheduled for June 25.
The Henrico Planning Commission last week approved developers Robert Babcock and Lawrence Liesfeld’s plan for 32 four-story townhomes at 4600 Pouncey Tract Road in Short Pump. The 3.6-acre parcel northwest of Pouncey Tract’s intersection with Liesfeld Farm Drive was previously planned for office use to support the adjacent Bacova community.
The commission also supported HHHunt Homes’ plan to build 57 townhomes on an 8-acre site southeast of Woodman and Winfrey roads. The undeveloped site adjoins HHHunt’s River Mill community and is just west of an 82-unit townhome section that was part of the original 2016 rezoning.
Ribbon cut on multijurisdictional Cool Lane Commons apartments
The apartments are along Cool Lane off Mechanicsville Turnpike. (Photos courtesy Virginia Supportive Housing)
Officials with Virginia Supportive Housing, Henrico County and the City of Richmond held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening for Cool Lane Commons, an 86-unit supportive housing community at 1900 Cool Lane on the border of Henrico and Richmond’s East End.
The $24 million conversion of the former Seven Hills Health Care Center opened in March. The mixed-income community for unhoused and low-income residents serves households with incomes at or below 50% of the area median income. VSH manages the property and offers supportive services on-site, and the building houses the nonprofit’s administrative offices, which moved from Forest Office Park in western Henrico.
Years in the making, the project involved coordination from Henrico and Richmond, as the 6-acre property near Mechanicsville Turnpike straddles their border southeast of the Interstate 64 interchange. Separate approvals from each government were finalized in 2019, and a groundbreaking ceremony kicked off the project in 2022.
Officials cut the ribbon during the ceremonial opening of Cool Lane Commons.