A conceptual site plan, with the right side as north, shows the two new sections of the Astoria project highlighted along Winterpock Road. (County documents)
Correction: The number of homes planned in the two new Astoria sections totals 282. An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported a higher total based on numbers reflected in the earlier November rezoning proposal.
The developers behind a residential development that was previously approved for roughly 670 homes are planning two expansions that would add nearly 300 more.
HHHunt Communities, which is working with homebuilder Schell Brothers on their 250-acre Astoria development, has submitted plans for two new sections along Winterpock Road that would add 282 more homes between them.
The larger of the two, referred to in plans as Astoria North, would total 194 dwelling units, with 110 single-family houses and 84 townhomes. The other section, Astoria South, would consist of 88 single-family houses.
The two sections total 82 acres and were previously submitted as a single rezoning request in November. Jonathan Ridout, general manager and vice president of real estate development for HHHunt Communities, said Chesterfield County had asked for the two new sections to be filed in separate requests, which were filed this month.
Jonathan Ridout
“We had to basically break it into two different projects because the land is not contiguous,” Ridout said.
The November filing had called for 387 dwelling units with additional housing types. Ridout said the overall density was reduced by over 20 percent with the divvied-up plans.
The sections would add to the larger Astoria development, a 669-unit project approved for 250 acres off Bethia Road, between Harpers Mill and Collington.
Schell Brothers secured approvals from Chesterfield’s Board of Supervisors in 2021 for 307 single-family homes, 74 townhomes and 288 apartments on that site. HHHunt will build the apartments and is developing the home lots for Schell Brothers, which will build the rest of the homes.
Ridout said HHHunt Homes will join Schell Brothers in building the houses planned in Astoria North and South. HHHunt has a contract on the additional land that Ridout said was made available by a group of property owners after the company bought the bulk of the Astoria acreage for nearly $2 million in late 2022. It bought the rest of the site last year in two deals totaling $1.2 million.
Those purchases included the 1790s-era Fuqua farmhouse that is located within the Astoria site. The farmhouse will be preserved along with outbuildings and a cemetery on the property.
“Some of the property owners had gotten together and gotten with a Realtor, and then we made a run at it and were successful and added maybe one or two parcels to that mix. It’s 12 separate property owners, and we put them all under contract,” Ridout said.
The new sections will be part of the larger Astoria development, with access to shared amenities through a homeowners association. Ridout said the additional land will make for a better development overall.
“We think it’s a good addition of that, finishing out the project with some of the adjacent parcels next door and having a holistic land plan and community that can be there,” he said.
Sample elevations of the houses planned for Astoria South.
The houses would be at least 1,500 square feet in size, and the new sections would also include sidewalks, street trees, walking trails and about 25 acres of common areas.
HHHunt would make improvements to Bethia Road fronting Astoria North, and add a right turn lane on Winterpock Road where a second access is planned. Previously planned access to the larger development would come via Winterpock, Ashcake Parkway and a connection to Harpers Mill Parkway.
Hirschler attorney Jeff Geiger is representing HHHunt in its rezoning requests for the new sections. The requests are under review and have not been scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing.
The new sections would add to a growing workload in Chesterfield for HHHunt and for Schell Brothers, which is separately planning a 68-home subdivision on a 31-acre site off Baldwin Creek Road on the other side of Harpers Mill. Farther north in the county, HHHunt has started work on The Aire at Westchester, a mixed-use development with 2,200 homes that’s planned beside Westchester Commons.
A conceptual site plan, with the right side as north, shows the two new sections of the Astoria project highlighted along Winterpock Road. (County documents)
Correction: The number of homes planned in the two new Astoria sections totals 282. An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported a higher total based on numbers reflected in the earlier November rezoning proposal.
The developers behind a residential development that was previously approved for roughly 670 homes are planning two expansions that would add nearly 300 more.
HHHunt Communities, which is working with homebuilder Schell Brothers on their 250-acre Astoria development, has submitted plans for two new sections along Winterpock Road that would add 282 more homes between them.
The larger of the two, referred to in plans as Astoria North, would total 194 dwelling units, with 110 single-family houses and 84 townhomes. The other section, Astoria South, would consist of 88 single-family houses.
The two sections total 82 acres and were previously submitted as a single rezoning request in November. Jonathan Ridout, general manager and vice president of real estate development for HHHunt Communities, said Chesterfield County had asked for the two new sections to be filed in separate requests, which were filed this month.
Jonathan Ridout
“We had to basically break it into two different projects because the land is not contiguous,” Ridout said.
The November filing had called for 387 dwelling units with additional housing types. Ridout said the overall density was reduced by over 20 percent with the divvied-up plans.
The sections would add to the larger Astoria development, a 669-unit project approved for 250 acres off Bethia Road, between Harpers Mill and Collington.
Schell Brothers secured approvals from Chesterfield’s Board of Supervisors in 2021 for 307 single-family homes, 74 townhomes and 288 apartments on that site. HHHunt will build the apartments and is developing the home lots for Schell Brothers, which will build the rest of the homes.
Ridout said HHHunt Homes will join Schell Brothers in building the houses planned in Astoria North and South. HHHunt has a contract on the additional land that Ridout said was made available by a group of property owners after the company bought the bulk of the Astoria acreage for nearly $2 million in late 2022. It bought the rest of the site last year in two deals totaling $1.2 million.
Those purchases included the 1790s-era Fuqua farmhouse that is located within the Astoria site. The farmhouse will be preserved along with outbuildings and a cemetery on the property.
“Some of the property owners had gotten together and gotten with a Realtor, and then we made a run at it and were successful and added maybe one or two parcels to that mix. It’s 12 separate property owners, and we put them all under contract,” Ridout said.
The new sections will be part of the larger Astoria development, with access to shared amenities through a homeowners association. Ridout said the additional land will make for a better development overall.
“We think it’s a good addition of that, finishing out the project with some of the adjacent parcels next door and having a holistic land plan and community that can be there,” he said.
Sample elevations of the houses planned for Astoria South.
The houses would be at least 1,500 square feet in size, and the new sections would also include sidewalks, street trees, walking trails and about 25 acres of common areas.
HHHunt would make improvements to Bethia Road fronting Astoria North, and add a right turn lane on Winterpock Road where a second access is planned. Previously planned access to the larger development would come via Winterpock, Ashcake Parkway and a connection to Harpers Mill Parkway.
Hirschler attorney Jeff Geiger is representing HHHunt in its rezoning requests for the new sections. The requests are under review and have not been scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing.
The new sections would add to a growing workload in Chesterfield for HHHunt and for Schell Brothers, which is separately planning a 68-home subdivision on a 31-acre site off Baldwin Creek Road on the other side of Harpers Mill. Farther north in the county, HHHunt has started work on The Aire at Westchester, a mixed-use development with 2,200 homes that’s planned beside Westchester Commons.
This will be good to raise the housing supply in a housing short Chesterfield County. But I hope Chesterfield County has any plans of paying for roads and sidewalks with this place.
For those making six figures or with a heavy nest egg. We are probably talking $1300 a month one-bedroom units, $300k condo with age restrictions, and homes with and without age restrictions north of $450,000 easily. With HOA dues of $200 a month on top of mortgage.
Like to see a photo of the old farmhouse and out buildings.
There are a couple pictures in this article about the house being used for filming.
https://richmondmagazine.com/life-style/hollywood-by-way-of-chesterfield/
Sweet,thank you.
Eventually, I would give it 15 years, and instead of being new homes on Winterpock, Beach, and Woodpecker Roads, it will be new development off River, Bundle, and Nash Roads.
I truly hope they plan to preserve as many mature trees as possible as they prepare this land to be developed. We need to maintain greenways connecting habitat for our native birds and mammals so that we don’t lose them forever.
stop the insanity!! MIXED USE MIXED USE MIXED USE!!
Ideologues alert!!!! Mixed use, HERE?? Just looking at all the various demands on this thread it is clear to see one of the major reasons why it is so hard to build enough adequate housing in the USA and Canada and elsewhere. I mean, you take some of these concerns in isolation, it is not so bad — “Don’t Levittown the old trees!! Well, that would be nice, esp if the trees are not in inconvenient places, not so bad in themselves — but if we need sidewalks everywhere, and this and that and something else —- and then the… Read more »