Markel | Eagle’s GreenGate development serves as the inspiration for a new 200-acre mixed-use planned for the intersection of Hull Street and Otterdale roads. (BizSense file)
Decades after buying a sizable assemblage at a prime Chesterfield crossroads, local developer Ed Nunnally is moving forward on the mixed-use development he has long envisioned for the land.
Nunnally’s EWN Investments and Henrico-based private equity and development firm Markel | Eagle are in the early stages of planning a large project that would rise on 200 acres at the intersection of Hull Street and Otterdale roads in western Chesterfield.
The project, dubbed Nunnally Village, would take a page from Markel | Eagle’s GreenGate center in Short Pump, and is expected to feature multiple grocery stores and other retailers, restaurants with an emphasis on locally owned brands, office space, and residences.
“We have had a lot of great conversations with grocery stores and local grocery stores, local restaurants and some national names as well,” Markel | Eagle President Ricky Core said. “What we’re seeking to deliver is a retail experience similar to what we created at GreenGate.”
Preliminary planning for the project is still underway, and a cost estimate for the project is still being worked out. Core said the project team plans to file a zoning application tied to the development with Chesterfield County this year.
Core said specific square footages and number of buildings were still being determined and would be shaped by ongoing conversations with potential tenants. A site plan or renderings weren’t available.
“We haven’t finalized a site plan,” Core said. “We are still working through understanding what the users look like and what their needs are.”
Ellen Long and Robert Marshall of Taylor Long Properties have been tapped to handle leasing at the project.
The project site consists of more than 200 acres across six parcels that are owned by an LLC tied to Markel | Eagle and the Nunnally family, which plan to develop the project in a joint venture.
The project is the first time Nunnally and Markel | Eagle have worked together after being introduced about a decade ago, and the development has been discussed by the two sides for some time.
“I’ve known Ed Nunnally for many years and we have discussed the vision for his family property. His vision and our vision are very much aligned and we want to create a great place to support the surrounding neighborhoods. The location is second to none in the Hull Street corridor,” Core said.
Core likened the undeveloped site, which features both cleared land and woods, to a “donut hole” surrounded by the Magnolia Green subdivision to the west, Harpers Mill to the south and Cosby Village to the east.
“It’s a well-situated piece of property, given all the development that’s occurred around it. If you look at the area, you’ll see it’s the green spot. It’s the donut hole. And we’ve been talking for some time now and thinking about delivering something along the lines of GreenGate: a high-end, mixed-use experience focused on a restaurant village with local restaurants,” Core said.
Among the GreenGate development’s locally owned restaurant brands are Wong’s Tacos, The Daily, Cocky Rooster and Red Salt. The center was formerly anchored by a Lidl grocery store, which closed last summer and whose space remains vacant. In addition to GreenGate, Markel | Eagle also developed the Whole Foods-anchored West Broad Village in Short Pump.
Markel | Eagle President Ricky Core (left) and developer Ed Nunnally. Nunnally and the Henrico-based private equity firm are in the early stages of planning a 200-acre mixed-use project they call Nunnally Village (Jack Jacobs photo)
With about 209 acres in hand, and acknowledging that not every square foot of the project site would be developed, Core said the Nunnally Village project is anticipated to be on a larger scale than its inspiration in Short Pump. GreenGate is now largely completed after about a decade of work and features development on about 40 acres of an overall 75-acre site.
Most of the Chesterfield project’s acreage is a 175-acre parcel at 16100 Hull Street Road, which Nunnally bought for $621,000 in 1986, per online county records.
The rest of the assemblage is comprised of properties at 6920 and 7400 Otterdale Road and 16300, 16500 and 16600 Hull Street Road. The six-parcel assemblage was transferred to the Nunnally Village LLC tied to the joint venture in October.
Nunnally, whose previous developments include the nearby Duckridge Landing and Hancock Village centers on Hull Street Road, said he long felt a mixed-use development would be well suited for the site at the corner of Otterdale and Hull Street.
“I always knew (the development) would be there. It just took time for the fish to swim by,” he said.
Nunnally said Markel | Eagle’s track record, specifically GreenGate, made the firm a good fit for a collaboration to develop the site he’s held onto for years.
“I figured when this project came along, I knew I had to look to the West End,” he said. “I developed Hancock Village and I developed Duckridge (Landing), which is right up the road. I know when you need people with other experiences.”
Nunnally sees an opportunity to introduce a greater variety of restaurant concepts by way of a development he hopes will be able to set itself apart from other projects in the area.
“We’re going to be very particular about what type of (commercial tenants) we put in this project. This project, when people ride by, they will recognize it as a different project,” he said.
Markel | Eagle’s GreenGate development serves as the inspiration for a new 200-acre mixed-use planned for the intersection of Hull Street and Otterdale roads. (BizSense file)
Decades after buying a sizable assemblage at a prime Chesterfield crossroads, local developer Ed Nunnally is moving forward on the mixed-use development he has long envisioned for the land.
Nunnally’s EWN Investments and Henrico-based private equity and development firm Markel | Eagle are in the early stages of planning a large project that would rise on 200 acres at the intersection of Hull Street and Otterdale roads in western Chesterfield.
The project, dubbed Nunnally Village, would take a page from Markel | Eagle’s GreenGate center in Short Pump, and is expected to feature multiple grocery stores and other retailers, restaurants with an emphasis on locally owned brands, office space, and residences.
“We have had a lot of great conversations with grocery stores and local grocery stores, local restaurants and some national names as well,” Markel | Eagle President Ricky Core said. “What we’re seeking to deliver is a retail experience similar to what we created at GreenGate.”
Preliminary planning for the project is still underway, and a cost estimate for the project is still being worked out. Core said the project team plans to file a zoning application tied to the development with Chesterfield County this year.
Core said specific square footages and number of buildings were still being determined and would be shaped by ongoing conversations with potential tenants. A site plan or renderings weren’t available.
“We haven’t finalized a site plan,” Core said. “We are still working through understanding what the users look like and what their needs are.”
Ellen Long and Robert Marshall of Taylor Long Properties have been tapped to handle leasing at the project.
The project site consists of more than 200 acres across six parcels that are owned by an LLC tied to Markel | Eagle and the Nunnally family, which plan to develop the project in a joint venture.
The project is the first time Nunnally and Markel | Eagle have worked together after being introduced about a decade ago, and the development has been discussed by the two sides for some time.
“I’ve known Ed Nunnally for many years and we have discussed the vision for his family property. His vision and our vision are very much aligned and we want to create a great place to support the surrounding neighborhoods. The location is second to none in the Hull Street corridor,” Core said.
Core likened the undeveloped site, which features both cleared land and woods, to a “donut hole” surrounded by the Magnolia Green subdivision to the west, Harpers Mill to the south and Cosby Village to the east.
“It’s a well-situated piece of property, given all the development that’s occurred around it. If you look at the area, you’ll see it’s the green spot. It’s the donut hole. And we’ve been talking for some time now and thinking about delivering something along the lines of GreenGate: a high-end, mixed-use experience focused on a restaurant village with local restaurants,” Core said.
Among the GreenGate development’s locally owned restaurant brands are Wong’s Tacos, The Daily, Cocky Rooster and Red Salt. The center was formerly anchored by a Lidl grocery store, which closed last summer and whose space remains vacant. In addition to GreenGate, Markel | Eagle also developed the Whole Foods-anchored West Broad Village in Short Pump.
Markel | Eagle President Ricky Core (left) and developer Ed Nunnally. Nunnally and the Henrico-based private equity firm are in the early stages of planning a 200-acre mixed-use project they call Nunnally Village (Jack Jacobs photo)
With about 209 acres in hand, and acknowledging that not every square foot of the project site would be developed, Core said the Nunnally Village project is anticipated to be on a larger scale than its inspiration in Short Pump. GreenGate is now largely completed after about a decade of work and features development on about 40 acres of an overall 75-acre site.
Most of the Chesterfield project’s acreage is a 175-acre parcel at 16100 Hull Street Road, which Nunnally bought for $621,000 in 1986, per online county records.
The rest of the assemblage is comprised of properties at 6920 and 7400 Otterdale Road and 16300, 16500 and 16600 Hull Street Road. The six-parcel assemblage was transferred to the Nunnally Village LLC tied to the joint venture in October.
Nunnally, whose previous developments include the nearby Duckridge Landing and Hancock Village centers on Hull Street Road, said he long felt a mixed-use development would be well suited for the site at the corner of Otterdale and Hull Street.
“I always knew (the development) would be there. It just took time for the fish to swim by,” he said.
Nunnally said Markel | Eagle’s track record, specifically GreenGate, made the firm a good fit for a collaboration to develop the site he’s held onto for years.
“I figured when this project came along, I knew I had to look to the West End,” he said. “I developed Hancock Village and I developed Duckridge (Landing), which is right up the road. I know when you need people with other experiences.”
Nunnally sees an opportunity to introduce a greater variety of restaurant concepts by way of a development he hopes will be able to set itself apart from other projects in the area.
“We’re going to be very particular about what type of (commercial tenants) we put in this project. This project, when people ride by, they will recognize it as a different project,” he said.
It’s an ambitious project that will take years to complete but these two players have both been patient developers. Main Street Homes developed its Hull Street frontage sites at Cosby Village with a nod toward GreenGate as well, but with Publix as its grocer-anchor. That Otterdale intersection is just exploding with action.
I see it as a bad omen for Richmond proper that even Bruce is starting to get net downvotes on his cheery observations.
Nah – I don’t. It’s not a zero-sum game, regardless of how much some who refuse to let go of the outmoded, old-school RVA mindset cling to such notions. Looking at it from the top down – this is all part of a greater synergy for the metro region in which the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Where would the Raleighs and Nashvilles of the world be if everything was a “city vs suburbs” competition? And yes – I know – they don’t have this insipid independent city paradigm garbage that’s been the hallmark of… Read more »
Well, me too.
I would be all for joining the whole metro together, if only to dilute the votes of people in Richmond proper for the city’s own good. The main reason for the divide is the political divide. A less well run suburbia would be made up for by a better run Richmond.
I should say “potential bad omen” — since omens are often misread.
Hopefully there will be more thought put into parking with an adequate number of
spaces or Chesterfield’s requirement are of a higher standard as BOTH of the Henrico developments are a real cluster as far as parking.
Uh oh. You mentioned PARKING — any sentiment that parking should be easy, or indeed possible, will anger the mob of armchair urbanists who don’t understand that this is a business news website. Can we get some Short Pump Hate going here? “Don’t Short Pump My Near-Powhatan!!” Now, I DO appreciate any of the rare helpful and reasonable musings about how Short Pump could’ve been planned better, or, better, how it could be improved on the margins now. But one has to understand or at least be willing to recognize what many urbanist-purests seem incapable of even acknowledging: Short Pump… Read more »
What Hull Street and Short Pump need are two to four lane wide roads that could be two lanes wide to allow people to drive around and walk around the main mess on Board Street. Such as they would link to the back of the shopping malls.
Nowhere close to Powhatan. More like “Don’t Short Pump My Near-Amelia!” 🙂
In all seriousness, as a resident of a neighborhood mentioned in this article it really isn’t going to affect a whole lot in terms of the traffic. It’s already nightmarish, so I say bring it on. I’d love more local dining options. I just hope it isn’t another chain.
Thanks for the clarification. I was actually musing about whether it was Amelia (a rather mysterious county…..) but was too lazy to check.
I am glad to hear you do not fear this development; it looks kinda cool, for what it is.
If the developer wants to have lots of parking he should have it in a 3 to four story parking garage that only takes up 10% of the surface area and have the development be high density town homes and appointments and stores. I jest don’t want some disgusting thing you see a open expanse of thousands of empty parking spaces that never get used.
That would be expensive, sorry. Maybe in another 30 years if enough density grew up around it. I mean, really Carl — WHERE do you ever see parking decks in such locations?
I am excited for this project. The county just completed the work on Otterdale all the way to 682 and having more options for dining, groceries in that area is a good idea. Combined with the Lake project near 288 and Genito, western Chesterfield is going to a catalyst for growth in the Richmond metro area.
The what….Lake project that has zero announced tenants, no confirmed opening date (they said fall 2023 lake and first phase would be done), and no updates on their website. Don’t go by often but has anything go vertical or it is still in grading phase?
Lots of site work has been ongoing at the Lake project. I suspect the rain recently has slowed it some, but there is a steel building frame that recently was erected at the site and there appears to be people their working daily.
Yep. I saw the site work last week when I drove by. I was a little surprised to see how much had cleared.
They need to widen Otterdale Road to four lanes all the way to Route 60 and they need to build sidewalks along all of them and Woolridge.
Chesterfield and Henrico both spend to much time and money on their sidewalks at some of these intersections..First off you’ll have a brand new poured concrete sidewalk and then here comes Dominion needing to run cable or make splices under a section so they will bust up part of the sidewalk.After the work is done it’ll get poured back , then 3 months later here comes the telephone co.needing to run fiber,so here we go busting up concrete again at the same section.This section of concrete will get busted out 4or 5 times to allow all utilities in this area.A… Read more »
What you described, Michael, reminds me of an old joke that, like much humor, is based in fact. It would make a great meme: Two photos – the city or county (or state for that matter) spending a ton to go through the process of painting fresh lane markers and striping on a given road. Second photo: shortly after this project is completed, the city/county/state comes in a begins tearing up the road to re-pave the surface. Meme reads: “Your tax dollars at work”. Another version has the locality/state freshly paving the road. After the repaving project is completed, the… Read more »
Well there will be sidewalks between Genito and Lacoc on Woolridge. That’s part of the Woolridge Road widening project. Sidewalks are also planned north of 682 to 288 once the extension gets built. I agree, Otterdale looks to be too narrow, but I wonder how much traffic actually flows on it between 682 and Woolridge. Maybe it’s fine as is?
Agreed, Drew. Well said.
Fingers crossed that this will become the site of a Wegmans for those of us in the greater South Pump metro area!
Wegmans is not going to have two stores in Chesterfield. We are lucky metro RVA has two stores. They only have 1 store in all of Hampton Roads and even the 4 stores across the Triangle/metro Raleigh are about 20-25 miles apart. I can not see Wegmans have two stores 10 or so miles apart in RVA.
The store in Wake Forest NC is 10.89 miles from their Raleigh location, which about 13 miles from the one in Cary. The Cary store is 12 miles to Chapel Hill location. They have announced one in Holly Springs that is about 13 miles from Cary. The DC Metro density of stores is even greater (although I think the Triangle is a better comparison to us). I will not let you crush my Wegmans dreams!
Dream on, Bro. The metro you describe is bigger and better lots of people, good universities, growing fast.
Besides, I want the next Wegmans to be further south near 95. I can dream too.
We want a Whole Foods or Wegmans and Trader Joe’s. The existing Trader Joe’s (Huguenot & West Broad) are too crowded/busy no matter which day of the week you go. HomeGoods and Target would be great there too!!!
We have a Target several miles up the road at 288. We already got a repeat in Panera. I do love your other suggestions, though!
Seems like a great location for the next Costco!
This development needs to have a sidewalk link it to the Mongolia Green Development so that people can ride or walk to it without having to get into a car and drive a mile and half to go to a place that is 1,500 feet away. They also need to look at building a two lane street that links it to Mongolia Green and follows 360.
They also need to widen Route 360 to eight lanes here.
With the amount of retail square footage in the short pump area I’m surprised it works as well as it does.
Indeed.
Trader Joe’s!!!!!!!! 🙂
Might be nice if our area would be consulted on what type of retail, grocery and restaurants would be the most appreciated. Not a fan of Hancocks Shopping Center. Ducks Landing is okay, looking forward to Latitude. Grocery, Whole Foods like the one on Broad St. or a Trader Joes! I’d beg for a Trader Joe but there is a Aldi across the street. I don’t shop there. Wegmans is good and has the variety for people with dietary needs. While a pain to drive up Hull Street for Target or Home Goods, we don’t need another. We need places… Read more »
We most certainly do not need another Short Pump. Drive to Short Pump if you want Short Pump. I do not disagree that some retailers would be great but perhaps some more entertainment options for families. A skating rink, maybe an outdoor space of some sort, I don’t know. I just know we don’t need a mall.
Just keep the aesthetics to beige and vinyl – that will please em.
so much traffic
No more housing please! Our schools are so overcrowded and the area is overwhelmed with traffic. Restaurants and businesses are much preferred.
I hope the board asks for people’s input on this because i am tired of the traffic on hull street and this will only make it worse. So I don’t support it at all. People in the county don’t want it trust me.
Please give us a nice quality restaurant – with the many thousands of residences in a 5 mile radius, a great restaurant would be so appreciated. Also, I think about Publix who first recognized the potential in this area and invested millions for 2 stores on Hull St. A big box grocery on every corner is not needed either.
I understand that more people want to live in the counties, rather than the city and still want/need to get to the city, but can someone please tell me why the population of Chesterfield and Henrico are so much higher that then other surrounding counties. For example Henrico has 11 times the population of Powhatan. 2020 Census Chesterfield – 364,548 Henrico – 334,389 Richmond – 226,610 Hanover – 109,979 Prince Grg – 43,010 Peteresburg – 33,458 Powhatan – 30,033 Dinwiddie – 27,947 Goochland – 24,727 New Kent – 22,945 Hopewell – 23,033 Col. Hghts – 18,170 King William – 17,810… Read more »
Is this a trick question?
How about a full service U.S. Post Office, please? I would also appreciate a Trader’s Joe and a vegan restaurant.