A mansion-turned-events venue in Goochland County is underway on a sizable addition.
The Estate at River Run, housed in the former Massey family mansion at 2421 River Road West, is installing a 8,300-square-foot solar pavilion that will function as additional eco-friendly space for weddings and other events, as well as a way to power the property itself.
Couples Kim and Andrew Moody and Doug and Tamra Adams purchased the 22,000-square-foot home – then known as River Run Manor – for $3.1 million in 2019.
The couples gave the 60-acre estate a new life as a site for private events and celebrated their five-year anniversary at the property last fall.
Now, the estate is playing host to a new $1.25 million project as they begin construction on a 66-by-126-foot pavilion that will be topped with all-black solar panels. The venue has employed Richmond-based solar engineering firm Commonwealth Power to handle the project.
Moody said she and the Adamses are “progressive” when it comes to solar energy, and were excited at the prospect of bringing a clean energy component to the venue.
Pursuing the idea of clean energy landed the River Run team on the idea for a solar panel-covered pavilion space.
“Weddings are inherently tough on the environment…it’s a lot of waste, it’s a lot of excess. Our concern was wanting to be as environmentally friendly as we can,” said Moody, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years and also runs wedding planning business Kim Moody Design.
The essential footprint for the pavilion is on the site of a former tennis court built by the Masseys. When the property became an event venue, the court was taken out and resurfaced as a tent pad near the estate’s pool house and beside the rose garden.
“The solar canopy will be the roof of the structure, and clients will be able to utilize it like a normal pavilion structure,” Moody said. “They would not need to use tents.”
The venue, which previously had a 300-guest cap for its events due to safety regulations, will be able to host up to 500 guests in the pavilion space.
The pavilion project has been in the works for two years, with some bumps along the way.
Moody’s desire for all-black solar panels caused some delays in the process, yet she said the aesthetics for her guests were front-of-mind in her decision-making.
“Typically solar has white frames, and I wanted the aesthetics to be really clean and nice looking for our clients, so that caused a two-year wait for our panels,” she said.
Now two years into the planning and engineering, construction is underway. Pavilion footers and footer inspections were completed in December, and Moody expects that by mid-February there will be columns up and braces in on the project.
Pending county inspections, the pavilion is expected to be up and running sometime in March.
According to the project estimation cost analysis, the solar panels should save over $20,000 in electricity costs for the venue yearly.
“Accounting for the energy cost savings, income tax credits and renewable energy credits, the project should be cash flow positive within six years,” Andrew Moody, CFO and co-proprietor for the estate, said in a statement to BizSense.
Utility cost-cutting aside, Moody said the venue would likely have pursued a similar project even in lieu of the savings.
“If you’re looking at the James River every day like we are, you think a lot about what’s going in the water and what we can do to help the planet,” Moody said.
Another mansion-based event venue is also in expansion mode elsewhere in Goochland. Dover Hall, which operates on the grounds of a 38,000-square-foot Tudor-style home in the county’s Manakin-Sabot area, is building a new tasting room and pond-side pavilion for its onsite 7 Lady Vineyards winery.
A mansion-turned-events venue in Goochland County is underway on a sizable addition.
The Estate at River Run, housed in the former Massey family mansion at 2421 River Road West, is installing a 8,300-square-foot solar pavilion that will function as additional eco-friendly space for weddings and other events, as well as a way to power the property itself.
Couples Kim and Andrew Moody and Doug and Tamra Adams purchased the 22,000-square-foot home – then known as River Run Manor – for $3.1 million in 2019.
The couples gave the 60-acre estate a new life as a site for private events and celebrated their five-year anniversary at the property last fall.
Now, the estate is playing host to a new $1.25 million project as they begin construction on a 66-by-126-foot pavilion that will be topped with all-black solar panels. The venue has employed Richmond-based solar engineering firm Commonwealth Power to handle the project.
Moody said she and the Adamses are “progressive” when it comes to solar energy, and were excited at the prospect of bringing a clean energy component to the venue.
Pursuing the idea of clean energy landed the River Run team on the idea for a solar panel-covered pavilion space.
“Weddings are inherently tough on the environment…it’s a lot of waste, it’s a lot of excess. Our concern was wanting to be as environmentally friendly as we can,” said Moody, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years and also runs wedding planning business Kim Moody Design.
The essential footprint for the pavilion is on the site of a former tennis court built by the Masseys. When the property became an event venue, the court was taken out and resurfaced as a tent pad near the estate’s pool house and beside the rose garden.
“The solar canopy will be the roof of the structure, and clients will be able to utilize it like a normal pavilion structure,” Moody said. “They would not need to use tents.”
The venue, which previously had a 300-guest cap for its events due to safety regulations, will be able to host up to 500 guests in the pavilion space.
The pavilion project has been in the works for two years, with some bumps along the way.
Moody’s desire for all-black solar panels caused some delays in the process, yet she said the aesthetics for her guests were front-of-mind in her decision-making.
“Typically solar has white frames, and I wanted the aesthetics to be really clean and nice looking for our clients, so that caused a two-year wait for our panels,” she said.
Now two years into the planning and engineering, construction is underway. Pavilion footers and footer inspections were completed in December, and Moody expects that by mid-February there will be columns up and braces in on the project.
Pending county inspections, the pavilion is expected to be up and running sometime in March.
According to the project estimation cost analysis, the solar panels should save over $20,000 in electricity costs for the venue yearly.
“Accounting for the energy cost savings, income tax credits and renewable energy credits, the project should be cash flow positive within six years,” Andrew Moody, CFO and co-proprietor for the estate, said in a statement to BizSense.
Utility cost-cutting aside, Moody said the venue would likely have pursued a similar project even in lieu of the savings.
“If you’re looking at the James River every day like we are, you think a lot about what’s going in the water and what we can do to help the planet,” Moody said.
Another mansion-based event venue is also in expansion mode elsewhere in Goochland. Dover Hall, which operates on the grounds of a 38,000-square-foot Tudor-style home in the county’s Manakin-Sabot area, is building a new tasting room and pond-side pavilion for its onsite 7 Lady Vineyards winery.