A westward view of the property at 120 Westover Ave., which makes up part of the 30-acre development site. (Image courtesy Icon Realty Group)
A newer player in the region’s residential development scene is looking to add to its workload with one of its largest projects yet.
Richmond-based Dorado Capital is planning an 85-home subdivision on 30 acres off Nine Mile Road between Westover Avenue and Orams Lane. The site is north of Nine Mile about a mile east of Laburnum Avenue and behind Henrico County’s under-construction Newbridge Firehouse 23 at 5618 Nine Mile Road.
The subdivision would wrap around Robinson Park and fill agricultural land that forms a gap between established residential neighborhoods to the west and east. A site plan shows road connections with Orams and Westover and with Ainsworth Lane off Nine Mile Road.
A site plan shows the subdivision between Orams Lane and Westover Avenue north of Nine Mile Road. (County documents)
Harsh Thakker, who leads Dorado Capital with partners Birju Bhagat, Vikram Dhruva and recent addition Vedant Shukla of Philadelphia, said they were alerted to the site via a listing for 120 Westover Ave., one of three parcels that make up the project.
He said the site’s location between established neighborhoods made it an appealing development opportunity.
Harsh Thakker
“It’s kind of an infill around existing infrastructure and other homes, so there’s a market already there,” Thakker said.
The group put an offer on 120 Westover, which was listed by Icon Commercial’s Colby Kay and Robert Jones for owner From the Heart Church Ministries of Richmond. The church purchased the 16-acre parcel in 2014 for $205,000. The listing had an asking price of $850,000.
Thakker said they were then approached by Deborah and Donald Lavecchia, the owners of the other two parcels at 205 and 225 Orams Lane, who offered to sell those properties to add to the project. Property records show the Lavecchias have owned 225 Orams, a 1.5-acre parcel, since 1996, and bought the 12-acre 205 Orams parcel in 2022 for $240,000.
Thakker said they are under contract to purchase the three parcels, which Henrico has assessed at $676,400 combined.
Dorado is seeking a rezoning for the project, working with Mark Baker of Baker Development Resources. The case was scheduled to go before the Henrico Planning Commission this month but was deferred to the Feb. 15 meeting at county planning staff’s request.
A staff report states that planners had concerns with step-down foundations and exterior materials proposed for the homes, among other issues that needed to be addressed for staff to support the project.
The single- and two-story homes would be at least 1,600 square feet in size.
Renderings of the homes show single- and two-story houses, all of which would be at least 1,600 square feet in size, excluding garages, decks and porches. At least three-fourths of the homes would include a garage, which could be front- or side-loading.
The development, called Greenhouse in plans, would include one or two walking trails that would connect with Robinson Park. A pocket park within the subdivision also is shown in the site plan drawn up by engineering firm Sekiv Solutions.
Thakker said they have a homebuilder lined up for the project but wouldn’t name it because a deal hasn’t been finalized. He said it’s too early to provide a cost estimate for the project.
Should the project be approved according to schedule, Thakker said they’re aiming to break ground in the fourth quarter of this year or early next year.
Thakker said the project is one of the biggest that Dorado has taken on since forming in 2019. The company is currently developing two previously approved subdivisions totaling nearly 100 homes on Meadow Road east of Highland Springs.
Thakker said they’re working through development plans for those projects. A proffer amendment request for one of them is set to go before the Henrico Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
“We’re excited to be working in this area of Henrico,” Thakker said. “We’ve seen the growth in other parts of Henrico, and we can’t wait to bring that same kind of development and growth here.”
A rendering of the under-construction Newbridge Firehouse 23 building. (Courtesy Henrico County)
Dorado also is developing a dozen modern-design townhomes in Richmond’s Highland Park Southern Tip neighborhood. It broke ground on that project, called Chestnut Flats, last summer, and Thakker said foundations are installed and pre-sales are set to start in March.
The Nine Mile Road subdivision would add rooftops behind the new firehouse that got underway last August. The $14.5 million project includes a 13,000-square-foot fire station building and is scheduled for completion in early 2025.
A westward view of the property at 120 Westover Ave., which makes up part of the 30-acre development site. (Image courtesy Icon Realty Group)
A newer player in the region’s residential development scene is looking to add to its workload with one of its largest projects yet.
Richmond-based Dorado Capital is planning an 85-home subdivision on 30 acres off Nine Mile Road between Westover Avenue and Orams Lane. The site is north of Nine Mile about a mile east of Laburnum Avenue and behind Henrico County’s under-construction Newbridge Firehouse 23 at 5618 Nine Mile Road.
The subdivision would wrap around Robinson Park and fill agricultural land that forms a gap between established residential neighborhoods to the west and east. A site plan shows road connections with Orams and Westover and with Ainsworth Lane off Nine Mile Road.
A site plan shows the subdivision between Orams Lane and Westover Avenue north of Nine Mile Road. (County documents)
Harsh Thakker, who leads Dorado Capital with partners Birju Bhagat, Vikram Dhruva and recent addition Vedant Shukla of Philadelphia, said they were alerted to the site via a listing for 120 Westover Ave., one of three parcels that make up the project.
He said the site’s location between established neighborhoods made it an appealing development opportunity.
Harsh Thakker
“It’s kind of an infill around existing infrastructure and other homes, so there’s a market already there,” Thakker said.
The group put an offer on 120 Westover, which was listed by Icon Commercial’s Colby Kay and Robert Jones for owner From the Heart Church Ministries of Richmond. The church purchased the 16-acre parcel in 2014 for $205,000. The listing had an asking price of $850,000.
Thakker said they were then approached by Deborah and Donald Lavecchia, the owners of the other two parcels at 205 and 225 Orams Lane, who offered to sell those properties to add to the project. Property records show the Lavecchias have owned 225 Orams, a 1.5-acre parcel, since 1996, and bought the 12-acre 205 Orams parcel in 2022 for $240,000.
Thakker said they are under contract to purchase the three parcels, which Henrico has assessed at $676,400 combined.
Dorado is seeking a rezoning for the project, working with Mark Baker of Baker Development Resources. The case was scheduled to go before the Henrico Planning Commission this month but was deferred to the Feb. 15 meeting at county planning staff’s request.
A staff report states that planners had concerns with step-down foundations and exterior materials proposed for the homes, among other issues that needed to be addressed for staff to support the project.
The single- and two-story homes would be at least 1,600 square feet in size.
Renderings of the homes show single- and two-story houses, all of which would be at least 1,600 square feet in size, excluding garages, decks and porches. At least three-fourths of the homes would include a garage, which could be front- or side-loading.
The development, called Greenhouse in plans, would include one or two walking trails that would connect with Robinson Park. A pocket park within the subdivision also is shown in the site plan drawn up by engineering firm Sekiv Solutions.
Thakker said they have a homebuilder lined up for the project but wouldn’t name it because a deal hasn’t been finalized. He said it’s too early to provide a cost estimate for the project.
Should the project be approved according to schedule, Thakker said they’re aiming to break ground in the fourth quarter of this year or early next year.
Thakker said the project is one of the biggest that Dorado has taken on since forming in 2019. The company is currently developing two previously approved subdivisions totaling nearly 100 homes on Meadow Road east of Highland Springs.
Thakker said they’re working through development plans for those projects. A proffer amendment request for one of them is set to go before the Henrico Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
“We’re excited to be working in this area of Henrico,” Thakker said. “We’ve seen the growth in other parts of Henrico, and we can’t wait to bring that same kind of development and growth here.”
A rendering of the under-construction Newbridge Firehouse 23 building. (Courtesy Henrico County)
Dorado also is developing a dozen modern-design townhomes in Richmond’s Highland Park Southern Tip neighborhood. It broke ground on that project, called Chestnut Flats, last summer, and Thakker said foundations are installed and pre-sales are set to start in March.
The Nine Mile Road subdivision would add rooftops behind the new firehouse that got underway last August. The $14.5 million project includes a 13,000-square-foot fire station building and is scheduled for completion in early 2025.