Local builder planning 10-home subdivision near Willow Oaks

Called The Enclave at Willow Oaks, the subdivision would consist of 10 lots off a cul-de-sac road. (Images courtesy Richmond Hill Design + Build)

As it gets going on an infill development in Westhampton, a local homebuilder is laying the groundwork for a similar-sized subdivision near Willow Oaks Country Club.

Richmond Hill Design + Build, led by father-and-daughter team Lloyd and Vanessa Poe, is planning a 10-home subdivision on a 3-acre property at 6422 Forest Hill Ave., just west of the entrance to the Southside golf course.

Plans call for the lots to replace an existing home on the site, with a cul-de-sac road off Forest Hill Avenue providing access to the lots. A 20-foot landscape buffer would provide a setback for the homes, and drainage improvements and other infrastructure also are planned.

Called The Enclave at Willow Oaks, the subdivision would consist of two-story homes ranging in size from 2,600 to 3,400 square feet, with four or more bedrooms and at least two and a half bathrooms. Prices would range from $650,000 to $850,000.

Vanessa Poe

Vanessa Poe said they plan to target the homes to Willow Oaks members, though she said the floorplans would also appeal to young professionals and families.

“Maybe an older community that doesn’t really want a huge yard, but more of a tight community feel, with sidewalks and landscaping and closer together than some of the houses that are already in the area,” she said. “It’s not a glorified 50-plus community, but that was kind of our target market.”

The homes would increase in size the farther they are from Forest Hill Avenue, with a mix of first- and second-floor primary bedrooms. Each house would also have a two-car garage and driveway.

The company purchased the property in April for $575,000. Poe said they were alerted to the site by Mike Hanky, a local real estate agent with Shaheen, Ruth, Martin & Fonville Real Estate who they’ve worked with before and had a connection with the sellers, William and Jane Murphy. The city assessed the property at $414,000.

The existing house, built in 1907, would be razed to make way for the new homes. (City of Richmond property record photo)

While the existing house, built in 1907, will be razed for the development, Poe said they intend to work around an existing mature tree behind the house. She said they’re also working with the Virginia Department of Transportation on drainage improvements to address standing water and flooding issues in the neighborhood.

“That’s a big problem for the area,” Poe said. “All the neighbors have standing water and floods whenever high rains happen. VDOT had planned and approved to put in drainage at the back of our property that will help solve this issue for all the surrounding neighbors.”

Poe said that process was slowed during the pandemic but they’re still working to secure approvals and connect to surrounding drainage.

“We are very hesitant on going forward until that gets put in, because we don’t want to make the neighbors’ situation even worse than it already is,” she said.

Poe said they have about another three months of permitting to get through before they can start site work, which is expected to last eight months. She said they’re aiming to break ground on the first homes in early 2024 and stagger construction on the rest over a two-year period.

Renderings of previous Richmond Hill homes hint at the styles planned for the subdivision.

Designs for the homes have yet to start, though Poe said their styles would be similar to other Richmond Hill homes. She said it’s too early to estimate a cost for the development.

“We’ve left it open with the (plan) so when we get in there, we can tailor every house to be slightly different,” she said. “We’re excited to bring a different target market and architectural style to the area.”

The company filed a preliminary plat for the subdivision with the city in late August. It remains under review pending revisions. Henrico-based consulting firm SilverCore is assisting with the project.

The subdivision adds to other multi-home projects that Richmond Hill has undertaken since launching in 2018. One of its first projects was a five-home infill and single-home rehab in the 2900 block of Ellwood Avenue near Carytown.

Farther west, near Libbie and Patterson avenues, the company is getting ready to start building its first homes for Westview at Libbie, an infill project that will replace six existing houses with 11 new homes along Westview Avenue. Revised plans for that project were approved in September, and Poe said applications for building permits for the first homes have been submitted.