Richmond's Suburban Developments

[Child2021]

I am happy to announce that steel framing is up by the Genito adjacent area for the "Lake" surf park in Chesterfield.

[I miss RVA]

@RVABizSenseMike has reporting in today's RBS that Costco is expanding it's W. Broad Street footprint - adding space to their warehouse, relocating and expanding their fueling station and significantly increasing the number of parking spaces.(City Nerd won't be happy about increasing the car-centric-ness of this development).

Costco will knock down a couple of buildings west of their current warehouse, expand the warehouse on the western side and relocate the fueling station from east of the warehouse to the newly cleared space on the west side of the building. Their already ginormous parking lot(s) will be expanded from 633 spaces to a whopping 795 spaces - an increase of nearly 26% 

And the beat goes on...

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/13/costco-to-raze-neighboring-broad-st-buildings-for-more-space-new-fuel-station/

Edited March 13 by I miss RVA

[123fakestreet]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

@RVABizSenseMike has reporting in today's RBS that Costco is expanding it's W. Broad Street footprint - adding space to their warehouse, relocating and expanding their fueling station and significantly increasing the number of parking spaces.(City Nerd won't be happy about increasing the car-centric-ness of this development).

Costco will knock down a couple of buildings west of their current warehouse, expand the warehouse on the western side and relocate the fueling station from east of the warehouse to the newly cleared space on the west side of the building. Their already ginormous parking lot(s) will be expanded from 633 spaces to a whopping 795 spaces - an increase of nearly 26% 

And the beat goes on...

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/13/costco-to-raze-neighboring-broad-st-buildings-for-more-space-new-fuel-station/

wonder if they will move the main entrance or have more than 1 since a lot of the parking will now be on the opposite end of the current entrance?

I could see them moving it to be on an angle in the lower right corner of the building. Most newer Costco's seem to have that corner entrance.

[eandslee]

Surprised no one has posted about this: Henrico knows what’s going on and how to get more businesses to set up shop in their county. We’ve had discussions around the BPOL taxes in Richmond City before and how their tax rates are keeping businesses away. Henrico just raised the bar to beat out the other localities on BPOL taxes. Henrico is now the most attractive locality in the Richmond region now tax-wise, over Chesterfield and certainly over the City of Richmond. If you want to attract businesses to your area, lower the tax rate.  The number of businesses you’ll attract paying less taxes will bring in more revenue than only having a few businesses paying more taxes.  Proof this works - look no further than Henrico!

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/13/1-4b-henrico-budget-plan-would-double-business-license-tax-exemption/

Edited March 13 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Surprised no one has posted about this: Henrico knows what’s going on and how to get more businesses to set up shop in their county. We’ve had discussions around the BPOL taxes in Richmond City before and how their tax rates are keeping businesses away. Henrico just raised the bar to beat out the other localities on BPOL taxes. Henrico is now the most attractive locality in the Richmond region now tax-wise, over Chesterfield and certainly over the City of Richmond. If you want to attract businesses to your area, lower the tax rate.  The number of businesses you’ll attract paying less taxes will bring in more revenue than only having a few businesses paying more taxes.  Proof this works - look no further than Henrico!

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/13/1-4b-henrico-budget-plan-would-double-business-license-tax-exemption/

Couldn't agree more, @eandslee. Not a lot of rocket science. I've never understood how/why the city powers-that-be have been stuck in this same position - being behind the 8-ball and behind the suburban counties when it comes to tax rate for just about my entire lifetime - or at least since I started becoming aware of things with the city more than 50 years ago.

What's the adage? The more things change, the more they stay the same. The city needs to wake up.

[Downtowner]

They only know how to raise raise raise all taxes and fees. The city is awful at lowering and it’s like they have this awful thing against lowering taxes for people in the city. 

[123fakestreet]

NYC charges very high taxes, they don't seem to have a problem with businesses locating there.  It's more expensive to operate in the city -any city- anyway for many reasons other than taxes, notably just the higher rent. So those business that choose to operate in the city are typically doing so because they basically *have* to be in the city no matter what the tax rate. Thus the city will charge a much higher rate to those captive businesses.  If the city lowers the tax rate they aren't going to get many new businesses coming in because all the other costs are still high.  The counties lowering taxes are competing with each other for businesses that already know they aren't going to be in the city regardless.    The city having a higher tax rate makes sense, there is no scenario where the city can lower it's taxes enough to be cheaper overall than the counties and steal businesses away from them.  Lowering the city taxes will just lower their income. 

 

 

[I miss RVA]

11 hours ago, Downtowner said:

They only know how to raise raise raise all taxes and fees. The city is awful at lowering and it’s like they have this awful thing against lowering taxes for people in the city. 

Not to defend the city fathers, but respectfully I submit that this view is not entirely accurate.

Richmond really isn't any different from a lot of large or mid-size cities across the country that had to deal with significant population declines beginning in the 1950s with the advent of the interstate highway system and the rapid growth and sprawl of suburbs. Without devolving into a political discussion (which I personally believe is neither appropriate nor pertinent on this forum), cities that lost significant portions of their populations -- by-and-large -- lost white residents who left for the "greener pastures" of Ward-and-June Cleaver-ville - a.k.a. suburbia. Particularly 50 and 60 years ago, when socio-economic dynamics were even more stark (meaning, the wealth gap between blacks and whites in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, etc. was the size of the grand canyon and generally much more pronounced than it is today), cities such as Richmond, Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, St. Louis - and many others - saw a tremendous erosion of their tax base as residents with higher incomes fled to the suburbs in droves. What cities were then left with was a declining population, an increasingly large percentage of which was anywhere on the economic spectrum from struggling to impoverished to destitute - while at the same time having little to no diminishment in maintenance of the necessary infrastructures and services that were required to even keep the city functioning (such as police, fire, schools, trash collection, public transit, water/sewer utilities - among many other things). This left cities with increasingly large revenue shortfalls that even service cuts in various sectors could not offset.

Their only recourse - unfortunately to the detriment of those businesses and residents still in the cities - was to increase taxes and fees to try to make up for the lost tax revenue.

It's a viscous cycle in which the city basically cannibalizes itself in a manner of speaking by overtaxing residents and businesses. Those higher taxes and fees force out more residents (i.e., those who are able to leave) and businesses - and hamper growth down the line as both businesses and people are hesitant to move into the city. The nation's worst example of this (which was significantly exacerbated by the collapse of the auto industry) is Detroit - which went from being a robust city of 1.85 million in 1950 to an estimated 603K residents heading into 2024. The city is declining at a rate of 1.39% annually according to statistics provided by World Population Review. And this is despite the fact that metropolitan Detroit continues to GROW at the rate of 0.2% annually.

How does this impact Richmond? Thankfully -- we have rebounded - making tremendous population gains from the nadir in the late '90s-early '00s (when at one point the city's population was estimated to have been as low as 193K) through the last decade (roughly 230K). But for a variety of reasons, that growth has slowed significantly (it essentially stalled in the immediate wake of the pandemic) and growth is now occurring at a snails pace and is little more than incremental. As has been discussed on these forums many times, the city's over reliance on taxes and fees (in addition to problems, whether perceived or real, with the public school system) is a large factor in tamping down the city's growth. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be have not been able (or motivated) to look at the bigger-picture potential of what trimming (as @wrldcoupe4 has mentioned) the gross receipts tax, as well as property taxes, fees, etc., to be more competitive with the suburban counties. Add to that the fact that the per capita income in the suburbs is generally higher than that in the city proper, and it becomes clear that the counties are able to rely on greater resources to grow their tax base and create budget surpluses without having to provide services to the same extent as the city -- and -- without overburdening the population or businesses. They then can slash taxes and fees - which is tremendously attractive to businesses and potential residents looking to relocate.

Essentially it's a live-action laboratory of "the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer" in a manner of speaking. The city does not have the same economic resources available that the suburban counties have. What's more, the counties are not burdened by tremendous amount of tax-free property that belongs to the Commonwealth of Virginia (how much of downtown Richmond is exempt from paying city taxes because it's part of the state government?)

Even more - the independent city paradigm puts a tremendous burden on the city of Richmond that virtually every other city in this country (with the notable exceptions of Baltimore and St. Louis) simply don't have. Here in Chicago, for example, the city co-exists with Cook County, which contains a number of suburban municipalities. The kind of revenue and services sharing available to cities that co-exist with counties softens the financial burden, for example, Chicago faces in that the revenue - and the expenditures - are to various extents "spread" more across the entirety of Cook County. This alone makes the city extremely competitive and allows its natural attributes to be attractive for businesses who want, for example, prestigious downtown addresses.

Richmond simply doesn't have this - and this has been the case since 1871.

And for those who -- correctly -- would raise the issue of: "What about greed? What about waste?" Unquestionably those factor in as well -- and it's fools gold to think they don't. However, that's a topic for another discussion, because it DOES play a part, but it isn't the whole ball of wax.

Tbh, I'm not sure what it would take - or if it's even feasible at this point - for the city to take the bold step of dramatically shaving their tax and fee structures without significant loss of necessary services that must be provided to maintain infrastructure, etc., particularly without having shared resources of both revenue and burden with the surrounding counties.

Unfortunately - and this negatively impacts the city's growth potential - there are no easy answers.

[Downtowner]

40 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Not to defend the city fathers, but respectfully I submit that this view is not entirely accurate.

Richmond really isn't any different from a lot of large or mid-size cities across the country that had to deal with significant population declines beginning in the 1950s with the advent of the interstate highway system and the rapid growth and sprawl of suburbs. Without devolving into a political discussion (which I personally believe is neither appropriate nor pertinent on this forum), cities that lost significant portions of their populations -- by-and-large -- lost white residents who left for the "greener pastures" of Ward-and-June Cleaver-ville - a.k.a. suburbia. Particularly 50 and 60 years ago, when socio-economic dynamics were even more stark (meaning, the wealth gap between blacks and whites in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, etc. was the size of the grand canyon and generally much more pronounced than it is today), cities such as Richmond, Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, St. Louis - and many others - saw a tremendous erosion of their tax base as residents with higher incomes fled to the suburbs in droves. What cities were then left with was a declining population, an increasingly large percentage of which was anywhere on the economic spectrum from struggling to impoverished to destitute - while at the same time having little to no diminishment in maintenance of the necessary infrastructures and services that were required to even keep the city functioning (such as police, fire, schools, trash collection, public transit, water/sewer utilities - among many other things). This left cities with increasingly large revenue shortfalls that even service cuts in various sectors could not offset.

Their only recourse - unfortunately to the detriment of those businesses and residents still in the cities - was to increase taxes and fees to try to make up for the lost tax revenue.

It's a viscous cycle in which the city basically cannibalizes itself in a manner of speaking by overtaxing residents and businesses. Those higher taxes and fees force out more residents (i.e., those who are able to leave) and businesses - and hamper growth down the line as both businesses and people are hesitant to move into the city. The nation's worst example of this (which was significantly exacerbated by the collapse of the auto industry) is Detroit - which went from being a robust city of 1.85 million in 1950 to an estimated 603K residents heading into 2024. The city is declining at a rate of 1.39% annually according to statistics provided by World Population Review. And this is despite the fact that metropolitan Detroit continues to GROW at the rate of 0.2% annually.

How does this impact Richmond? Thankfully -- we have rebounded - making tremendous population gains from the nadir in the late '90s-early '00s (when at one point the city's population was estimated to have been as low as 193K) through the last decade (roughly 230K). But for a variety of reasons, that growth has slowed significantly (it essentially stalled in the immediate wake of the pandemic) and growth is now occurring at a snails pace and is little more than incremental. As has been discussed on these forums many times, the city's over reliance on taxes and fees (in addition to problems, whether perceived or real, with the public school system) is a large factor in tamping down the city's growth. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be have not been able (or motivated) to look at the bigger-picture potential of what trimming (as @wrldcoupe4 has mentioned) the gross receipts tax, as well as property taxes, fees, etc., to be more competitive with the suburban counties. Add to that the fact that the per capita income in the suburbs is generally higher than that in the city proper, and it becomes clear that the counties are able to rely on greater resources to grow their tax base and create budget surpluses without having to provide services to the same extent as the city -- and -- without overburdening the population or businesses. They then can slash taxes and fees - which is tremendously attractive to businesses and potential residents looking to relocate.

Essentially it's a live-action laboratory of "the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer" in a manner of speaking. The city does not have the same economic resources available that the suburban counties have. What's more, the counties are not burdened by tremendous amount of tax-free property that belongs to the Commonwealth of Virginia (how much of downtown Richmond is exempt from paying city taxes because it's part of the state government?)

Even more - the independent city paradigm puts a tremendous burden on the city of Richmond that virtually every other city in this country (with the notable exceptions of Baltimore and St. Louis) simply don't have. Here in Chicago, for example, the city co-exists with Cook County, which contains a number of suburban municipalities. The kind of revenue and services sharing available to cities that co-exist with counties softens the financial burden, for example, Chicago faces in that the revenue - and the expenditures - are to various extents "spread" more across the entirety of Cook County. This alone makes the city extremely competitive and allows its natural attributes to be attractive for businesses who want, for example, prestigious downtown addresses.

Richmond simply doesn't have this - and this has been the case since 1871.

And for those who -- correctly -- would raise the issue of: "What about greed? What about waste?" Unquestionably those factor in as well -- and it's fools gold to think they don't. However, that's a topic for another discussion, because it DOES play a part, but it isn't the whole ball of wax.

Tbh, I'm not sure what it would take - or if it's even feasible at this point - for the city to take the bold step of dramatically shaving their tax and fee structures without significant loss of necessary services that must be provided to maintain infrastructure, etc., particularly without having shared resources of both revenue and burden with the surrounding counties.

Unfortunately - and this negatively impacts the city's growth potential - there are no easy answers.

I would just like to know what would it take for them to lower taxes cut the least used services for a while and bring them back online when things start booming or getting back up? I mean I know there has to be either waste or. Service that’s barely even used and I bet it would shock so many people. Also there has to be a way to cut the bloated mess of the school system. Cut the pork get the finances back online to the up direction and start rebuilding these schools and hiring quality teachers who will keep these kids out of trouble and have them grow into fine citizens of Richmond or wherever. We just need people who have a deep dive with some top notch. Experience to turn this whole ship around. I think Jason kamara should be long gone. I don’t know how you solve the school problem for when one less and less young people want or having kids and two when people don’t like the housing options in the city. There has to be a way to fix this mess for the long term future. I just can’t see if being where we throw up our hands and say yeah it’s hopeless it’s over no way to fix this ever. I just refuse to believe that. We need to recruit and retain companies here too don’t care if your a small middle or large corporate company. Anything to bring in tax base and to get people into Richmond. I just refuse to except we have people who just have zero desire to do anything. I’ve still seen a lot of talking and a lot of job killing to this day. I get some projects are awful but some need to be loooes at more befor everyone has a sign and pitch fork ready to kill whatever development it is. Navy hill I still can’t figure out why we choose to kill off jobs same with the arena project in Alexandria I don’t care what your view on billionaires and coroporation they provide jobs the bitterness towards this kind of stuff makes me sick. It’s a bad look for Virginia as a whole. It shows we just love killing off jobs left and right. Don’t care what your political views are or your prerogative towards stuff like that is but get passed the fact it’s the billionaires fault for deciding to build and do business in Virginia. Who would want to propose anything here now that we keep loving to kill jobs off and bad mouth them too while nc and tn get more and more jobs all the time.

[I miss RVA]

10 minutes ago, Downtowner said:

I would just like to know what would it take for them to lower taxes cut the least used services for a while and bring them back online when things start booming or getting back up? I mean I know there has to be either waste or. Service that’s barely even used and I bet it would shock so many people. Also there has to be a way to cut the bloated mess of the school system. Cut the pork get the finances back online to the up direction and start rebuilding these schools and hiring quality teachers who will keep these kids out of trouble and have them grow into fine citizens of Richmond or wherever. We just need people who have a deep dive with some top notch. Experience to turn this whole ship around. I think Jason kamara should be long gone. I don’t know how you solve the school problem for when one less and less young people want or having kids and two when people don’t like the housing options in the city. There has to be a way to fix this mess for the long term future. I just can’t see if being where we throw up our hands and say yeah it’s hopeless it’s over no way to fix this ever. I just refuse to believe that. We need to recruit and retain companies here too don’t care if your a small middle or large corporate company. Anything to bring in tax base and to get people into Richmond. I just refuse to except we have people who just have zero desire to do anything. I’ve still seen a lot of talking and a lot of job killing to this day. I get some projects are awful but some need to be loooes at more befor everyone has a sign and pitch fork ready to kill whatever development it is. Navy hill I still can’t figure out why we choose to kill off jobs same with the arena project in Alexandria I don’t care what your view on billionaires and coroporation they provide jobs the bitterness towards this kind of stuff makes me sick. It’s a bad look for Virginia as a whole. It shows we just love killing off jobs left and right. Don’t care what your political views are or your prerogative towards stuff like that is but get passed the fact it’s the billionaires fault for deciding to build and do business in Virginia. Who would want to propose anything here now that we keep loving to kill jobs off and bad mouth them too while nc and tn get more and more jobs all the time.

I believe that both North Carolina and Tennessee are in the top 5 (and Carolina may be #1 -- I'll have to dig around and see if I can find the survey where I saw this) in terms of being ranked as the most "business-friendly" states in the country -- and the meteoric growth of their primary metros showcases that.

[Brent114]

Americans are undertaxed.  Period.  

Taxes are lower now than at any time since before the Depression. 
everything is crumbling around us and before the ink even dries on the stimulus and rebate checks that we receive, under every administration since I’ve been alive, people are beotching about being overtaxed. 
 

“High” tax states fare better by every single metric.   NC and TN are crap holes, unless you love inequality, crime, divorce , trailers, unhealthy and dumb people.

[Rooster]

3 hours ago, Brent114 said:

Americans are undertaxed.  Period.  

Taxes are lower now than at any time since before the Depression. 
everything is crumbling around us and before the ink even dries on the stimulus and rebate checks that we receive, under every administration since I’ve been alive, people are beotching about being overtaxed. 
 

“High” tax states fare better by every single metric.   NC and TN are crap holes, unless you love inequality, crime, divorce , trailers, unhealthy and dumb people.

This is the kind of rediculous venom that poisons reasonable conversation. You realize of course that people are flocking from "high tax" states to NC an TN in droves right? theyre probably all just dumb fat people right? Why be a hater - especially on a forum like this? Youre statement about taxes being lower now than since the 30s just silly - what data are you looking at? whether fed income tax or total tax burden, thats just not true. Why spread untruths to justify your disdain of millions of people ? WTF? These posts dont do arguments justice so I apologize if Im overreacting but it sounds like your injecting your bitter politics into a development forum. Ill make the offer again, I'll buy you lunch if you want to have a more productive (and interesting) conversation

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Rooster said:

1.) You realize of course that people are flocking from "high tax" states to NC an TN in droves right?

2.) theyre probably all just dumb fat people right?

3.) Ill make the offer again, I'll buy you lunch if you want to have a more productive (and interesting) conversation

1.) This is true, @Rooster - and the data bears this out.  (See below. NOTE - I culled out only the top 10)

2.) I don't have time at the moment to do deeper dives into the data - and I'm not sure exactly how granular the census bureau gets when issuing its annual population changes. However - given the states at the top of the in-migration rankings, it's safe to say that the big metros in these states are the rocket fuel to these states' phenomenal population growth. Just using Texas' as an example, their "big four" metros - Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin - undoubtedly had the vast majority of the state's growth. And generally speaking, who is moving to the cities and metros? Young, usually college educated professionals across a wide age range from (if I had to guess) 22-39 - which would account for a mix of a fresh-from-undergrad workforce looking for jobs to folks who have moved up the ladder and  are changing locations either for better jobs or company relocations.

As far as fat & dumb - hmmm...  The only fat & dumb one I see is the bozo staring back at me when I look in the mirror every morning.   

3.) Man oh man - how I wish I was up to traveling right now -- such that I could from the Windy City and partake of lunch and lively conversation with you. 

 

Edited March 15 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

Jonathan Spiers has reporting in today's RBS that the YWCA of Richmond is teaming up with the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust to construct a mixed-use income-based housing development on Airport Drive in Highland Springs. The project would bring 44 apartments and 22 townhomes described as "deeply affordable" for lower-income families, as well as a school specializing in early childhood education and a commercial building that would contain services for the residents in this new community.

I love everything about this development and am looking forward to it becoming a reality.

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/15/nonprofits-band-together-on-20m-multiuse-development-in-highland-springs/

[ancientcarpenter]

16 hours ago, Rooster said:

This is the kind of rediculous venom that poisons reasonable conversation. You realize of course that people are flocking from "high tax" states to NC an TN in droves right? theyre probably all just dumb fat people right? Why be a hater - especially on a forum like this? Youre statement about taxes being lower now than since the 30s just silly - what data are you looking at? whether fed income tax or total tax burden, thats just not true. Why spread untruths to justify your disdain of millions of people ? WTF? These posts dont do arguments justice so I apologize if Im overreacting but it sounds like your injecting your bitter politics into a development forum. Ill make the offer again, I'll buy you lunch if you want to have a more productive (and interesting) conversation

He's saying that taxes are lower than ever before. 

You're saying that people are flocking to low tax states.

 

It's not people who are flocking to low tax states, it's companies who are attracted to low corporate taxes and therefore bringing jobs... The Cali Tesla people who now live in Texas hate it. Their quality of life has dropped dramatically, even if houses are cheaper. Also, those states have much much lower cost of living and cost of operating. Again, Tesla moving to Texas is a great example.

This doesn't prove @Brent114 case wrong... in fact, it confirms the case that states with higher taxes that take care of their people (California for example) with those higher taxes are being undercut by states who are (very well) known for not helping their people with taxes and catering to corporate tax interest. This is "free market capitalism" when it works best for corporations but it hurts the people of those states as the state can't/won't budget to help its people due to "we don't have the money" excuse. Yeah, they don't have the money to fund welfare, foodstamps, education, etc. because they ain't taxing their corporations! lol

[Flood Zone]

17 hours ago, Rooster said:

Why spread untruths to justify your disdain of millions of people ? WTF?

I'm not Brent, and I have no interest in a policy discussion regardless, but my limited observation here is that Brent may have been somewhat tongue-in-cheek with his description of NC and TN, as it's kind of within this board's culture to talk smack about areas with which we are perceived to be in competition. Or maybe I'm wrong and he literally believes NC and TN are "crap holes." He'd be wrong. That's actually Alabama. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

[Child2021]

Trees have been cleared out in this area, don't know what's been planned here...

I thought at one time a Sheetz was planned to go here, but it has since been removed from the county's website...but construction has started here in the boxed area with the road largely done. @RVABizSenseMike any idea what's coming here?

[RVABizSenseMike]

43 minutes ago, Child2021 said:

I thought at one time a Sheetz was planned to go here, but it has since been removed from the county's website...but construction has started here in the boxed area with the road largely done. @RVABizSenseMike any idea what's coming here?

As far as I can tell the spot on Midlothian Turnpike is still set to be a Sheetz, as some building permits for a Sheetz were issued last month. That plot looks to be owned by the family that owns Strange's Florist and there are some plans filed for a Strange's elsewhere on that site, but I don't know whether that's actually happening. 

The other above-mentioned spot in Highland Park looks like it sold to an Arlington firm earlier this year and plans have been filed for "a gravel storage yard." there. 

[Child2021]

Thanks for the information. 

46 minutes ago, RVABizSenseMike said:

As far as I can tell the spot on Midlothian Turnpike is still set to be a Sheetz, as some building permits for a Sheetz were issued last month. That plot looks to be owned by the family that owns Strange's Florist and there are some plans filed for a Strange's elsewhere on that site, but I don't know whether that's actually happening. 

The other above-mentioned spot in Highland Park looks like it sold to an Arlington firm earlier this year and plans have been filed for "a gravel storage yard." there. 

 

Edited March 15 by Child2021
EDIT

[whw53]

Wow. this is huge for outer Chesterfield. With continued commercial development along Hull and the mega-site being readied north of here the Powhite extension can't come quick enough. Ditto for the E-W Freeway - what is the timeline on that one again? 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/18/nunnally-markel-eagle-eye-grocery-anchored-project-on-200-acres-in-chesterfield/

 

[Flood Zone]

E-W Freeway is entirely theoretical, and, according to a commenter here a couple weeks ago, pretty much dead.

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, whw53 said:

Wow. this is huge for outer Chesterfield. With continued commercial development along Hull and the mega-site being readied north of here the Powhite extension can't come quick enough. Ditto for the E-W Freeway - what is the timeline on that one again? 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/18/nunnally-markel-eagle-eye-grocery-anchored-project-on-200-acres-in-chesterfield/

 

It's been eons since I've heard much of anything about the east-west expressway (aside from when it's come up in discussion here). I'd love to find out more and even get an idea if it's actually still on the books anywhere.

Re: the new development on Hull Street Road - that whole area really is blossoming and will continue for quite some time, unquestionably. And we know how Chesterfield is the powerhouse that's driving population growth. It's not hard to envision how Hull Street, the Powhite extention, etc., will play VITAL parts in fueling the county's growth in the next couple of decades. Amazing how far outside the 288 "beltway" this development is. Equally amazing is that the Metro Richmond Zoo - for the longest time now really out in the middle of absolute NOWHERE - is going to soon find itself completely surrounded by suburbia. It's coming - and a lot sooner than we might think!

BTW - no official renderings available, but RBS did use a picture of the Green Gate development in Short Pump as a way of depicting conceptually what something like this could look like in Chesterfield. (See below).

From today's Richmond BizSense:

Edited March 18 by I miss RVA

[blopp1234]

https://richmondbizsense.com/2024/03/19/mixed-use-project-the-lake-to-deliver-first-commercial-buildings-this-fall/
 

Some more information on the first phase of “The Lake” development near the intersection of 288 and Genito. Glad to see the first phase of the project is filling up as this project hadn’t had an updated on leasing for a while. I’ll see if I can snap some pics next time I pass it.

[I miss RVA]

Love the quote from project developer Brett Burkhart in Jack Jacobs' reporting:

“We’re about 90 percent done with moving dirt and putting in all the spine utilities. We really spent the better part of last year setting the site up horizontally so we can now start going vertically on the different components,” Burkhart said.

Glad it's moving forward. I like the main rendering.  I remember when I was a kid back in the '60s and '70s going to visit relatives in NOVA and seeing developments like this (and even bigger) and wondering if/when we'd ever see something like this in Richmond. Well... it's taken us 50-plus years, but here it is.

Nice to see the sidewalks there. Dunno why, but the rendering does make me wonder if/when we'd ever see any kind of bus service to this part of the county. Am guessing not in my lifetime - it's been difficult enough to even get the 1A route extended and the proposed PULSE line planned to run out Midlothian Turnpike. I'm probably thinking 30 or 40 years too far down the road.

Dunno why it took me 'til now to realize that this is being built right across 288 from the River City Sportsplex. For whatever reason, I thought it was elsewhere.

[I miss RVA]

Construction is slated to begin this spring on the first phase of a huge 2,200-home development along 288, northwest of the Midlothian Turnpike exit. The Aire at Westchester will be built north and west of the large Westchester Commons shopping center at the 288-Midlo interchange. The overall project will include a mix of townhomes, condos, apartments, single family homes and upwards of 180K sq ft of commercial space. Indeed, the 288 corridor continues popping with development.

From Monday's Richmond Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/news/local/business/chesterfield-housing-midlothian-route-288-homes/article_ddf73aa2-e531-11ee-a895-cff339dc1df0.html

Edited March 21 by I miss RVA