The buildings would be similar in appearance to this one that Merritt Properties developed in Durham, North Carolina. (County documents)
As more pieces of the massive GreenCity project in central Henrico fall into place, other properties in the vicinity of the 200-acre site are drawing additional development interest.
Baltimore-based Merritt Properties is looking to rezone 14 acres at the entrance to the nearby Park Central office park for development of two light industrial or flex buildings that would include office and retail uses.
The two one-story buildings would fill two currently wooded parcels fronting Parham Road east of Park Central Drive, which provides access to the 100-acre park and connects to the adjacent Windsor Business Park.
The parcels are just east of the GreenCity site, where a $2.3 billion arena-anchored development is in the works.
A site plan shows the buildings’ alignment along Parham Road.
Merritt’s plan comes a year after the commercial real estate development firm entered the Richmond market with its $41 million purchase of Crescent Business Center, a five-warehouse complex in Hanover County about two miles north up Interstate 95.
The company’s portfolio totals nearly 20 million square feet of office, industrial, retail and flex space. The majority of its holdings are in the D.C. area, and it also has a presence in the Florida Panhandle and the Raleigh, North Carolina, region.
Bobby Lanigan, who handles acquisitions and leasing for Merritt in Virginia, said the company would not comment on the Park Central project ahead of a decision on its rezoning request.
The request is scheduled to go before the Henrico County Planning Commission at its Sept. 14 meeting. Local attorney Andy Condlin with Roth Jackson Gibbons Condlin is representing Merritt in its request.
Plans filed with the county show the development would consist of a 72,000-square-foot building and a 69,000-square-foot building, along with double-wide parking areas around the buildings, a vehicle loading and maneuvering area to the rear of the site and a 50-foot buffer along Parham Road.
The buildings would be restricted to 45 feet in height, and submitted proffers from Merritt would limit retail sales and services and restaurant uses to 20 percent of the total building space.
A sample image of the types of buildings planned at Park Central’s entrance. The two buildings planned there would sit side by side.
A county staff report notes that the two parcels were part of a 200-acre zoning in 1988 that set the stage for what would become the Park Central and Windsor Business parks.
“The proposed development would put a long-idle site to productive use, would diversify the businesses within the office/industrial park, and would help support the long-term viability of the overall development,” the staff report reads. It adds that staff could support the request should Merritt address pending issues related to buffers, prohibited uses and building exteriors.
Lanigan said Merritt is under contract to buy the land pending zoning approval. The parcels are owned by entity tied to Robinson Development Group, which includes Central Park in its portfolio. The Hampton Roads-based firm is developing the Metropolis at Innsbrook apartments in Glen Allen.
The development group bought the parcels in a multiparcel sale totaling $1.47 million in 2000, county property records show. A development plan approved that year called for two, two-story office buildings totaling 58,000 square feet on the site, referred to in records as Park Central Phase 3. Henrico assessed the parcels this year at $1.26 million.
Meanwhile, the stage continues to be set for GreenCity, which is planned to stretch from Parham to Interstate 295 east of I-95. The county recently announced that Henrico-based Markel | Eagle Partners has signed on to develop a residential portion of the so-called “ecodistrict” development, which includes a planned rehab of the former Best Products building and a 17,000-seat regional arena.
The county went in with Markel | Eagle on a $35 million purchase of the northern half of the GreenCity site, where homebuilding arm Eagle Construction of VA would build 880 for-sale homes. That transaction closed Aug. 31.
The buildings would be similar in appearance to this one that Merritt Properties developed in Durham, North Carolina. (County documents)
As more pieces of the massive GreenCity project in central Henrico fall into place, other properties in the vicinity of the 200-acre site are drawing additional development interest.
Baltimore-based Merritt Properties is looking to rezone 14 acres at the entrance to the nearby Park Central office park for development of two light industrial or flex buildings that would include office and retail uses.
The two one-story buildings would fill two currently wooded parcels fronting Parham Road east of Park Central Drive, which provides access to the 100-acre park and connects to the adjacent Windsor Business Park.
The parcels are just east of the GreenCity site, where a $2.3 billion arena-anchored development is in the works.
A site plan shows the buildings’ alignment along Parham Road.
Merritt’s plan comes a year after the commercial real estate development firm entered the Richmond market with its $41 million purchase of Crescent Business Center, a five-warehouse complex in Hanover County about two miles north up Interstate 95.
The company’s portfolio totals nearly 20 million square feet of office, industrial, retail and flex space. The majority of its holdings are in the D.C. area, and it also has a presence in the Florida Panhandle and the Raleigh, North Carolina, region.
Bobby Lanigan, who handles acquisitions and leasing for Merritt in Virginia, said the company would not comment on the Park Central project ahead of a decision on its rezoning request.
The request is scheduled to go before the Henrico County Planning Commission at its Sept. 14 meeting. Local attorney Andy Condlin with Roth Jackson Gibbons Condlin is representing Merritt in its request.
Plans filed with the county show the development would consist of a 72,000-square-foot building and a 69,000-square-foot building, along with double-wide parking areas around the buildings, a vehicle loading and maneuvering area to the rear of the site and a 50-foot buffer along Parham Road.
The buildings would be restricted to 45 feet in height, and submitted proffers from Merritt would limit retail sales and services and restaurant uses to 20 percent of the total building space.
A sample image of the types of buildings planned at Park Central’s entrance. The two buildings planned there would sit side by side.
A county staff report notes that the two parcels were part of a 200-acre zoning in 1988 that set the stage for what would become the Park Central and Windsor Business parks.
“The proposed development would put a long-idle site to productive use, would diversify the businesses within the office/industrial park, and would help support the long-term viability of the overall development,” the staff report reads. It adds that staff could support the request should Merritt address pending issues related to buffers, prohibited uses and building exteriors.
Lanigan said Merritt is under contract to buy the land pending zoning approval. The parcels are owned by entity tied to Robinson Development Group, which includes Central Park in its portfolio. The Hampton Roads-based firm is developing the Metropolis at Innsbrook apartments in Glen Allen.
The development group bought the parcels in a multiparcel sale totaling $1.47 million in 2000, county property records show. A development plan approved that year called for two, two-story office buildings totaling 58,000 square feet on the site, referred to in records as Park Central Phase 3. Henrico assessed the parcels this year at $1.26 million.
Meanwhile, the stage continues to be set for GreenCity, which is planned to stretch from Parham to Interstate 295 east of I-95. The county recently announced that Henrico-based Markel | Eagle Partners has signed on to develop a residential portion of the so-called “ecodistrict” development, which includes a planned rehab of the former Best Products building and a 17,000-seat regional arena.
The county went in with Markel | Eagle on a $35 million purchase of the northern half of the GreenCity site, where homebuilding arm Eagle Construction of VA would build 880 for-sale homes. That transaction closed Aug. 31.
Could include only UP TO 28,000 square feet in retail/restaurant use based on the proffer. A lightening or flooring firm opens a showroom space 1/2 that space easily is taken. This is basically what dots Parham from Hungary Rd to Chamberlayne Ave already. Interesting this what the County wants to see on the doorstep of the Green City project’s entrance.