The under-construction future headquarters and lab facility for the Virginia Department of Forensic Science and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia as seen in late July. (Images courtesy of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science)
Two Richmond-based state agencies are getting closer to their impending move to the suburbs.
Construction is underway on a new headquarters for the Virginia Department of Forensic Science and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. The upcoming facility will house 281,000 square feet of administrative office and laboratory space at 8850 Times Dispatch Blvd. in Mechanicsville.
The three-story building is expected to cost $189 million to build, a figure that doesn’t include equipment costs or land acquisition. The state bought the nearly 25-acre project site for $1.4 million in 2019, according to county land records. The property is at the intersection of Times Dispatch Boulevard and Studley Road, just off Chamberlayne Road.
The agencies currently have their headquarters as well as lab space at the VA Bio+Tech Park, a research campus in downtown Richmond. Their footprint is split across the state-owned, 134,000-square-foot Bio+Tech Two building as well as 25,000 square feet of leased space at the Bio+Tech Eight building.
The agencies have occupied Bio+Tech Two since the late 1990s and added on the leased space in the mid-2000s.
The plan is for both agencies to completely move out of those downtown facilities in favor of the new facility in Hanover County. The project, which has been about a decade in the making, originally was conceived as an update for existing facilities that morphed into a desire for an entirely new construction. Design work began in 2014 with the objective to expand the downtown presence before interest shifted to a new location in Hanover County.
“The project originally started as a renovation and expansion. As we progressed in the design of that concept, we found out that really wasn’t going to be feasible to meet the scope of the project entailed,” said David Barron, deputy director of the forensic science department.
The state agencies’ new Mechanicsville headquarters is planned to be 281,000 square feet in size and cost $189 million to build.
The agencies are looking to relocate because they’ve outgrown their Richmond presence – since 1998, both agencies have seen their downtown work forces double in size. The current spaces aren’t large enough to accommodate growth that’s expected to continue. About 270 people work in the agencies’ downtown facilities.
“In order to build something of the right size, have room for expansion and parking, we elected to change direction,” Barron said.
A rendering of the planned Mechanicsville headquarters. The project is expected to be competed in early 2026.
The project broke ground earlier this year. Portions of the new facility had gone vertical by late July. The majority of construction is expected to wrap up in December 2025, with total completion slated for early 2026.
The project’s general contractor is Skanska. Roanoke-based SFCS is the project’s architect.
The state agencies are the only occupants of the Bio+Tech Two building. What will be done with the building once they exit hasn’t been determined, Department of General Services spokeswoman Dena Potter said. General Services is a state agency that manages the building.
The under-construction future headquarters and lab facility for the Virginia Department of Forensic Science and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia as seen in late July. (Images courtesy of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science)
Two Richmond-based state agencies are getting closer to their impending move to the suburbs.
Construction is underway on a new headquarters for the Virginia Department of Forensic Science and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. The upcoming facility will house 281,000 square feet of administrative office and laboratory space at 8850 Times Dispatch Blvd. in Mechanicsville.
The three-story building is expected to cost $189 million to build, a figure that doesn’t include equipment costs or land acquisition. The state bought the nearly 25-acre project site for $1.4 million in 2019, according to county land records. The property is at the intersection of Times Dispatch Boulevard and Studley Road, just off Chamberlayne Road.
The agencies currently have their headquarters as well as lab space at the VA Bio+Tech Park, a research campus in downtown Richmond. Their footprint is split across the state-owned, 134,000-square-foot Bio+Tech Two building as well as 25,000 square feet of leased space at the Bio+Tech Eight building.
The agencies have occupied Bio+Tech Two since the late 1990s and added on the leased space in the mid-2000s.
The plan is for both agencies to completely move out of those downtown facilities in favor of the new facility in Hanover County. The project, which has been about a decade in the making, originally was conceived as an update for existing facilities that morphed into a desire for an entirely new construction. Design work began in 2014 with the objective to expand the downtown presence before interest shifted to a new location in Hanover County.
“The project originally started as a renovation and expansion. As we progressed in the design of that concept, we found out that really wasn’t going to be feasible to meet the scope of the project entailed,” said David Barron, deputy director of the forensic science department.
The state agencies’ new Mechanicsville headquarters is planned to be 281,000 square feet in size and cost $189 million to build.
The agencies are looking to relocate because they’ve outgrown their Richmond presence – since 1998, both agencies have seen their downtown work forces double in size. The current spaces aren’t large enough to accommodate growth that’s expected to continue. About 270 people work in the agencies’ downtown facilities.
“In order to build something of the right size, have room for expansion and parking, we elected to change direction,” Barron said.
A rendering of the planned Mechanicsville headquarters. The project is expected to be competed in early 2026.
The project broke ground earlier this year. Portions of the new facility had gone vertical by late July. The majority of construction is expected to wrap up in December 2025, with total completion slated for early 2026.
The project’s general contractor is Skanska. Roanoke-based SFCS is the project’s architect.
The state agencies are the only occupants of the Bio+Tech Two building. What will be done with the building once they exit hasn’t been determined, Department of General Services spokeswoman Dena Potter said. General Services is a state agency that manages the building.
I drove by the site over this last weekend. The scale of the building is very impressive and it looks much larger than the rendering gives it credit for.
Another check for mayor Stoney and the city.
Correct me if I am wrong, but that is a state owned building and being build in Hanover Country. Stoney has nothing to do with that project.
This has nothing to do with the city of Richmond.
I may be a notorious Stoney Critic, but I hardly see this as a Stoney issue. This kind of suburban location for a lot of business operations is part of something FAR larger than Stoney, Richmond or even Virginia. It’s the future. Houston is the model, and while downtown Houston gets ever more impressive, the reality of Houston is FAR bigger than the downtown — people live and work around nodes much more than the downtown, which is just another node. Environmentalists will decry that people live “so far” away from the city center, while the actual residents don’t even… Read more »
I think he is referring to the continued EXIT of state agencies and their employees from the City. ABC, Wildlife Resources, Social Services, and now this agency. They have all fled to the suburbs since Stoney took office. City has not even TRIED to retain state agencies and benefits having those employees in the City (and especially downtown). EDA and City’s Econ Dev have not even tried to see if maybe we could get some of these agencies would go out to Stony Point or say another spot ripe for redevelopment. Maybe they would still leave RVA but City does… Read more »
The wheels to get these agencies and ABC to Hanover started before Stoney took office. As the article says it started in 2014, which was Jones’ administration. You would have thought he might be able to get some credit with the state since he capitulated when told to agree to the Redskins deal. Besides, I’d rather have more room for some startups in the Biotech park instead of state agencies. They are not what that was intended for.
Good point, but I don’t think there are many defenders of the Jones Administration either.
Jones 2.0 is Stoney; Stoney is Jones. Remember Stoney was hand picked by Jones to be Virginia Demo Party chair, and then Sec of the Commonwealth. And Stoney was planning a run for Mayor (and is buddy with McAuliffe) who was governor at the time. Stoney also worked at GreenTech so I am sorry he was part of the INNER circle in 2014 at state government when the decision was made. And the building at 5th and Jackson in the BioTech part was BUILT for that agency David. Moving them out of their crappy office in the Bottom and being… Read more »
Who were the designers that worked for almost a decade: “Design work began in 2014″, to begin the process of bringing this project to life? It’s great the construction team is recognized, seems like the design team is due some credit too. The coordination that had to have occurred to successfully accommodate two large, and complex, state agencies must have been a challenge.
The Department of General Services (DGS) led the procurement of the project for the state, starting with a study of the existing downtown Richmond facility. I joined the project in 2018, worked with the DGS evaluating several potential sites around town for the new facility, and later was the lead civil site professional engineer through bidding. The architect is SFCS out of Roanoke, who previously designed the Western lab facility. The site has a lot of uses, and coordination between the different agencies has been handled by DGS and the whole design team. I personally give Hanover County big kudos… Read more »
Richmond: Surrounded By Greatness (at least as regards the muni govts)
It’s a shame to see more suburban sprawl, but as a City property owner, I see a plus: one less property that pays zero in taxes. I would prefer all state agencies stay in the city, since there is synergy with having state employees close to the heart of state government. However, for them to get a new facility that’s cheaper (land and building costs by not being as tall) I understand how Hanover would be of interest.