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Renderings of the two buildings that will make up the Axial Rockville 64 development on Ashland Road. (Marketing flyer images)
Weeks after Amazon paid $16 million for the site of its planned fulfillment center in Goochland, another industrial development in the county’s Rockville area is set to go forward following a recent land purchase.
North Carolina-based Crescent Communities announced it is moving ahead with development of two industrial buildings it’s been planning at 2170 Ashland Road after purchasing the property for $2.9 million on Jan. 3.
The land is just east of the Rockville Commerce Industrial Park and near the site of the planned Amazon center once known as “Project Rocky.”
The 28 acres for Crescent’s project was assessed by the county at over $5 million. The seller was an LLC for the family of Lawrence and Anne Nuckols, who transferred ownership to the LLC in 2009.
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Building 1 is planned to total 154,000 square feet, while Building 2, closer to Ashland Road, is planned for 181,000 square feet.
Called Axial Rockville 64, the two spec buildings will total 350,000 square feet and are being developed by Crescent’s Axial Industrial division and Baltimore-based Atapco Properties, marking that company’s first project in the Richmond market.
Axial Industrial is already active in the area with a 500,000-square-foot warehouse it developed in Chesterfield. That project, called Axial Gateway 95, was completed last fall and followed Crescent’s local collaboration with Thalhimer Realty Partners on the Novel Scott’s Addition apartment building near The Diamond in Richmond.
Chase Kerley, a managing director at Crescent, said the project presented a good opportunity for Atapco to enter the Richmond market. Atapco’s other developments in Virginia have been in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
“Typically Crescent likes to partner with outside investment on projects, and the selection through Atapco sounded like a great fit. They’re based in Maryland and we’re based out of Charlotte, so the project sort of falls in between,” he said. “They’ve been trying to get into Richmond more strategically, and this was an opportunity to do so with a more near-term investment.”
Kerley put the project cost of the Axial Rockville development at between $40 million and $45 million.
Each of the buildings will include 32-foot clearance heights, 40 dock-high loading doors, 52 outdoor trailer spots, a sprinkler system and parking for tenants. The buildings – one totaling 181,000 square feet and the other 154,000 – could accommodate a single user or multiple tenants in sectors including logistics, distribution, light manufacturing, and assembly, according to a release.
The buildings are targeted for completion by the end of this year. Ben Bruni and Colton Konvicka with Commonwealth Commercial are handling leasing.
Bruni was credited with alerting the site to Crescent when the project was proposed in 2023. Goochland supervisors approved zoning for the project later that year.
The site is near the Ashland Road-Interstate 64 interchange, which is planned to be upgraded to a diverging diamond design.
Crescent’s announcement listed Atapco as a development and equity partner on the project. Brinkmann Constructors is the general contractor for the buildings, which are designed by DMA Architecture. Townes Site Engineering is the civil engineer, First Horizon Bank is the lender and Newmark was strategic advisor.
The project comes as Amazon is moving forward with its massive distribution center. The e-commerce giant paid $16.5 million in December for 105 acres that will house that project. Panattoni Development Co. is developing the center, which will fill just over half of the site. A timeline for that project has not been released.
In other industrial news in the area, Los Angeles-based Ares Management Corp. recently purchased the 619,000-square-foot Airport Logistics Center in eastern Henrico for $67 million, while local firm Lingerfelt is working with SCOA Real Estate Partners on a 348,000-square-f00t spec warehouse in Prince George.

Renderings of the two buildings that will make up the Axial Rockville 64 development on Ashland Road. (Marketing flyer images)
Weeks after Amazon paid $16 million for the site of its planned fulfillment center in Goochland, another industrial development in the county’s Rockville area is set to go forward following a recent land purchase.
North Carolina-based Crescent Communities announced it is moving ahead with development of two industrial buildings it’s been planning at 2170 Ashland Road after purchasing the property for $2.9 million on Jan. 3.
The land is just east of the Rockville Commerce Industrial Park and near the site of the planned Amazon center once known as “Project Rocky.”
The 28 acres for Crescent’s project was assessed by the county at over $5 million. The seller was an LLC for the family of Lawrence and Anne Nuckols, who transferred ownership to the LLC in 2009.

Building 1 is planned to total 154,000 square feet, while Building 2, closer to Ashland Road, is planned for 181,000 square feet.
Called Axial Rockville 64, the two spec buildings will total 350,000 square feet and are being developed by Crescent’s Axial Industrial division and Baltimore-based Atapco Properties, marking that company’s first project in the Richmond market.
Axial Industrial is already active in the area with a 500,000-square-foot warehouse it developed in Chesterfield. That project, called Axial Gateway 95, was completed last fall and followed Crescent’s local collaboration with Thalhimer Realty Partners on the Novel Scott’s Addition apartment building near The Diamond in Richmond.
Chase Kerley, a managing director at Crescent, said the project presented a good opportunity for Atapco to enter the Richmond market. Atapco’s other developments in Virginia have been in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
“Typically Crescent likes to partner with outside investment on projects, and the selection through Atapco sounded like a great fit. They’re based in Maryland and we’re based out of Charlotte, so the project sort of falls in between,” he said. “They’ve been trying to get into Richmond more strategically, and this was an opportunity to do so with a more near-term investment.”
Kerley put the project cost of the Axial Rockville development at between $40 million and $45 million.
Each of the buildings will include 32-foot clearance heights, 40 dock-high loading doors, 52 outdoor trailer spots, a sprinkler system and parking for tenants. The buildings – one totaling 181,000 square feet and the other 154,000 – could accommodate a single user or multiple tenants in sectors including logistics, distribution, light manufacturing, and assembly, according to a release.
The buildings are targeted for completion by the end of this year. Ben Bruni and Colton Konvicka with Commonwealth Commercial are handling leasing.
Bruni was credited with alerting the site to Crescent when the project was proposed in 2023. Goochland supervisors approved zoning for the project later that year.
The site is near the Ashland Road-Interstate 64 interchange, which is planned to be upgraded to a diverging diamond design.
Crescent’s announcement listed Atapco as a development and equity partner on the project. Brinkmann Constructors is the general contractor for the buildings, which are designed by DMA Architecture. Townes Site Engineering is the civil engineer, First Horizon Bank is the lender and Newmark was strategic advisor.
The project comes as Amazon is moving forward with its massive distribution center. The e-commerce giant paid $16.5 million in December for 105 acres that will house that project. Panattoni Development Co. is developing the center, which will fill just over half of the site. A timeline for that project has not been released.
In other industrial news in the area, Los Angeles-based Ares Management Corp. recently purchased the 619,000-square-foot Airport Logistics Center in eastern Henrico for $67 million, while local firm Lingerfelt is working with SCOA Real Estate Partners on a 348,000-square-f00t spec warehouse in Prince George.
I really think they should put something like this next to interstate 95 and give it’s own truck only exit to avoid all these trucks going on local roads.