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Richmond's Suburban Developments


wrldcoupe4

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It's an awesome location being close to multiple interstates and highways....

Maybe one day it will be like Crystal City is to Washington DC. I would love that a lot! Thanks for chatting today! I haven't posted much recently because I've been extremely busy, but I've been checking on everyone's responses. I'm always around...just not posting all the time, so never count me out! :)

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Maybe one day it will be like Crystal City is to Washington DC. I would love that a lot! Thanks for chatting today! I haven't posted much recently because I've been extremely busy, but I've been checking on everyone's responses. I'm always around...just not posting all the time, so never count me out! :)

I'm actually trying to find that old rendering of that twisted tower on RCW, but can't find it!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The proposed Reynold's Crossing development in a crescent shape from West Broad to Forest Avenue to I-64 to Glenside is asking Henrico County to back it with a bond sale, but insists that tax payers will not be held responsible in the event of failure. The plans include a 261 room hotel, 215,000 s/f of retail with restaurants, and 370,000 s/f of office space. This is adjacent to the renown Reynolds Metals building which is now World Headquarters for Philip Morris USA. It is also near Embassy Suites, the Sheridan Hotel, the Brookfield home to Genworth Corp., and an office park with a couple of glass-enclosed midrises called Paragon Place.

Edited by burt
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Another Henrico Urban Village concept has been presented to the Henrico Planning Commission. This one is near Short Pump Town Center on one of the few remaining green stretches between West Broad and Three Chopt Rd. There was no map accompanying the online RTD story, so I'm not absolutely clear about the exact location. Windsor Place was mentioned, if anyone is familiar with that.

Anyway, it will encompass 114 acres with the tentative name of West Broad Village. There will be a 12-story office building*; a 300 room hotel; 483 town houses ranging from 2000 to 3000 square feet and selling at prices beginning at $350,000 to $650,000. A total of 791 residential units are planned - some in a condo building. The village will be pedestrian friendly, though I wouldn't want to take my life in my hands by crossing busy West Broad Street Road to and from Short Pump Town Center.

On a related subject, seems to me I read something recently about another major development planned at the s/w intersection of West Broad and I-64.

*I was under the impression that Henrico had a height restriction of 8 stories.

Edited by burt
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Okay.,...to continue my rant from the retail thread....

Let's start off in the eastern Midlothian Corridor of Chesterfield (Between Chippenham Pkwy and Powhite Pkwy)...

Beaufont Mall

On the north side of Midlothian is the Beaufont Mall Shopping Center. In it's hay day, it was home to a Kid's R Us, Best Products, A&N, Builder's Square, and plenty more. Today, it's basically, crap (no not my favorite dip at Julian's :))... and the Parking lot is HUUUUGE. Oh wait, it does have the largest Dollar Tree in Virginia.. **yawn** anyways, back to it being a wasteland of vacancy and parking lots:

Bird's eye views (from left to right)

Bird's Eye 1

Bird's Eye 2

Aerial View

I included an aerial view to show all of the undeveloped land behind it as well. The center backs up to The Boulders office and residential development ( a definite diamond in the rough around there). To its left is Richmond Honda. To its right is Chippenham Pkwy. Strategically, it's a fantastic location.

I'd like to see one of two things occur here: Richmond's own IKEA (immediate access to Chippenham pkwy which connects to Powhite, the west end, and I-95. It becomes the pocahontas pkwy. Basically, it's Richmond inner beltway on the southside.)

-OR-

this could easily become a FANTASTIC Urban-mixed use development. Keep it at a high density, with condos and townhouses, blended in with corner retail like a coffee shop. Create jogging paths that would connect into the Boulders through the woods on the north side of the property. This type of development would TOTALLY compliment the county's plans for a redevelopment of Cloverleaf mall (directly across Midlothian from Beaufont Mall).

Cloverleaf Mall

Wow, talk about a place that's seen better days! I'm so glad the county is getting this property redeveloped... Let's get a look at the size of the property:

The pushpins outline the property....

Cloverleaf Site

Look at all that undeveloped space behind the mall!! This development could and should extend all the way south to Cloverleaf Dr (between *3* and *4*). This was totally skipped over by the county's stupid and illadvised "frog jumped" development trends. Anyways, talk about serious redevelopment potential. This project could be gigantic, especially if the county sticks to the new urbanism concept they envision here.

Chippenham Square

Next stop, just next to Cloverleaf mall (on the left side). This shopping center, aside from Marshalls (which will probably relocate soon) and a couple straggly no namers, is vacant.

Check it out. The center is visible and highlighted by pushpin 1. Pushpins 2-5 outline how much could be redeveloped, including the woods behind the shopping center all the way back to Cloverleaf dr.

Chippenham Sq. from above

This could be a continuation of development techniques on the Cloverleaf site. Hell, a grid layout could even be started. I don't think it would be a bad thing. Sidewalks, biking trails, corner shops, even areas more focused on commercial space, places for office space. Make this a REAL neighborhood. It is obselete as a retail destination. Now! Onto what's north of Chippenham square and just west of Beaufont:

Richmond Honda, WaWa, Collision repair shop, Aaron's

Well I wouldn't have a problem with Richmond Honda remaining, though I hear they might be planning a move, even after all of the recent renovation and upgrades.

Richmond Honda Bird's Eye

If they were to move, this could be a nice place for redevelopment. It backs up to the Boulders (That's Boulder's Dr to the left of Richmond Honda). Heck, throw up an office building or two; it's consistent with the boulders.

As for the WaWa, collision shop, and Aaron's...

WaWa can stay. It serves a purpose. As for the rest... tear it down! pleeeaaase. It looks so bad.

Bird's Eye

Continue on with everything else I've suggested before.

I think I'll stop at Turner Road for now. It's a good stopping point. What role do I think Midlothian Tnpk should play? I could envision it resembling Broad St through the city, though slightly less dense. Spruce up the median, add sidewalks, and lighting, add crosswalks, add diverse buildings that front close to the new sidewalk.

I'll return later to continue the babble as we look farther west.

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well I'll be... looks like Chesterfield has a new economic development director:

Chesterfield Official has plenty on plate

E. Wilson "Will" Davis Jr., welcome to Chesterfield County.

And by the way, there are several major projects awaiting your attention.

Among them:

# redevelopment of the county-owned Cloverleaf Mall property;

# development of the 800-plus acre Watkins Centre;

# development of the 600-plus acre CenterPointe Office Park; and

# attracting clients to the county-owned 1,300-acre Meadowville Technology Park.

Davis, an executive with the American Electric Power utility company, yesterday was named Chesterfield's economic development director. His duties start Jan. 30, and he will be asked to take a leadership role in all of those projects.

County leaders say those sites, when developed, will pump millions in taxes into the local economy.

read the whole article

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  • 3 weeks later...

:angry:

This thread is too heavy on Chesterfield, the kid who refuses to play with the other kids. The C. Montgomery Burns of the Richmond area...

Aside from the fact I work in River's Bend, Chesterfield is a black hole to me. The city has other suburban areas. I don't think I saw Hanover even mentioned. Maybe I missed it. Eastern Henrico? Well That's Henrico's red-headed, mulatto stepchild. There is a lot going on over there but no one pays attention, not even the county.

I am not a giant fan of the suburbs, at least the new ones. When will they stop?! They're getting carried away now and is it that no one wants to live in the older suburbs? We need a stop to the further expansion of the suburbs, particularly to the south and west. It'll wear too thin eventually. We'd have to clear out sections of the city and older suburbs and turn them into parkland or estates. Even the old commercial strips along Hull, Midlothian, and Jefferson Davis can use some attention in the city and near the limits.

Another thing I hate about suburbs are cul-de-sacs. They are so annoying. I know their purpose but something else can be done. Why not create streets with cobblestones again to help cut down on speeding? There's nothing as beautiful as a grid and variations of it. I don't mind circles (unless they're roundabouts placed wrong) and triangles and other shapes. But the winding streets of the suburbs... come on! You can't just go straight?! The only way to create neat vistas now is by making the road curved. Setback and other spatial requirements won't allow for a neat streetscape along a straight road in a lot of cases.

Think about it, 99% of the city used to be suburbs. But the old way I like better. Richmond annexed the town of Shockoe to its west. There was a time when Court End and the eastern section of Church Hill were suburban neighborhoods. It's hard to imagine. When Sydney (The Fan and Oregon Hill) was planned, it was outside of the city limits. The city gobbled up some other suburban towns as it grew, one of which was Fairmount. Other suburban communities included Woodville, Washington Park, Westham, Westhampton (any more Ws?) to name a few (those were annexed in 1942). We don't typically think of Manchester's suburbs. Spring Hill was probably its largest suburb. When I was taking pics of south Richmond's 18th century houses, I noticed how suburban a lot of the neighborhoods appeared and then I remembered a good chunck of that part of the city was annexed in 1970.

Things hadn't changed too much about the land, just the way it was laid out. The grid was in. Many areas outside of the city limits continued the city's grid. But sometimes, even it was interrupted by irregular plots of land that was probably someone's farm which was subdivided eventually. Anothing thing about those new neighborhoods back then, the houses were built closer together and there were no setback regulations and that helped make a closer community. One thing that was neat about some of those places is sometimes, the houses could be angled any kind of way or way back from the street. Some were connected to the city with the trolley system and others weren't. People walked where they needed to go. But then, it was much easier to do that. That's one thing I don't like about zoning. I understand the need, but sometimes there should be a corner store or a neighborhood supermarket. Also, the city was the necessary center of it all. That's not the case anymore.

I still think Chesterfield and Henrico are partners in trying to destroy the city in ways its own internal issues aren't. Chesterfield especially, seems to carry a grudge especially over that last annexation and the counties hadn't as I see held up their deal with the freeze. What do they exactly return to the city for its inability to grow? One reason why I hate Short Pump is it seems as if Henrico is trying to create its own city by recreating some of what already exists.

And Henrico is ignoring everything past the tracks (can't think of their name, they help form part of northside's border with Henrico). With the boom and overbuilding in the west end, nothing commercial is venturing past those tracks. There are giant homes rising out there and tons of new housing developments going up and they have no places to shop without wasting precious gas. Fairfield Commons Mall isn't really a mall. Glen Lea shopping center is screaming for attention. Oak Hill Plaza needs some TLC. Henrico Plaza is an amazing ghost on a stretch of Mechanicsville that sees tons of traffic heading to and from Hanover. Nine Mile Rd and Williamsburg Rd could use some modernization. There's a lot missing in the eastern section of the county and there has to be some demand. Are they afraid of the people? Do they want to build only for millionaires even though they tend to buy just as much and can overspend. They like to live in luxury too even if it breaks them. There aren't major buzz-worthy developments going on in that part of the county and I don't wonder why anymore. Wilton Farm isn't enough, but no one's talked about that in a while too.

Anyway carry on... that was a major rant probably about nothing for nothing. I just believe we need to stop all this suburban development and try to concentrate on what we do have and make improvements. And any new suburb shouldn't be sprawling wastelands.

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Thought is being given to the future of the tract which had been held in reserve for NASCAR's HOF. It stretches a mile in each direction along I-95 and I-295 in Henrico County near Virgiunia Center Commons. The local HOF proponents were paying over $9000 per month to option the property, and it appears the owners are still interested in selling the land.

As for Eastern Henrico, seems to me I've read quite a bit about proposed residential and commercial investment. Isn't a 3200 home urban center planned for the Wilton site that is bisected by I-895, and of course, there's Rocketts Landing which will practically abut Wilton? There's also been talk of a Life-Style Retail Center somewhere on Laburnum Avenue.

Those former shopping malls on Mechanicsville Turnpike cry out for investment. Why did they fail in the first place? Given the demographics of the area, maybe moguls such as Magic Johnson would redevelop with big box stores, cinemas, restaurants and clubs.

By the way, I never hear mention of The Showplace on Mechanicsville Tpk anymore. It used to host all kinds of things ranging from antinque to cat shows. Has it given up the ghost?

I am pleased to see 25th street beginning to shed its neglected look.

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Thought is being given to the future of the tract which had been held in reserve for NASCAR's HOF. It stretches a mile in each direction along I-95 and I-295 in Henrico County near Virgiunia Center Commons. The local HOF proponents were paying over $9000 per month to option the property, and it appears the owners are still interested in selling the land.

As for Eastern Henrico, seems to me I've read quite a bit about proposed residential and commercial investment. Isn't a 3200 home urban center planned for the Wilton site that is bisected by I-895, and of course, there's Rocketts Landing which will practically abut Wilton? There's also been talk of a Life-Style Retail Center somewhere on Laburnum Avenue.

Those former shopping malls on Mechanicsville Turnpike cry out for investment. Why did they fail in the first place? Given the demographics of the area, maybe moguls such as Magic Johnson would redevelop with big box stores, cinemas, restaurants and clubs.

By the way, I never hear mention of The Showplace on Mechanicsville Tpk anymore. It used to host all kinds of things ranging from antinque to cat shows. Has it given up the ghost?

I am pleased to see 25th street beginning to shed its neglected look.

Reminding you burt...

Farms.jpg

Wilton is a couple of miles from Rocketts. "Life-Style Retail Center" OMG That's what they call those rip-offs? City recreations is how I view them. I have seen Short Pump's mall in passing when I explored the Three Chopt Rd segments and Three Notch Rd. I used to go to that Best Buy until they built one near VCC. But I hadn't been there either... I had planned to this Christmas but time ran out and I found what I wanted elsewhere. Stoney Point, I know the general idea of where it is, but I more than anything just don't go to that part of the city. The last time I was out there was probably 10 years ago! Wow time flies! I need to reaquaint myself to my old stomping grounds in the west end. I don't have a burning hatred for Stoney Point as I do Short Pump. It kills me every time I hear weathermen mention it as if it's its own city on the map.

The shopping ceneters along Mechanicsville and even ones on Nine Mile and Williamsburg need the attention of the county and perhaps some of the love and money they constantly throw at the far west end. It5's not like the people don't want the same amenities. People probably put up with it like they put up with gas prices and other things. Maybe they don't know how to push? Maybe they have and only get crumbs thrown back instead of the loaf. I think the county is scared or ashamed of its residents in that part of the county and they also don't encourage much growth. They sweep the entire east end of their county under the rug and showcase the west to everyone.

The Showplace still has exhibitions and an overflowing parkinglot for events. I went there once for a show a 9 years ago and bought this daggone cheap game that didn't even work! But I live not far from it.

Highland Springs and Sandston could use a little magic too.

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Reminding you burt...

Farms.jpg

Wilton is a couple of miles from Rocketts. "Life-Style Retail Center" OMG That's what they call those rip-offs? City recreations is how I view them. I have seen Short Pump's mall in passing when I explored the Three Chopt Rd segments and Three Notch Rd. I used to go to that Best Buy until they built one near VCC. But I hadn't been there either... I had planned to this Christmas but time ran out and I found what I wanted elsewhere. Stoney Point, I know the general idea of where it is, but I more than anything just don't go to that part of the city. The last time I was out there was probably 10 years ago! Wow time flies! I need to reaquaint myself to my old stomping grounds in the west end. I don't have a burning hatred for Stoney Point as I do Short Pump. It kills me every time I hear weathermen mention it as if it's its own city on the map.

The shopping ceneters along Mechanicsville and even ones on Nine Mile and Williamsburg need the attention of the county and perhaps some of the love and money they constantly throw at the far west end. It5's not like the people don't want the same amenities. People probably put up with it like they put up with gas prices and other things. Maybe they don't know how to push? Maybe they have and only get crumbs thrown back instead of the loaf. I think the county is scared or ashamed of its residents in that part of the county and they also don't encourage much growth. They sweep the entire east end of their county under the rug and showcase the west to everyone.

The Showplace still has exhibitions and an overflowing parkinglot for events. I went there once for a show a 9 years ago and bought this daggone cheap game that didn't even work! But I live not far from it.

Highland Springs and Sandston could use a little magic too.

As Henrico's western portion nears build out... (it's beginning to come close), the county's 'development eye' will begin to gaze to the east. It's inevitable and finally becoming evident.

If you notice a slight slant to chesterfield here, it's because eandslee and myself are from chesterfield. It's my 'old stomping grounds" if you will.

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Thats what i've always said ever since short pump got so built out one day goochland will become another henrico and Broad St will be big on goochland as well and it will be known as broad St in goochland all its known now is a route. I don't guess goochland really has names for their major roads all i've ever known them as is route #'s

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Goochland came from Henrico, just as Richmond and Chesterfield did.

Broad Street Rd. runs through Goochland by that name. It changes names in Louisa and in Fluvanna.

That was a fun ride I tell you! And Three Chopt crosses Broad Street Rd like 100 times. Those old original roads are so fascinating!

Edited by Cadeho
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I dout it. Henrico would do everything to rehab it's older areas within the county. To Henrico, its eastern portion is a bunch of farm hicks and freed slaves.

I tend to disagree with that. I think that it will grow; it already is beginning to. IT can't happen overnight though... give it some time.

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On the Wakins Center thread, there was some talk of the Cloverleaf area redevelopment proposal. You know, I haven't heard much official word about this project in forever. I thought that just as soon as the county sold the property to a development company (which they did already), that it would be no time before we saw anything move there. Unfortunately, I've heard nothing but talk and nothing is moving out there...not even a rendering! This idea has been floating around for years, I wonder what the hold-up is? I'd hate to think that it'll take another 10 years to see a rendering. To me, that property is hot...I can't imagine why the developers just won't jump on a project there now! I'm just baffled.... :wacko:

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the county must wait until the leases on current tenants end before it hands over all of the property to a development company based in Philly.

It's (chesterfield) also very serious about it. It's former economic development director is in charge of solely seeing through development of Cloverleaf, Meadowville, and maybe centrepoint.

It will be a MASSIVE undertaking, so if it takes a couple more months than before, so be it.

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I'd like to see the suburbs grow differently... The fan was a suburb once. Now its referred to as one of the finest examples of turn the century neighborhoods in the country...

Why can't Chesterfield reinvent it's older, neglected areas (eastern midlothian corridor for example), creating a grid layout, higher density, and much more mixed use? I'm thinking corner cafes, shops with apartments above, neighborhood supermarkets. Create green spaces...neighborhood park-like spaces. Include jogging/biking trails.... Man I wish I had capital and the ability to change the county's outdated zoning policies..

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All of Richmond was suburban at one point. I think I pointed that out earlier. We've only had 11 annexations since 1769. The Fan (or Sydney) wasn't a suburb when it developed. It was planned and laid out on paper in the early 1800s but wasn't actually developed until the 1890s and as late as the 1920s. It was a city neighborhood when it developed having been annexed in 1867 and at that time only what was call Oregon Hill was partially developed. it was a collection of estates and farmland.

I don't loathe the suburbs, I don't like the design and the efforts to suck the life out of the city by turning themselves into urban centers. After a while the city will just be an office park with historic attractions. I only hate Short Pump and the overbuilt far west end and to some degree Midlothian. Everything else isn't as evil. Henrico wouldn't overdeverlop its eastern end. It should at least upgrade its corridors. And we're losing a Pizza Hut.

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