South Richmond Development

[Flood Zone]

We lived down the street in the Stratford Hills apartments, right next to Thompson Middle School. I used to watch the cars pass by on Forest Hill Avenue from our balcony, and the trash company's logo on the dumpster was my strike zone when I'd throw tennis balls against it and pretend I was Steve Carlton or Fernando Valenzuela or Dwight Gooden. We shopped at the very tiny, long-gone Ukrop's, and I'd get my hair cut at the barber's next door. As for the actual Stratford Hills Shopping Center, some of my earliest memories are waiting with my mom for the bus downtown outside the office building across the street. I remember taking our TV to get fixed at Bill May TV. And years later, as an adult, I'd come back to the area to take my dog to Critter Town Bath House. 

I mean, my memories are kind of irrelevant to the discussion, but one reason I like this board is that I consider re various areas of the town what was there, what is there, and what could be.

[I miss RVA]

16 minutes ago, Flood Zone said:

We lived down the street in the Stratford Hills apartments, right next to Thompson Middle School. I used to watch the cars pass by on Forest Hill Avenue from our balcony, and the trash company's logo on the dumpster was my strike zone when I'd throw tennis balls against it and pretend I was Steve Carlton or Fernando Valenzuela or Dwight Gooden. We shopped at the very tiny, long-gone Ukrop's, and I'd get my hair cut at the barber's next door. As for the actual Stratford Hills Shopping Center, some of my earliest memories are waiting with my mom for the bus downtown outside the office building across the street. I remember taking our TV to get fixed at Bill May TV. And years later, as an adult, I'd come back to the area to take my dog to Critter Town Bath House. 

I mean, my memories are kind of irrelevant to the discussion, but one reason I like this board is that I consider re various areas of the town what was there, what is there, and what could be.

Idk - I think our memories of various areas of RVA that are changing (or have the potential to change) are valuable and relevant to the conversation - it certainly adds richness to the discussion, particularly for those of us who go back quite a ways growing up in the River City many MANY moons ago and remember how things were (which fuels excitement of the potential of what could be!)  My mother LOVED that old long-gone Ukrops - we shopped there ALL - THE - TIME. I also got my hair cut (on occasion) at that barber shop (though I frequented a couple of barbers in Westover Hills more regularly because they were friends of my dad). Now - do you go back far enough to remember (in the shopping center that had the Ukrops) either 1.) the old Ben Franklin store that was on the far southwest corner, all the way at the end and 2.) the Whistle Stop Train Shoppe hobby store? OMG - when I was a kid, I LIVED for the opportunities to go into those stores. I got a TON of model railroad stuff at the Whistle Stop - and my parents bought me my first-ever issue of Sports Illustrated - January of 1971 - coverage of Super Bowl V - from the Ben Franklin. As I recall, they had a small soda fountain and we'd go there and get milkshakes now and then. I seem to remember that I got my second-ever issue of Sports Illustrated from that Ben Franklin later that year - early June 1971 - coverage of the Indianapolis 500.

Either way - all of this is to say that RVA is growing, changing, moving forward - which is what cities are meant to do. Much as I might miss that old Ukrops or the old Colonial Stores grocery store in the Stratford Hills shopping center or some of the other businesses, those are fond memories that will always remain - and it makes me all the more excited about what the future might hold. Mind you, Stratford Hills isn't a "hotspot" of rapid change the way Scott's Addition or lower Manchester are these days - but that doesn't preclude growth and change from coming to the area. I think exciting times are ahead.

[Icetera]

Everyone keeps mentioning Wawa but there is already one down the road just on the other side of Chippenham Pkwy.  That is actually a stated reason as to why Sheetz wants to open a store.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Icetera said:

Everyone keeps mentioning Wawa but there is already one down the road just on the other side of Chippenham Pkwy.  That is actually a stated reason as to why Sheetz wants to open a store.

How about a Walgreens or a CVS? I'm guessing there might be either one (or both) lurking around a little farther west near Chippenham - but those corner parcels like that are often good fits for a stand-alone Walgreens. Maybe not the highest and best use - but they'd probably do plenty of business.

[I miss RVA]

Just for fun and out of curiosity and nostalgia, I did a little research into Colonial Stores since it was a part of my RVA childhood back in the '60s and '70s. They had a big presence in Virginia in general and in Richmond in particular.

Thought I'd share a couple of pictures of Colonial Stores in the southeast (not in Richmond) that look VERY much like the two that were the closest to me when I was growing up. The first one looks very much like the store that was on Westover Hills Boulevard - if I recall it was in the building that Safeway ended up in for DECADES (close to 49th and Clarence).  The second one looks very much like the one that was in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center - which I think was actually the same store (meaning people and business) that simply relocated from Westover Hills.

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

A small but nice adaptive reuse project on W. 31st Street, two blocks south of Semmes Avenue in Woodland Heights. A 99-year-old former nursing home that has sat vacant for a decade is to be converted into 19 apartments, if the developer can secure the SUP for which he has filed. The former Manor nursing home building is pretty badly run down cosmetically - BUT - is quite structurally sound - making the project feasible.

Should be a nice mini-insertion of density into that part of Southside.

From Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/11/22/realtor-trio-plans-to-convert-rundown-old-nursing-home-into-apartments-near-forest-hill/

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

Wow... the Richmond Times-Dispatch seems intent on giving the Sheetz/Stratford Hills Shopping Center kerfuffle as much oxygen as humanly possible.

Here's their latest and greatest. 

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/richmond-residents-hope-2009-traffic-study-will-deter-developers-from-building-new-sheetz/

[I miss RVA]

A local developer -- Richmond Hill -- is planning a neat little pocket subdivision off of Forest Hill Avenue just west of Willow Oaks Country Club -- (roughly a half mile or so west of where I grew up, btw!) There's an old 1907 house that sits tucked back off of Forest Hill that will be razed to make way for the street and cul de sac. Richmond Hill is working on a couple of projects in Westhampton as well.

Very cool to see this development set to come to a stones throw from my old neck of the woods! 

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/12/05/local-builder-planning-10-home-subdivision-near-willow-oaks/

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by I miss RVA

[whw53]

POD filed 12\29 will bring 'mixed use residential and commercial' to Westover Hills Village. 

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/SelfService/richmondvaprod#/plan/9200e354-4aa5-410c-89a8-f6684f288752?tab=locations

 

[I miss RVA]

43 minutes ago, whw53 said:

POD filed 12\29 will bring 'mixed use residential and commercial' to Westover Hills Village. 

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/SelfService/richmondvaprod#/plan/9200e354-4aa5-410c-89a8-f6684f288752?tab=locations

 

Wow!! The new year is certainly starting off red hot!! Didn't see all of these PODs coming! VERY excited to see what might be built here. This block is close to where I grew up on  Forest Hill Ave  -- the fire station (immediately to the left of the site of the proposed new development) is exactly one and a quarter miles door-to-door from the house in which I grew up. 

Edited January 3 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

On 1/3/2023 at 2:57 PM, whw53 said:

POD filed 12\29 will bring 'mixed use residential and commercial' to Westover Hills Village. 

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/SelfService/richmondvaprod#/plan/9200e354-4aa5-410c-89a8-f6684f288752?tab=locations

 

 

Here's Mike's reporting in today's RBS.  VERY impressive what Daniil Kleyman's company is doing in terms of RVA revitalization in select neighborhoods with really smart, well-designed infill projects. They are blowing up with the sheer number of developments they have - what with all they've got underway or in the pipeline in the East End. VERY glad they took the Nestea Plunge and decided to invest in Westover Hills - my old stomping grounds. I grew up on Forest Hill Avenue a mile and a quarter west of this site. 

One thought about this development:  Believe it or not, I'm okay with the small parking area in front. While it's ALWAYS preferable to have these building go up to the side walk (or as close to it as is possible) - it does fit the overall vibe of the neighborhood. That whole stretch west across Westover Hills Boulevard to the Forest Hill and Jahnke Road/Prince Arthur Road intersection has ALWAYS featured that small strip of parking between the buildings (which have their own sidewalks) and the street sidewalk. It's been that way as far back as I can remember (and I remember being  4 or 5 years old and going with my mom and sometimes with my aunt and my cousins to the old High's ice cream shop and the old Westover 5 and Dime - both of which used to be between Westover Hills Blvd and Prince Arthur on the north side of Forest Hill Avenue).

So that Kleyman went with a design that's in keeping with that aspect of the neighborhood vibe isn't at all surprising.

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/01/09/kleyman-dodson-to-replace-old-bofa-branch-on-forest-hill-ave-with-apartment-project/

 

Edited January 9 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

On 8/12/2022 at 7:35 PM, Child2021 said:

Another day, Another new development...

7000 Carnation St. 

Plans.pdf

More good news!

This project has re-surfaced and looks like it's moving forward.  The development will bring 218 income-based apartments to 7000 Carnation Street in Beaufont Oaks - just south of Chippenham Parkway. 

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/01/11/local-developer-planning-218-income-based-apartments-near-chippenham-hospital/

 

Edited January 11 by I miss RVA

[Shakman]

More surface parking than building foot prints.  

[eandslee]

Great article from a DC publication about Richmond’s south side. Hits on growth, rezoning, affordable housing, population growth, etc. Even has two photos of cranes in Manchester!!!  Gotta steal those for our cranes thread!!

https://ggwash.org/view/87889/could-rezoning-key-corridors-encourage-new-growth-on-richmonds-long-overlooked-southside

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Great article from a DC publication about Richmond’s south side. Hits on growth, rezoning, affordable housing, population growth, etc. Even has two photos of cranes in Manchester!!!  Gotta steal those for our cranes thread!!

https://ggwash.org/view/87889/could-rezoning-key-corridors-encourage-new-growth-on-richmonds-long-overlooked-southside

Really great article, @eandslee! Images indeed have been snarfled and they'll be appearing on the forum quite soon.   I'm saving one of the two pix for the Cranes thread (I might slip it in this month - or wait and use it for the February update). 

One VERY interesting point in the article - and it has to do with RVA's projected population growth - and it cited the Richmond 300 plan's data that the city planners were using a couple of years ago when the plan was in the home stretch of being finalized. Check out this quote:

"With some population projections for Virginia’s capital anticipating up to as many as 114,000 new Richmonders (a roughly 50% increase in residents of the River City) over the next 15 years, Addison believes the time to plan for new people is now."

About the only thing I can say is:  from  GGW's Wyatt Gordon's keyboard to God's eyes. PLEASE!!! PRETTY PLEASE!!! I'd be able to live out the home stretch of my life a truly happy man if that were to happen! OMG! (That 114K would officially get us to 340K by 2037.)

This harkens back to our discussion the other day on one of the other threads: I just for the LIFE of me cannot fathom that with ALL THIS NEW construction going on - if it keeps going and the city keeps upzoning and building out at the pace she's been on these last few years - I just can't for the life of me imagine we could build out the city THIS much (extrapolating it out over, say, even to just 2030) and have a 10-year population increase of something nauseating like 9,500 residents. That would totally defy credulity IMNSHO. We'd HAVE to do better than that! And what with LEGO... CoStar ... and who knows who else the powers that be could possibly attract here over the next 10 to 15 years - and all the jobs that could come with those business relocations - and given how success breeds success breeds success breeds success... even if we didn't add a full-on 114,000 more residents to the city proper over 15 years - maybe we could add enough to at least crack 300K in population. That'd be a step in the right direction, to be sure!

Edited January 12 by I miss RVA

[KJHburg]

saw this from the Greater Greater Washington webpage about growth and upzoning on the southside of  Richmond.  

https://ggwash.org/view/87889/could-rezoning-key-corridors-encourage-new-growth-on-richmonds-long-overlooked-southside?

[I miss RVA]

50 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

saw this from the Greater Greater Washington webpage about growth and upzoning on the southside of  Richmond.  

https://ggwash.org/view/87889/could-rezoning-key-corridors-encourage-new-growth-on-richmonds-long-overlooked-southside?

Belated Happy New Year, my friend! 

Really good article in the GWW.