Updated: 300-unit residential complex planned to replace Knights Inn

KnightsInn1 scaled

The Knights Inn motel at 9002 Brook Road. (Jonathan Spiers photo)

Note: This story has been updated with input from Middleburg Communities received after publication. 

As hundreds of homes begin to rise across the street, a 1950s-era motel site along Brook Road is being positioned to add a few hundred more.

Documents filed with Henrico County show plans to replace the Knights Inn motel at 9002 Brook Road with more than 300 apartments and townhomes, as well as a commercial space fronting Brook.

The development, from Vienna-based Middleburg Communities, would fill the 7.5-acre motel property and eight adjoining parcels totaling over 13 acres.

Plans call for five four-story buildings that would house as many as 274 apartments on the motel site and an adjoining parcel to the south. Thirty-nine townhomes would fill the rest of the site, made up of six parcels on the north side of the motel.

KnightsInnAptsSitePlan

A site plan shows the apartments and commercial building off Brook Road and the townhomes section to the north. (Henrico County document)

The apartments and townhomes would be separated by a stormwater management feature but connected via an internal road.

Three of the apartment buildings would enclose a central courtyard with a clubhouse amenity, while one building would front Brook. Beside that building would be the commercial space, totaling 7,500 square feet.

One of two entrances off Brook would be aligned with the extension of Magellan Parkway across Brook and feature street trees and parallel parking spaces. A third access for the townhomes would be off Norfolk Street.

The Magellan Parkway extension is part of ReTreat at One, the 600-home development from Stanley Martin Homes that’s taking shape across Brook from the motel site.

ReTreat aerial

Site work for ReTreat at One has cleared land along Telegraph Road between Brook Road beside I-95. The Magellan Parkway extension is shown in the foreground. (BizSense file)

Jason Pfister, Middleburg’s vice president for land entitlements, said the company was drawn to the Knights Inn site due in large part to GreenCity, the $2.3 billion arena-anchored development in the works across Interstate 95 from the Brook Road corridor. The Magellan Parkway extension will connect those two projects and lead right to the Knights Inn site, Pfister said.

“We were very interested in that part of town, particularly with GreenCity coming,” Pfister said. “It’s an area that’s kind of flagged for revitalization. So, our site acquisition guys located this site and we’ve been able to work with the owner of the Knights Inn to redevelop the property.”

Pfister said Middleburg has all of the parcels under contract.

Middleburg is planning a total of 310 units, with the townhomes making up 36 of those, he said. A parking analysis referred to in a county staff report breaks down the apartments to 91 one-bedroom units and 183 two- and three-bedroom units.

The apartments would range in size from about 670 square feet for the smallest one-bedroom to 1,390 square feet for a three-bedroom, Pfister said. The townhomes would range from about 1,640 to 1,780 square feet and include two- and three-bedroom floorplans with rear-load garages.

KnightsInnAptsElevation

An elevation rendering of the planned four-story apartment buildings. (Henrico County document)

Rent ranges for the apartments were not provided, but Pfister said they would be market-rate. Pfister said the townhomes also would be market-rate rentals.

In addition to the 7,100-square-foot clubhouse, community amenities would include a fitness center, yoga studio, co-working space, conference room, pool and electric vehicle charging stations. Also planned are a dog park and pet spa, grilling station, private parking garages, package locker concierge and walking trails.

According to the staff report, the site could connect to the future Fall Line Trail that’s to be routed to the west, and to a multiuse trail planned along Magellan across Brook.

The project would require rezoning and provisional-use permit approvals, which the Henrico Planning Commission is scheduled to consider at its April 14 meeting. Middleburg is working with local attorney Andy Condlin of Roth Jackson Gibbons Condlin on the requests.

Pending approvals and permitting, Pfister said construction is aimed to start by the end of this year. He did not have a completion timeline or cost estimate for the project.

KnightsInnTHsElevations

Elevations of the townhomes.

Founded in 2004, Middleburg has acquired or built over 20,000 apartments in markets primarily in the Southeast, according to its website. It also has properties in Nebraska, Texas and Utah.

The Knights Inn project is one of three that Middleburg is actively developing in the Richmond region. The company in December received approval in Chesterfield County for the Hamlet at Watkins Centre, a 283-home development planned on a 69-acre site at 631 and 701 Watkins Centre Parkway. It’s also planning Hamlet at Falling Creek, a 365-unit community at 12600 Genito Road, according to its website.

Pfister said the Chesterfield developments would consist of townhomes and detached cottage homes, while the Falling Creek community would also include apartments and for-sale homes. Pfister said a builder for the for-sale homes has been selected but not announced.

Pfister said Middleburg is under contract and starting designs for a fourth development in the region. He said the site is in Henrico but would not specify the location.

“We are certainly open to exploring other options. We’re very excited about the market,” he said.

The Knights Inn project would replace the motel and two houses that would be razed. The development would not involve the Arthur’s Electric Service and Better Menswear buildings fronting Brook south of the motel.

Built in 1952, the 25,000-square-foot motel is owned by AADI Investments LLC, which purchased the 7.5-acre property in 2013 for $2 million, property records show. The rest of the parcels are in different ownership. The nine parcels that make up the development site are assessed collectively at $1.8 million.

Design Resource Group, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the engineer on the project, according to the plans. South Carolina-based SGA | NW Design is the architect on the townhomes.

KnightsInn1 scaled

The Knights Inn motel at 9002 Brook Road. (Jonathan Spiers photo)

Note: This story has been updated with input from Middleburg Communities received after publication. 

As hundreds of homes begin to rise across the street, a 1950s-era motel site along Brook Road is being positioned to add a few hundred more.

Documents filed with Henrico County show plans to replace the Knights Inn motel at 9002 Brook Road with more than 300 apartments and townhomes, as well as a commercial space fronting Brook.

The development, from Vienna-based Middleburg Communities, would fill the 7.5-acre motel property and eight adjoining parcels totaling over 13 acres.

Plans call for five four-story buildings that would house as many as 274 apartments on the motel site and an adjoining parcel to the south. Thirty-nine townhomes would fill the rest of the site, made up of six parcels on the north side of the motel.

KnightsInnAptsSitePlan

A site plan shows the apartments and commercial building off Brook Road and the townhomes section to the north. (Henrico County document)

The apartments and townhomes would be separated by a stormwater management feature but connected via an internal road.

Three of the apartment buildings would enclose a central courtyard with a clubhouse amenity, while one building would front Brook. Beside that building would be the commercial space, totaling 7,500 square feet.

One of two entrances off Brook would be aligned with the extension of Magellan Parkway across Brook and feature street trees and parallel parking spaces. A third access for the townhomes would be off Norfolk Street.

The Magellan Parkway extension is part of ReTreat at One, the 600-home development from Stanley Martin Homes that’s taking shape across Brook from the motel site.

ReTreat aerial

Site work for ReTreat at One has cleared land along Telegraph Road between Brook Road beside I-95. The Magellan Parkway extension is shown in the foreground. (BizSense file)

Jason Pfister, Middleburg’s vice president for land entitlements, said the company was drawn to the Knights Inn site due in large part to GreenCity, the $2.3 billion arena-anchored development in the works across Interstate 95 from the Brook Road corridor. The Magellan Parkway extension will connect those two projects and lead right to the Knights Inn site, Pfister said.

“We were very interested in that part of town, particularly with GreenCity coming,” Pfister said. “It’s an area that’s kind of flagged for revitalization. So, our site acquisition guys located this site and we’ve been able to work with the owner of the Knights Inn to redevelop the property.”

Pfister said Middleburg has all of the parcels under contract.

Middleburg is planning a total of 310 units, with the townhomes making up 36 of those, he said. A parking analysis referred to in a county staff report breaks down the apartments to 91 one-bedroom units and 183 two- and three-bedroom units.

The apartments would range in size from about 670 square feet for the smallest one-bedroom to 1,390 square feet for a three-bedroom, Pfister said. The townhomes would range from about 1,640 to 1,780 square feet and include two- and three-bedroom floorplans with rear-load garages.

KnightsInnAptsElevation

An elevation rendering of the planned four-story apartment buildings. (Henrico County document)

Rent ranges for the apartments were not provided, but Pfister said they would be market-rate. Pfister said the townhomes also would be market-rate rentals.

In addition to the 7,100-square-foot clubhouse, community amenities would include a fitness center, yoga studio, co-working space, conference room, pool and electric vehicle charging stations. Also planned are a dog park and pet spa, grilling station, private parking garages, package locker concierge and walking trails.

According to the staff report, the site could connect to the future Fall Line Trail that’s to be routed to the west, and to a multiuse trail planned along Magellan across Brook.

The project would require rezoning and provisional-use permit approvals, which the Henrico Planning Commission is scheduled to consider at its April 14 meeting. Middleburg is working with local attorney Andy Condlin of Roth Jackson Gibbons Condlin on the requests.

Pending approvals and permitting, Pfister said construction is aimed to start by the end of this year. He did not have a completion timeline or cost estimate for the project.

KnightsInnTHsElevations

Elevations of the townhomes.

Founded in 2004, Middleburg has acquired or built over 20,000 apartments in markets primarily in the Southeast, according to its website. It also has properties in Nebraska, Texas and Utah.

The Knights Inn project is one of three that Middleburg is actively developing in the Richmond region. The company in December received approval in Chesterfield County for the Hamlet at Watkins Centre, a 283-home development planned on a 69-acre site at 631 and 701 Watkins Centre Parkway. It’s also planning Hamlet at Falling Creek, a 365-unit community at 12600 Genito Road, according to its website.

Pfister said the Chesterfield developments would consist of townhomes and detached cottage homes, while the Falling Creek community would also include apartments and for-sale homes. Pfister said a builder for the for-sale homes has been selected but not announced.

Pfister said Middleburg is under contract and starting designs for a fourth development in the region. He said the site is in Henrico but would not specify the location.

“We are certainly open to exploring other options. We’re very excited about the market,” he said.

The Knights Inn project would replace the motel and two houses that would be razed. The development would not involve the Arthur’s Electric Service and Better Menswear buildings fronting Brook south of the motel.

Built in 1952, the 25,000-square-foot motel is owned by AADI Investments LLC, which purchased the 7.5-acre property in 2013 for $2 million, property records show. The rest of the parcels are in different ownership. The nine parcels that make up the development site are assessed collectively at $1.8 million.

Design Resource Group, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the engineer on the project, according to the plans. South Carolina-based SGA | NW Design is the architect on the townhomes.

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Carl Schwendeman
Carl Schwendeman
2 years ago

This is good that they are replacing a worn out building with more housing. I hope Henrico County Public Works adds 8 foot wide sidewalks along US Route 1 between Virginia Center Parkway and Mountain Road and Route 1.

They could take the proffers from this project and use this to pay for a quarter mile of the Fall Line Trail that will run behind this project.

They should also look at adding bus rapid transit along this section of Route 1

Kelvin Troy Gentry
Kelvin Troy Gentry
2 years ago

This would be good for families with teenagers that want to work at Kings Dominion and be close for work

Ed Christina
Ed Christina
2 years ago

I used to deliver Pizzas on weekends in this area, and my first thought was “who wants to live in this sketchy area”.

But by tearing down this and a few other shady “hotels” the area should come up quickly.