Maryland-based therapy practice expands Richmond presence with building buy near Scott’s Addition

Aspen Grove Wellness recently bought the office building at 2311 Westwood Ave., which for a number of years has been occupied by youth nonprofit Side by Side.  (Jack Jacobs photo)

A Maryland-based therapy practice is expanding its local presence with a real estate deal just west of Scott’s Addition.

Aspen Grove Wellness recently bought 2311 Westwood Ave. with plans to use the building as an office and future headquarters for the company, which already has some locally based employees.

An LLC tied to Aspen Grove purchased the 5,000-square-foot building for $675,000 in a deal that was recorded with Henrico in mid-April, per online records. The property’s assessed value is $493,000.

The seller in the deal was Side by Side, a LGBTQ+ youth programming nonprofit that has operated at the property for years. The nonprofit is now leasing the upper level of the two-story building and will continue to operate there as a tenant of Aspen Grove.

Leslie Nanson

Nathan Hughes and Veronica Wiles of Sperity Real Estate Ventures represented the seller in the deal.

Aspen Grove’s space on the first floor is underway on renovations and will have six therapy rooms and a conference room.

Aspen Grove co-founder Leslie Nanson said the space was already well positioned for Aspen Grove’s needs, and would be a place for both therapy appointments with clients as well as training for the company’s team.

“They had been using this for some counseling sessions, and it’s really well set up for us,” Nanson said. “We employ psychologists, social workers and professional counselors, and we do a lot of training. … It’s important for us to have a conference space and some learning areas. But this will very much be a clinical office.”

Alexandria-based 360 Color is handling the interior design work for the office.

Nanson said the acquisition of the office space was inspired by a personal desire to put down roots after many moves. Aspen Grove has five locally based remote employees, and the new office further expands the company’s presence in the Richmond area.

“I’ve lived in many different places. My husband and I really wanted to settle in Richmond,” Nanson said.

Aspen Grove offers both telehealth sessions as well as in-person appointments, the latter of which co-founder Stephanie McGraw said were regaining popularity in the wake of the pandemic.

Stephanie McGraw

The new office, which sits just within the county side of the Henrico-Richmond line and near Scott’s Addition, is intended to help the company further expand its ability to provide in-person appointments.

“Up until this point, there has been a lot of desire from therapists and clients to have more virtual offerings, but as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic there is more desire, not just from clients but from providers, too, about wanting that connection that comes from sharing a space,” McGraw said. “Us planting roots in Richmond is us taking an active step to try to meet the needs of our therapists and also the community.”

Aspen Grove is targeting a June opening date for the local office. It would be the second location for the company, joining one in Hagerstown, Maryland. It formerly had a physical office in Reston.

Nanson and McGraw met as graduate students at George Washington University in the early 2010s. Post graduation, the friends stayed close despite going on to diverging career pathways – Nanson went into private practice and McGraw worked as an assistant professor at West Virginia University – before they co-founded Aspen Grove in early 2022.

“Aspen Grove is built on our friendship. Steph (McGraw) was in the operating room when my first baby was born. … And so even though we did go do separate things, we have always stayed really close and tried to put oxygen in each other’s flames,” Nanson said. “She brings a lot of training expertise. I did a lot of practice management and insurance billing. We’re both very passionate about access to mental health.”