A rendering of the TownePlace Suites by Marriott planned beside Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market in Short Pump. (County documents)
A Short Pump site once floated for a car vending machine tower is now slated for a slightly shorter hotel.
A TownePlace Suites by Marriott is in the works for the undeveloped site to the east of Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market.
The 119-room hotel is set to fill a 1.7-acre portion of the grocery’s 6.3-acre parcel at 4150 Tom Leonard Drive, alongside Interstate 64 near the Broad Street interchange.
Highly visible from the interstate, the site is the same spot where used-car retailer Carvana once proposed a “car vending machine” tower when it was breaking into the Richmond market in 2016. It withdrew that project and later built a taller tower beside Interstate 195 in the city.
Where the Short Pump tower was planned to rise 6½ stories, the TownePlace Suites is proposed at five stories in height.
The opposite side of the hotel.
Behind the project are two Henrico-based firms: Kalyan Hospitality, led by owner Nick Patel, and an entity tied to Amir Patel, who leads Tankk Group Hotels.
Amir Patel – no relation to Nick – said the project came about through his friendship with Tom Leonard, who’s his neighbor.
Amir Patel
“I’d spoken to him a little bit about this, and when TownePlace by Marriott became available and our group was able to secure it, that helped bring this all together,” Patel said. “I really wanted to do a Marriott flag in the market.”
Patel said he and Nick are longtime family friends and have partnered on other hotel projects across Virginia. This is their first collaboration in metro Richmond, where Patel also is developing a five-story, 80-room Studio 6 hotel that’s under construction at 580 Trampton Road near Richmond International Airport. Henrico approved that project, originally planned as a Comfort Inn & Suites, in 2019.
“I live in Henrico, been here a long time, and wanted to try to do a development in the county for a while,” Patel said.
He said the Tom Leonard’s site was appealing for a hotel for its location at some remove from Broad Street but with access to area shopping and entertainment.
“I think it’s good for a higher-end brand like TownePlace by Marriott. It’s a very easy access for everything, but you don’t feel like you’re sitting on Broad Street,” he said. “You’re kind of tucked in the back a little bit, which makes it a little more of a peaceful environment. I feel like our guests are really going to appreciate that.”
A site plan shows the hotel’s location in relation to the grocery off Tom Leonard Drive.
Development plans submitted to the county show access to the site would be provided off Tom Leonard Drive. Parking lots would wrap around the hotel building, which would be positioned closer to the eastern edge of the site.
The developers are working with Nitin Kulkarni, a Glen Allen-based architect who’s designing the hotel. Site Design Co. is handling engineering work.
Patel said the plans are scheduled to appear on the Dec. 20 agenda for development plan, site plan and subdivision reviews. Those reviews are handled by the county planning director and do not go before the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors. The site’s M-1 Light Industrial zoning allows hotel use by right.
Patel said county planners’ response so far makes him optimistic that construction on the project could start in late spring or early summer next year. He said completion is targeted for late 2025. He said a project estimate has not been determined.
The project adds to Kalyan’s workload in Short Pump. The company also is planning a nine-story, 130-room hotel at 11768 W. Broad St., an undeveloped 1.7-acre parcel between Short Pump Town Center and VCU Health’s Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Wellness Center. Patel’s Tankk Group is not involved in that project.
A rendering of the TownePlace Suites by Marriott planned beside Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market in Short Pump. (County documents)
A Short Pump site once floated for a car vending machine tower is now slated for a slightly shorter hotel.
A TownePlace Suites by Marriott is in the works for the undeveloped site to the east of Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market.
The 119-room hotel is set to fill a 1.7-acre portion of the grocery’s 6.3-acre parcel at 4150 Tom Leonard Drive, alongside Interstate 64 near the Broad Street interchange.
Highly visible from the interstate, the site is the same spot where used-car retailer Carvana once proposed a “car vending machine” tower when it was breaking into the Richmond market in 2016. It withdrew that project and later built a taller tower beside Interstate 195 in the city.
Where the Short Pump tower was planned to rise 6½ stories, the TownePlace Suites is proposed at five stories in height.
The opposite side of the hotel.
Behind the project are two Henrico-based firms: Kalyan Hospitality, led by owner Nick Patel, and an entity tied to Amir Patel, who leads Tankk Group Hotels.
Amir Patel – no relation to Nick – said the project came about through his friendship with Tom Leonard, who’s his neighbor.
Amir Patel
“I’d spoken to him a little bit about this, and when TownePlace by Marriott became available and our group was able to secure it, that helped bring this all together,” Patel said. “I really wanted to do a Marriott flag in the market.”
Patel said he and Nick are longtime family friends and have partnered on other hotel projects across Virginia. This is their first collaboration in metro Richmond, where Patel also is developing a five-story, 80-room Studio 6 hotel that’s under construction at 580 Trampton Road near Richmond International Airport. Henrico approved that project, originally planned as a Comfort Inn & Suites, in 2019.
“I live in Henrico, been here a long time, and wanted to try to do a development in the county for a while,” Patel said.
He said the Tom Leonard’s site was appealing for a hotel for its location at some remove from Broad Street but with access to area shopping and entertainment.
“I think it’s good for a higher-end brand like TownePlace by Marriott. It’s a very easy access for everything, but you don’t feel like you’re sitting on Broad Street,” he said. “You’re kind of tucked in the back a little bit, which makes it a little more of a peaceful environment. I feel like our guests are really going to appreciate that.”
A site plan shows the hotel’s location in relation to the grocery off Tom Leonard Drive.
Development plans submitted to the county show access to the site would be provided off Tom Leonard Drive. Parking lots would wrap around the hotel building, which would be positioned closer to the eastern edge of the site.
The developers are working with Nitin Kulkarni, a Glen Allen-based architect who’s designing the hotel. Site Design Co. is handling engineering work.
Patel said the plans are scheduled to appear on the Dec. 20 agenda for development plan, site plan and subdivision reviews. Those reviews are handled by the county planning director and do not go before the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors. The site’s M-1 Light Industrial zoning allows hotel use by right.
Patel said county planners’ response so far makes him optimistic that construction on the project could start in late spring or early summer next year. He said completion is targeted for late 2025. He said a project estimate has not been determined.
The project adds to Kalyan’s workload in Short Pump. The company also is planning a nine-story, 130-room hotel at 11768 W. Broad St., an undeveloped 1.7-acre parcel between Short Pump Town Center and VCU Health’s Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Wellness Center. Patel’s Tankk Group is not involved in that project.