Retail development heating up in Richmond

Retail is blooming in Richmond. Last week’s announcement that upscale grocer Wegmans will be building two stores in the area was the latest in a string of new stores, restaurants and retailers coming to the river city region.

Golfsmith, the country’s largest golf equipment and apparel retailer, will open its 24,000-square-foot store in Short Pump on Wednesday. The store is located at 2000 Old Brick Road in the West Broad Village development on West Broad Street in Henrico County.

A recent market report from Colliers in Richmond notes other developments in the Short Pump corridor. NVRetail is building a 350,000-square-foot West Broad Marketplace about a mile west of Short Pump Town Center. It will be anchored by a 97,500-square-foot Cabela’s. The outdoor gear retailer is new to the market and projects a spring 2016 opening.

Another anchor will be Wegmans. The grocer also plans to have a store in the Stonehenge Village Shopping Center in Midlothian. Opening dates for those projects are yet to be announced.

Markel | Eagle Partners in Richmond has announced a mixed-use project called GreenGate near the Henrico/Goochland county line that will include up to 224,000 square feet of commercial development. To date, no tenants have been announced.

Meanwhile, the former Azalea Mall site at Brook Road and Azalea Avenue in Richmond appears to be back in play after lying dormant for years. New development plans show a proposed Martin’s grocery anchor.

According to Colliers, competition in the grocery sector is picking up as both Kroger, Martin’s, and now Wegmans expand.  Kroger just opened its second area Kroger Marketplace store on Staples Mill Road in the northwest quadrant in Henrico County, and Martin’s has a store under construction at Charter Colony in the southwest quadrant in Chesterfield County.

New player Southern Season plans to open a specialty store at Libbie Mill in Henrico in the fall, and grocer Aldi is expected to enter the Richmond market with two locations initially in western Henrico and Colonial Heights.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart appears to be poised to place a 42,000-square-foot neighborhood market concept store in the Meadowbrook center in Chesterfield while continuing to build new superstores including one scheduled to open this month at Reynolds’ Crossing in Henrico.

Oakley’s, a sunglass chain, opened a new store at Short Pump Town Center on Sunday and high-end Kate Spade, which offers handbags and women’s clothing, already is open on the lower level.

On the restaurant scene, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery and Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery are coming to Short Pump, joining the growing list of breweries
in the metro area. Both offer in-house breweries along with a restaurant.

At Willow Lawn, Zoë’s Kitchen and Travinia Italian Kitchen will soon join American Tap Room.