The Midlothian Depot proposed at the corner of Midlothian Turnpike and Alverser Drive would feature a different grocery store and townhomes instead of apartments under a new plan for the project. (Courtesy SJC Ventures)
More than a year after it secured zoning approval for a grocery-anchored project in Midlothian, an Atlanta-based development firm is seeking Chesterfield County’s approval to tweak the project.
SJC Ventures in recent days filed a new site plan for Midlothian Depot, which would rise on 13 acres at Midlothian Turnpike and Alverser Drive.
While a grocery store remains part of the vision, the new concept features additional non-grocery retail space. It also would nix several hundred apartments that had been planned in favor of townhomes.
Under the new proposal for Midlothian Depot, the mixed-use development would feature a 36,000-square-foot grocery store anchor and another 48,000 square feet of additional retail space spread across four more buildings, according to a site plan dated this month.
The firm is seeking to amend the project’s zoning approval in order to facilitate the new vision.
The project is currently expected to cost $80 million to $100 million, which includes the pending acquisition of the project site, according to SJC principal Jeff Garrison.
Anchoring the project is a grocery store that appears to be smaller and of a different brand than the initial plans. An April 2024 rendering of the center’s planned grocery store anchor refers to the user as an “organic food market” and has a different design than depicted in a previous elevation.
Garrison declined to comment on the identity of the center’s anticipated grocery anchor. His firm SJC Ventures has developed other projects that feature grocery stores, and most of them are Whole Foods Market locations. He had also previously declined to name the grocery store planned as part of the originally approved project.
Whole Foods didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.
Elevations of the “organic food market” planned as the anchor tenant of the Midlothian Depot project. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
The grocery store would also be situated in a new location on the project site, where it would now be fronting Midlothian Turnpike. The grocery store’s space is referred to as “Major Tenant A” in the latest site plan.
Garrison said two leases have been signed for Midlothian Depot but declined to name the users. He said there’s been strong interest from a variety of industries in leasing at the project.
“The access, the visibility, the location allows you to create this highly energized mixed-use project and with that there’s a lot of interest to be here from high-end users. Sit-down restaurants, quick-serve restaurants, breakfast restaurants, furniture and salons and fitness. The whole gamut is who we’re talking to,” he said.
As for the residential component of the project, the change in direction from apartments to townhomes stemmed from the discovery of a large stormwater pipe about 25 feet below the proposed site of the apartments.
Garrison said it was determined it would be cost prohibitive to relocate the pipe, and also undesirable to build anything substantial on top of it, because if the pipe needed a repair it would likely entail demolition of any structures above it in order to get to the pipe. Townhomes were hit upon as a way to include residential development at the project that would work around the pipe.
“Basically an 80-inch pipe that runs through the property made it impossible to develop the apartments as designed,” Garrison said. “We wanted the energy of mixed-use and we think that’s what the community wants as well.”
A site plan for the project shows 53 townhome units, and application materials for the zoning request state the project is seeking a maximum density of 110 units. The townhome piece would feature two-over-two units. Garrison said a final number of residential units for the project hasn’t been settled on.
The initial approval was for 350 apartments. In addition to the removal of all the apartment units from the project, the developer is also planning to eliminate a planned parking structure that would have been used by residents.
A 2024 site plan for the Midlothian Depot project. The latest version of the project would move the grocery anchor to front Midlothian Turnpike, and also feature more retail space than the project plan approved in 2022. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
The project site consists of 13 acres at 11706 and 11800 Midlothian Turnpike, 951 Alverser Drive and 11621 Old Buckingham Road. SJC Ventures is planning to buy the property but hasn’t closed on the deal yet.
Midlothian Depot would have two vehicular access points on the turnpike, as well as one on Alverser Drive and another on Old Buckingham Road. Green spaces are also planned for the project.
The county received the zoning amendment request this week. Garrison said he hoped to secure the project’s approval from the Board of Supervisors by the end of the summer.
Garrison said work on the site hasn’t commenced yet. SJC Ventures is in discussions with an unidentified general contractor to handle the project. Atlanta-based Dynamik Design was tapped to be the project’s architect.
Midlothian Depot isn’t the only SJC Ventures project in Chesterfield. The firm is also planning to build a grocery store add-on to Winterpock Crossing shopping center, though Garrison said that project is currently on the back burner while the firm focuses on Midlothian Depot.
It might be Whole Foods or another chain might be sprouting into the Richmond market. I don’t understand it, but we’re a test market for national food chains.
I wonder if it is Sprout’s Farmers Market. They have stores in NOVA (and across US now too). Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham have them too.
Yeah, good point. If WF were to sprout up there, I think all the folks who constantly mantra that Chesterfield Town Center Is A Dead Mall would go into shock, and there are other Supermarkets (as weird as it seems) that could expand to the Richmond area, if they dare. IDK if it makes sense to put a Whole Foods there — is there enough of that kind of market there? My impressions of the WF market are that it is either a lot of upper-middle class people and/or young single urban people who are willing to pay more for… Read more »
Yes, we definitely ARE something like that, and you may be right that we are a “test market” like Syracuse or Columbus, I certainly see some similarities. But I’ve also wondered whether we are more some kind of Mason-Dixon line market wise. I remember when I moved to Richmond in 2003 southerners who I met in what was once called Southern Comfort on Main St. said that many southerners moved to Richmond who were not comfortable in many more southern cities, but didn’t want to move to a Northern one, and I compared notes saying many Northerners who were tired… Read more »
I’ve lived in Richmond’s since the late 1980’s. I’ve always loved it but have been pleased to see it change for the better through the years. It still has a lot of the southern charm but with a growing open mindedness that makes it more welcoming and diversity friendly. More and more it has become a place that newcomers find “cool” or “hip” especially Gen Z. This coolness is felt especially in the City but is also extending into Chesterfield and Henrico. I’m loving it. It’s like we’ve reached a tipping point which explains why RVA is now the fastest… Read more »
I generally agree and also hope we have reached that tipping point. As far as Virginia goes, Richmond WAS growing fast until 2020 — it has been flat since then, population wise (but flat numbers and even declines can hide things if death rates are high) It is the counties around Richmond that have been continuing to attract more residents — New Kent even got national attention, but that is overblown, imo. Going from 2 residents to 4 may be +100%, but not worth writing about. More people are moving to DOWNTOWN Richmond, but Richmond proper all together is flat… Read more »
Why do developers and Chesterfield County think that commercial development needs to be paired with residential? Leave the residential development out of this! Site it on a tract somewhere that’s suited for residential alone. Stop cramming people together to support these business projects!
Because we can’t build our way out of the housing crisis with single-family housing alone. We need alternatives to detached single family homes which can be more affordable. Also, not everyone wants to live in a big house and take care of a yard and other items.
While I agree with these points I would like to add what I think is even more the reason: These types of residential developments, as long as the Grocer is seen as high quality, at least a Super-Kroger, are seem as a MAJOR amenity and help SELL the residences, whether they are Single family, Condos, Townhouses or apts. This is even more true in the Work-From Home era… My wife and I joke about how we’d consider buying a condo if Wegmans built some — if there was a nice fitness center and park nearby, that might cinch the deal!
Exactly. When we moved back to RVA in 2020, I was seriously considering renting one of the townhouses at West Broad Village for a year because I could walk to a grocery store. Being walkable to grocery store of high quality is a great feature and I miss that the most where I live now.
Exactly. We live in a very undervalued (well, it used to be a least) part of the Richmond metro and one of the overlooked amenities is you CAN (though few do) walk to the nearest Supermarket, and we are grateful to the fact that we can pick up an item or three at a moment’s notice.
If I may ask, what area were you living in recently and what were your impressions of that area?
While I agree that multi-family units “solve” the housing crisis faster than building single family units, I think we are just kicking the proverbial can down the road. Apartments neither build equity nor have the monthly payment consistency that traditional houses and mortgages have. With all the dense units that are popping up, we also will have density and traffic issues which are yet to be addressed by the current BoS
So, scrapping 100s of apartments in favor of townhomes would be an improvement, no?
Yes, but I don’t think the solution is only one factor.
More SFHs, or whatever, will bring the costs of them down eventually, and the same thing is true with apts.
Why is the latter important? Because for many people, they can’t buy what they want yet, and lower rents mean they can save more for the eventual owned-home.
Further, in many markets, esp Atlanta, there are all these big money entities buying up thousands of SFH to RENT them — even some new developments have been entirely pre-bought by these folks.
Event those spoken for houses will dampen the costs for SFH EVENTUALLY, but for now they often keep people from owning a home — but for others it makes it easier to rent a SFH without making a commitment, which many people who want to remain mobile labor want more than ownership.
Condos need to replace land-hogging single family homes. Urban sprawl is a curse.
In some people’s opinion. Meanwhile, most Americans want SFHs, and don’t see their neighborhoods as a curse — the reason people started moving out of cities in the late 1800s was because people usually see dense urban environments more as a curse. Esp back then with horses everywhere and worse sanitation. My parents lived in Manhattan from the early 60s to the early 70s — they saw all the reasons why people wanted out of the cities then. Kinda like the beginning of The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. It’s far worse for your outlook though —… Read more »
I don’t think you are paying attention to what is going on —- development out in the sticks is getting so expensive that in a lot of markets the developers cannot afford to do it if they wanted to (sure, some faster growing markets, yes). Also, to a degree I think you may have it backwards, at the very least these mixed-use sites are seen as synergistic, if not more about selling the homes than the retail, esp if it is a desirable grocer — which I THINK is just about the biggest wish on the urban-suburban crowd has on… Read more »
I person would like some town homes or apartments next to a store so someone doesn’t have to drive 5 miles though bumper to bumper traffic to get a gallon of milk. I really hate how Chesterfield County and a lot of these places view the car is always right like a religion.
That isn’t the only religion.
There is also an anti car religion. I think that may be even more of a religion, because there is an element of self-flagulation in that one.
Because mixed use development is smarter. I would love to see the development of sprawling neighborhoods of single family homes become a thing of the past.
Lord knows we can’t have people play catch with their kids in the own backyards or run around with their dogs in their yards or have their neighbors over for cookouts. What a nuisance.
Yep. New puritans.
To dream…. the impossible dream…
Bruce: We are over grocery stored now. It really doesn’t make sense for a newcomer. Advertising for a single unit is generally prohibitive. Whole Foods certainly makes more sense.
I don’t think the Richmond metro area is “over-grocery stored”. It’s just that the locations relative to the growing population centers are out of alignment. For example, Manchester could use a grocery store given the amount of housing down there. The Hallsley to North Brandermill area basically has 1 Food Lion within 5 miles. That seems like a prime target for a store when the the retail section of the Sowers property eventually gets developed. You do have a point that it seems very odd that there are 7 grocery stores between West Broad Village and 288 on Broad street… Read more »
You do have some good points. I think most people who say we are over grocered are repeating what the experts say though, and our own observations of the Fan and other areas — but the question becomes: “If so, why do more grocers like Aldi and Wegmans and Publix keep coming here?” — my GUESS is they are investing in the FUTURE, as they see it, and they are wanting to get in and establish a market for themselves before it is too late or too difficult to do so.
Yeah all these big box stores are just trampling over the local No Big Box Stores Organization. Will it be grocery stores that lifts Richmond to the Big Leagues?
Are you a fan of bodegas? Not me. I mean, some are okay — I shopped at one in Midtown Manhattan run by Koreans and a hipster one in Brooklyn heights, but usually the variety is not great and the prices higher.
But Hull St from Otterdale (Hallsey) to Brandermill has what 4 stores. Kroger, Publix, Food Lion, and Wal-Mart, with another Wal-Mart and Aldi just east of Brandermill/288. With a new store going in at the Markel Nunnally site.
Most of Henrico has an embarrassing amount of grocers. I can, in about 12 minutes or less, drive to 3 Kroger, 3 Walmart, Costco, Aldi, The Fresh Market, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Tom Leonard’s. Add just a few more minutes, and Wegman’s and a Food Lion make the list. Additionally, we have The West End Farmer’s Market on Saturdays nearby. The city is a different story all together. There are parts of the city that qualify as legitimate food deserts. We need to do better.
Who’s we?
Business put in locations where they make the most sense, and I don’t have any say in that.
Whole Foods has not been anywhere near the same since Amazon took over. Now, no parking $tructure. Look at all that asphalt surface parking. How novel. Could probably fit another WaWa in there, c’mon Chesterfield!
Ooooo!!! Throwing down the glove!!!
Agreed! WF has been a mess since Jeff and friends took over.
They need to put the removed 350 apartments and put them on top of the two proposed buildings which would make a 4 to 6 story tall building with a large store in the bottom of it. I really think it would make the development more interesting.
Also they need a pedestrian signal and crosswalk for the existing stoplight at Adviser drive and possibly some streetlights along the sidewalk and a bus shelter.
Yes it would be more interesting. What is also interesting is that you are pushing for density nodes far outside of the urban core, which puts you almost in a category to yourself on Bizsense — “Don’t Shortpump my….Brandermill? Chester? Jeff Davis?” I guess that means you are not just “The Sidewalk Guy” I call this “Houstonization” or something like that, and I think it is actually the future. To the Urbanist purists I tend to merely ask “Where are they building the kind of cities you are asking for?” — I also point out that the the skylines and… Read more »
VDOT will need to replace that 4-way stop sign on Alverser to a light…. and a sidewalk and crosswalk would be helpful too with more residential units. The area should be planned for walkability.
Sidewalks are overrated,the amount of money spent constructing verses the amount of people using them is no comparison… Bicycle lanes included.Who uses a bike lane?
I am a big fan of bike lanes.
You are correct about sidewalks in SOME places, in other places, they are often needed where they are not.