South Richmond Development

[whw53]

I wanted to create a space for development proposals and general discussion for those neighborhoods outside of Manchester but still within the city limits on Southside - everything from Stony Point along Jahnke to Westover Hills and then the scattered development activity and potential for activity along Hull and Midlothian and Rt 1 etc - some areas of which are seeing creeping urbanism or at least some infill into what is generally a suburban matrix  OR per the plan - are expected to in the coming years if the market bites. The ONE project got me thinking more about this side of the river recently and I've been reexamining those portions of the 300 plan that deal with these development nodes south of the River.  

Per the plan one of these nodes is 'Westover Hills'  or more practically the commercial area centered around  Westover Hills Blvd and Forest Hill Ave. This node got its first taste of a more urban development product with the Hill Standard project, a small mixed use development just west of Walgreens. Now a new development proposal of similar scale has been introduced to city council as of this week - the developer seeking a SUP due to its  non-conformity with the underlying R-5 zoning district. 

More information on this project can be found here - https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4924930&GUID=6817B815-2773-40A0-9741-E5041F2CDBD9&Options=&Search=

In short the developer is proposing a 3 story mixed-use building, containing up to twelve dwelling units and commercial space at the triangle lot corner of Westover Hills & Dunston Ave.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by whw53

[wrldcoupe4]

That's great- I suspect we'll hear about some additional development soon in this Forest Hill / Westover Hills node.

[I miss RVA]

whw53 - great idea for the new thread culling out South Richmond outside of Manchester. I'm excited to see the Forest Hill/Westover Hills node start to get some more urbanized development. I grew up on Forest Hill Avenue about a mile west of Westover Hills Boulevard - so it's my old stomping grounds. Happy to see this happening there. It's about time.

[whw53]

https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/07/21/117-townhomes-planned-for-hull-street-near-chippenham-parkway/

117 unit townhome development to be built on wooded parcel next to the new middle school. While not the most urban product it looks like the developer was able to minimize surface parking by utilizing alleys on the units at the interior of the site. I also appreciate the trail connection to be built from Whitehead to Hull. New for sale housing stock should be popular in this area. 

Edited July 21, 2021 by whw53

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, whw53 said:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/07/21/117-townhomes-planned-for-hull-street-near-chippenham-parkway/

117 unit townhome development to be built on wooded parcel next to the new middle school. While not the most urban product it looks like the developer was able to minimize surface parking by utilizing alleys on the units at the interior of the site. I also appreciate the trail connection to be built from Whitehead to Hull. New for sale housing stock should be popular in this area. 

I have family that lives in that area and for as long as I can remember, it’s always been a rough area.  Good to see some developer investment going in.  Maybe this will be the start of turning that area around!  

[whw53]

Westover Hills down a strip center. Plan of Development filed this week would raze the aged retail center at 5069 Forest Hill in its entirety to make way for a 'New 3-story mixed use with 30 dwelling units and 7,844 SF of commercial '. 

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/2026d021-1f01-4480-bcf9-d874c6cbe8da

 

[I miss RVA]

18 hours ago, whw53 said:

Westover Hills down a strip center. Plan of Development filed this week would raze the aged retail center at 5069 Forest Hill in its entirety to make way for a 'New 3-story mixed use with 30 dwelling units and 7,844 SF of commercial '. 

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/2026d021-1f01-4480-bcf9-d874c6cbe8da

 

This is great news! It's a real win for Westover Hills - I'm glad to see developers coming into the neighborhood and starting to tap into the potential this part of town has. I grew up on Forest Hill Avenue less than a mile west of this site - those strip retailers slightly set back off of the street are a throwback of at least 60 or more years. (I don't know the history of this stretch of Forest Hill - but my guess is that some parts of this were built at least in the 1950s - maybe even 1940s. Honestly, I'd love to know.) I remember how, when I was little (late '60s, early '70s), I went with my mother and aunt to the old Westover 5 & 10 - which was in the section of retailers in the far right of the picture (it's location is actually out of the picture to the right) - and it makes me wonder exactly how old that building was. I recall the ornate tin ceiling, the old hanging light fixtures, the wooden floors and the old wooden counters that, now that I think about it, make me think that set of buildings MIGHT have gone back to the 1940s or even the 1930s. Lots of fond memories about treks to the old 5&10 - today's modern dollar stores have NOTHING on those older 5&10 stores - they were a kid paradise! A treasure-trove of stuff to pester one's mother to purchase could be found there. Great memories. 

[wrldcoupe4]

The project directly across the street turned out great, by the way.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

The project directly across the street turned out great, by the way.

Next to the school? Where the old CVS (and before it - Standard Drug (how many are you old enough to remember Standard and Peoples in Richmond?)) use to be?

Edited August 27, 2021 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

4 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Next to the school? Where the old CVS (and before it - Standard Drug (how many are you old enough to remember Standard and People's in Richmond?)) use to be?

I remember Peoples and I also remember A&P.  Additionally, I remember a fast food restaurant called Burger Chef - all in Richmond!

[DowntownCoruscant]

Yup, Burger Chef (kind of/sort of predecessor to Hardee’s).

[I miss RVA]

11 minutes ago, eandslee said:

I remember Peoples and I also remember A&P.  Additionally, I remember a fast food restaurant called Burger Chef - all in Richmond!

I remember all of the above as well. Do you remember Colonial Stores? There was one in Westover Hills - a couple of blocks from this site - and across the street from the project listed higher up in this thread. As I recall, there was also one a little farther west in Stratford Hills. When I was a kid, we went to both.

7 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

Yup, Burger Chef (kind of/sort of predecessor to Hardee’s).

OMG - I lovvvvvvvvvvvvved me some Burger Chef when I was a kid. We went to the one on West Broad - I wanna say not too far from Staples Mill. I don't think it was the same location that Burger King later moved into on Broad - but I could be wrong. Didn't Burger Chef (when the franchise was starting to really take on water and start sinking) go so far as to offer a mini salad bar? 

Edited August 27, 2021 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

I don’t remember that store.  But I did work at the CVS in Westover Hills in my lower 20s.  My childhood days were spent in south Richmond around the Hopkins Road/Chippenham Parkway area.  If it wasn’t in that area, I didn’t know anything about it (LOL!).  I do remember when Chippenham Parkway was just two lanes and I distinctly remember seeing the machinery used to expand it all to 4 lanes! Good times!

[I miss RVA]

Just now, eandslee said:

I don’t remember that store.  But I did work at the CVS in Westover Hills in my lower 20s.  My childhood days were spent in south Richmond around the Hopkins Road/Chippenham Parkway area.  If it wasn’t in that area, I didn’t know anything about it (LOL!).  I do remember when Chippenham Parkway was just two lanes and I distinctly remember seeing the machinery used to expand it all to 4 lanes! Good times!

Yeah, man!! I also remember when Chippenham was two lanes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but way back then, weren't there grade-level intersections with traffic signals at Jahnke, Midlo and Hull Street Road?

Okay -- how is this then: I remember when Forest Hill Avenue from the bridge crossing the C&O tracks just west of Dorchester Road alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll they way out heading west - WAY past where I grew up (I was in Granite, just east of the Powhite) was two lanes. There were ridiculously deep drainage culverts, particularly on the north side of the roadway (particularly right in front of my house) and cars got stuck in those culverts CONSTANTLY. I remember when the city finally widened it and installed proper sidewalks and curbs, too. I had a blast watching the big construction machinery (and had a whole fleet of corresponding Tonka construction toys digging up a spot in the yard) - like you said, good times!

[whw53]

Lawson doubling down on South Richmond - POD filed last week would take a wooded lot off 44th street and turn it into  144 unit complex.

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/ffae51d4-2c79-40e7-bbaf-8cd968f7e23f

This comes only a few days after they filed a plan for a 4 story building at Commerce & Hull.

 

 

[I miss RVA]

This is a huge win for this part of South Richmond. VERY glad to see it. I wonder if this then will serve as a catalyst to spur development further east along and north of Crutchfield - in that very large undeveloped tract northeast of George Wythe HS?

For this project, I'll be curious to see if there is any street tie-in to any of the numbered streets (aside from W. 44th St.) in the street-grid north of the project site.

Edited September 9, 2021 by I miss RVA

[CitiWalker]

On 8/27/2021 at 5:50 PM, I miss RVA said:

Yeah, man!! I also remember when Chippenham was two lanes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but way back then, weren't there grade-level intersections with traffic signals at Jahnke, Midlo and Hull Street Road?

Okay -- how is this then: I remember when Forest Hill Avenue from the bridge crossing the C&O tracks just west of Dorchester Road alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll they way out heading west - WAY past where I grew up (I was in Granite, just east of the Powhite) was two lanes. There were ridiculously deep drainage culverts, particularly on the north side of the roadway (particularly right in front of my house) and cars got stuck in those culverts CONSTANTLY. I remember when the city finally widened it and installed proper sidewalks and curbs, too. I had a blast watching the big construction machinery (and had a whole fleet of corresponding Tonka construction toys digging up a spot in the yard) - like you said, good times!

I remember the Burger Chef on Brook Rd. in front of  Azelea Mall...Looked similar to this one. 

[I miss RVA]

14 minutes ago, CitiWalker said:

I remember the Burger Chef on Brook Rd. in front of  Azelea Mall...Looked similar to this one. 

I think most of the franchise sites looked pretty much the same. Maybe not 100% cookie-cutter, but probably designed to be as similar as possible. The one on West. Broad looked very much like this one.

[whw53]

Westover Hills down a strip center. Plan of Development filed this week would raze the aged retail center at 5069 Forest Hill in its entirety to make way for a 'New 3-story mixed use with 30 dwelling units and 7,844 SF of commercial '. 
https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/2026d021-1f01-4480-bcf9-d874c6cbe8da
 
http://up-bucket-0.s3.amazonaws.com/monthly_2021_08/stripcenterFH.thumb.JPG.7df70093f04ce7aef0f0655eeb3b2a09.JPG

Context + rendering from Biz Sense!

https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/09/09/plotkin-blackwood-plan-mixed-use-building-to-replace-forest-hill-strip/

Sent from my SM-A125U1 using Tapatalk

[whw53]

I have to agree with the commentator David Huphrey in the BizSense comment section. Dam i didn't catch that parking in the front, took it as the road in the quick glance i gave to it. Seems like a large plot, you'd think some of this could be shifted to the back of the site off the alley. 

Also, looks like Stony Point Fashion Centre is up for sale - i would like to see city keep this as a relevant destination center to keep pace with Regency, and what Chesterfield is trying to accomplish at Stonebridge\Spring Rock Green. I hope Dillard's stays - it's really the last department store in the city limits. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/09/10/stony-point-fashion-park-up-for-sale-to-select-investors-for-undisclosed-price/

[I miss RVA]

12 minutes ago, whw53 said:

I have to agree with the commentator David Huphrey in the BizSense comment section. Dam i didn't catch that parking in the front, took it as the road in the quick glance i gave to it. Seems like a large plot, you'd think some of this could be shifted to the back of the site off the alley. 

Also, looks like Stony Point Fashion Centre is up for sale - i would like to see city keep this as a relevant destination center to keep pace with Regency, and what Chesterfield is trying to accomplish at Stonebridge\Spring Rock Green. I hope Dillard's stays - it's really the last department store in the city limits. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/09/10/stony-point-fashion-park-up-for-sale-to-select-investors-for-undisclosed-price/

Re: the Westover Hills development: I do agree in that I'd personally prefer that the project be shifted up to the sidewalk with parking placed behind the buildings off the alley. My only thought about why the developers are choosing to keep the front-of-business parking is that it is consistent with all of the other buildings in that block heading east toward the CVS. 

[whw53]

 

On 9/10/2021 at 11:35 AM, I miss RVA said:

Re: the Westover Hills development: I do agree in that I'd personally prefer that the project be shifted up to the sidewalk with parking placed behind the buildings off the alley. My only thought about why the developers are choosing to keep the front-of-business parking is that it is consistent with all of the other buildings in that block heading east toward the CVS. 

Somebody pointed out in the comments I did not catch before - the zoning here is B-2 which requires parking to the front. Developer may not have had the will, timeframe, or resources to pursue a rezoning or special use of this property. 

[Jordon]

https://www.genesisproperties.com/afton-development-on-richmonds-southside/

 

Proposed development for affordable housing in Richmond’s southside. 

[I miss RVA]

10 hours ago, Jordon said:

https://www.genesisproperties.com/afton-development-on-richmonds-southside/

 

Proposed development for affordable housing in Richmond’s southside. 

What's scary is that this actually looks nicer and is a more inviting design as the income-based housing projected slated to rise at Commerce and Hull. 

Curious as to the cross-street.  Am guessing this will be built in the block between Columbia Street & Lynhaven Avenue - it appears to be an open, developable block. The Genesis Properties page mentioned "Greystone Place Apartments one block away" - so that location would seem to be about right.

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by I miss RVA

[whw53]

POD filed this week to facilitate this project.

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/17883fbf-4f73-4f30-9559-5d12a159e01d

On 9/22/2021 at 12:10 AM, Jordon said:

https://www.genesisproperties.com/afton-development-on-richmonds-southside/

 

Proposed development for affordable housing in Richmond’s southside. 

POD filed this week to facilitate this project.

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/17883fbf-4f73-4f30-9559-5d12a159e01d