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Tag: mixed use

Henrico greenlights $450M live-work-play community

The Henrico County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12 greenlit Kinsale Center, a massive redevelopment project in the Willow Lawn area from insurance company Kinsale Capital Group and Richmond-based Marchetti Development. The $450 million mixed-use development is expected to bring nearly 700 residences, an eight-story “high end” hotel, 32,300 square feet of retail and 345,000 square feet of new office space to the 29-acre former Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) campus at the northeast intersection of West Broad Street and Staples Mill Road. 

According to county documents, the project would be developed over several phases, with the first phase including a hotel and mixed-use building, as well as 261 apartments. The second phase would include a residential building with 258 units on the northeast corner at the intersection of Maywill and Thalbro streets. Phase 3 would include two new six-story office buildings and a parking garage with nearly 1,400 spaces along Thalbro Street and at its intersection with Staples Mill Road. Phase 4 would include another new office building at the intersection of Staples Mill Road and West Broad Street and a mixed-use building with 173 units along Staples Mill Road, according to a Henrico County staff report and information presented to the Board of Supervisors.  

The residential buildings would be five to seven stories each, and the office buildings would be around the same scale. The development would have 5-foot-wide sidewalks and may add 10-foot sidewalks along new interior streets. The retail space, taken by upscale boutiques, would be incorporated into the office, multifamily and hotel buildings, 

There are two office buildings already on the site.

One of those buildings, the older of the two, on the north side, will be renovated inside and out “to look like a 2023 modern office building,” said Joe Marchetti Jr., cofounder of Marchetti Development. That building will become Kinsale’s new headquarters and is about 254,000 square feet. Kinsale will take 215,000 square feet and Elevance will use the basement, about 35,000 square feet, he said. It should be ready by fall 2025. The rest of the projects would be delivered starting in 2026.

Marchetti said the focus is to get the Kinsale in its building and then start marketing the other sites as they go forward.

In the county documents, the project is described as “a cutting-edge modern mixed-use neighborhood nested within the vibrant community of Henrico County.” Kinsale Capital Group owns the project, and alongside the developer, Marchetti, Baskervill is the design architect and Kimley-Horn is the civil engineer. 

In this area of the county, near the border with Richmond, there’s an emergence of several communities that are redeveloping as live-work-play centers, said Anthony Romanello, executive director of the Henrico Economic Development Authority.

Marchetti said the property is the gateway to Henrico County, coming out of the City of Richmond, and one of the most centrally located.

One aspect he pointed out as particularly important is that a full-service hotel is included in the plans, which he said is a differentiator for that area. Marchetti said it could have about 150 rooms but the number is flexible.

Construction starts on $80M apartments in Chesterfield

The developer of an estimated $80 million apartment building in Chesterfield County’s Springline at District 60 mixed-use development broke ground at the site on Sept. 28.

The James at Springline will have 298 apartments and 28,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Connecticut-based Collins Capital Partners is the lead developer. The project is scheduled for a 2025 completion.

The development will have office pods, a conference area, fireplaces, an interior courtyard with pool and lounge areas, a roof deck with a fitness center and garage parking.

The project is part of the $210 million, 42-acre first phase of the county’s Springline at District 60 development, located on Midlothian Turnpike off Chippenham Parkway. Chesterfield County cleared the way for development in March by starting demolition on the former Best Products building in what was the Spring Rock Green shopping center.

“We’re thrilled that [The James at Springline’s] groundbreaking marks the beginning of an exciting new mixed-use development in Chesterfield that will offer residents an opportunity to live, work, shop and play in one place,” Collins Capital Partners Managing Principal Art Collins said in a statement.

The first phase will also include a 150,000-square-foot office building, a sports entertainment and tournament venue, a specialty grocery store and a parking garage, and the center will be an open space that can host concerts, markets, festivals or other events.

The Chesterfield Economic Development Authority bought the land from Bond Cos. in 2021 for $16 million, and the county board of supervisors approved the development plan in April 2022. At the time of rezoning in 2022, the initial development cost estimate for the overall project was $675 million, according to a project spokesperson.

Remaining phases are still in planning stages. As of March, the county expected to have 1,200 residential units total, split between apartments and townhouses, and plans to add another office building, an extended-stay hotel, entertainment venues and a police station.

Real Estate 2023: CHRIS WILLIAMS

A 25-year Dollar Tree veteran, Williams serves as senior vice president for the Fortune 500 discount retailer’s real estate portfolio, a position in which he leads Summit Pointe Realty, the entity developing Summit Pointe.

A downtown Chesapeake district being built around Dollar Tree’s 12-story corporate headquarters, Summit Pointe includes three apartment communities, restaurants, offices and public park space. Ultimately, it’s expected to encompass 1.75 million square feet of office and retail space and more than 1,400 apartments. In July, Venture X, a global coworking franchise, announced it is leasing 18,543 square feet in the 555 Belaire office tower in Summit Pointe.

Dollar Tree formed the Summit Pointe Realty subsidiary in 2015 after its $8.5 billion acquisition of North Carolina-based Family Dollar Stores.

Williams joined Dollar Tree in 1998 as vice president of portfolio management, a post he held until 2019 when he was promoted to senior vice president. He began his career as an accountant for KPMG in Norfolk after earning his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Old Dominion University.

Henrico County, Markel|Eagle acquire land for GreenCity

Henrico County and an affiliate of Markel|Eagle Partners LLC came to an agreement Thursday to purchase the 110-acre Scott Farm property, which will be a key part of the $2.3 billion mixed-use GreenCity development, for $35.1 million.

First proposed in December 2020, GreenCity plans to include what is billed as the nation’s greenest arena, with 17,000 seats, as well as two hotels with 600 rooms, about 2.2 million square feet of office space, 280,000 square feet of retail space, 2,100 residential units and green space and plazas, all expected to be finished by 2033 or 2034. In February, ASM Global was named to manage the arena, which is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2026.

The county Economic Development Authority approved agreements in which it will purchase the western Henrico land from the Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research, a nonprofit started by Richmond philanthropists Bill and Alice Goodwin, and resell it to Scott Farm Partners LLC. The limited liability corporation is an affiliate of Henrico-based real estate development firm Markel|Eagle Partners, itself a spinoff of Markel Corp. and Eagle Construction of Virginia. The company will develop the eco-district’s residential buildings and an 80-acre park, and the EDA approved a ground lease with Markel|Eagle to provide land for temporary parking for GreenCity Arena, until a parking garage is completed.

Thursday’s votes by the EDA now get the residential section of the project moving.

Next on tap is a development agreement between the county, Markel|Eagle and the EDA, which the Henrico County Board of Supervisors is set to consider Sept. 12, according to the county, and further actions will be taken in late 2023 or in 2024.

GreenCity properties. Image courtesy Henrico County

Henrico already has conveyed the 93.2-acre Best Plaza property at the intersection of Parham Road and Interstate 95 to GreenCity Partners, the development company run by Michael Hallmark and Susan Eastridge, for inclusion in the project. To complete the sale of Scott Farm, north of Best Plaza at the intersection of I-95 and Interstate 295, Henrico and Markel|Eagle each will contribute $17 million, and the EDA will provide $1.1 million, according to the county. 

Under the proposed development agreement with Markel|Eagle, Henrico’s costs will be reimbursed in 20 years or less. Each year, Henrico will receive the first $1 million of increased tax revenues generated by the development, with additional increases in revenues dedicated to a new, enlarged community development authority that will help fund the arena, according to Thursday’s announcement.

“With the EDA’s votes today, Henrico and its partners are another step closer to fulfilling the vision for GreenCity as the largest and most consequential development in our county’s history,” EDA Executive Director Anthony J. Romanello said in a statement. “It will generate tremendous opportunities and economic benefits for Henrico and our residents for decades to come. Economic development projects, especially those on this magnitude, almost always require significant partnerships. In the case of GreenCity, we are blessed to have blue chip partners in GreenCity Partners and ASM Global. Now, we’re thrilled to welcome Markel|Eagle as the official residential developer for GreenCity.” 

$98M Richmond apartment building to break ground in Q3

A $98 million luxury apartment building, The Ace Apartments, will be the newest addition to Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood.

The 1.7-acre project will have 295 luxury studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that will average 753 square feet per unit, and 85% of the units will have balconies. The development’s plans also call for a 7,500-square-foot courtyard, a 4,500-square-foot club room and a swimming pool, as well as more than 13,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Located at 1201 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., The Ace will be seven floors — five of wood construction and a mezzanine over two floors of concrete.

Chicago-based Cresset Partners, Washington, D.C.-based Level 2 Development LLC and Washington, D.C.-based SJG Properties formed a joint venture to develop the property and expect construction to begin in the third quarter of this year. Developers expect initial occupancy beginning in the first half of 2025.

The venture is Cresset’s first from its third Qualified Opportunity Zone fund, launched in June 2022. Maryland-based Sandy Spring Bank and New York-based Five Star Bank have committed a $58.4 million construction loan for the development.

Fortune-Johnson, a Georgia-based contractor with four previous projects in the greater Richmond area and an office in Midlothian, is the project’s general contractor.

Amazon begins HQ2 move-in

Amazon.com Inc. is moving more than 8,000 employees into the first phase of HQ2, its $2.5 billion East Coast headquarters in Arlington’s emerging National Landing area, this week. The e-tailer plans to officially open HQ2’s first phase, Metropolitan Park (Met Park), in June and to complete its move-in by the end of the summer. However, the No. 2-ranked Fortune Global 500 company said in March that it was delaying construction on HQ2’s second phase, PenPlace.

Amazon expects to create 25,000 jobs for the project by 2030 and is eligible for up to $550 million in state grants, should it meet the required annual hiring goals and average annual wages.

“This project is extraordinary in many respects,” Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a statement. “It will bring us significantly closer to fulfilling the community’s vision of Arlington and National Landing as an urban neighborhood with a better balance of office, residential and retail development, more and better public spaces and more and better access for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Met Park consists of 2.1 million square feet of office space and more than 50,000 square feet of retail space housing 14 businesses, as well as a 2.5-acre park. The campus is on park to receive a LEED Platinum certification, the highest LEED certification level.

Met Park’s two 22-story, 327-feet-tall office buildings can house 12,500 employees. One tower is named Jasper, the codename for an Alexa component that provides tools for customer settings. Amazon has named the other tower Merlin, after the codename for Amazon QuickSight, a cloud-based business intelligence service product that can create interactive dashboards. The buildings have a total of 62 elevators.

A street view of Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A street view of Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com
An aerial view of outdoor space within Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
An aerial view of outdoor space within Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A terrace in Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A terrace with grills in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
An entrance to the first phase of Amazon's HQ2, Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
An entrance to Amazon’s HQ2 offices. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A stairwell and escalator inside Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A stairwell and escalator inside Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A reception desk in Amazon.com Inc's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon
A reception desk in Amazon.com Inc’s HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon
An employee gathering space in Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
An employee gathering space in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
An outdoor terrace in Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
An outdoor terrace in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
Snack and beverage options in Met Park
Snack and beverage options in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A presentation room inside Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A presentation room inside Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A seating area in Met Park, the first phase of Amazon's HQ2. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A seating area in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A seating area in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.
A seating area in Met Park. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.

The towers include “centers of energy,” Amazon’s term for spaces for employees to gather, including four coffee shops and three all-electric commercial kitchens. The areas are designed to handle 30% of the offices’ employee capacity, an intentional move by the company to encourage employees to “venture out into the neighborhood,” according to a news release.

The 14 ground-floor retailers include a bike shop, a dog day care, a fitness studio, an early childhood education center, a spa, restaurants and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington’s Innovation Studio.

The towers have outdoor spaces within their designs: about 2.7 acres of rooftop landscaping, about an acre of green roof with native plants, two event terraces, two café terraces, one garden terrace, an urban farm and outdoor kitchens.

The public park includes walking paths, a dog run and a children’s play area and garden.

For commuting employees, Met Park has 620 bike racks, four levels of below-grade parking with 290 electric vehicle charging stations and pedestrian pathways for employees taking the Metro. On May 19, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority opened the Potomac Yard-VT station, anchored by Virginia Tech’s $1 billion Innovation Campus and two stops away from HQ2.

Chesterfield County kicks off $210M mixed-use project

Chesterfield County officials began demolition Tuesday of the former Best Products Co. Inc. building in the Spring Rock Green shopping center to clear the way for the $210 million first phase of the Springline at District 60 mixed-use development.

The 42-acre first phase of the project, located on Midlothian Turnpike off Chippenham Parkway, includes a six-story building with 27,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 300 apartment units, as well as a 150,000-square-foot corporate office building — expected to cost roughly $50 million — and a sports tournament facility with ice rinks. The county Board of Supervisors approved the plan in April 2022.

Connecticut-based developer Collins Enterprises is the developer for part of the first phase and will build the mixed-use building and a parking garage. Collins Enterprises expects the project to cost roughly $85 million and anticipates beginning development this summer, with phase one to be delivered by December 2024.

Rendering of Springline at District 60. Image courtesy Chesterfield County
Rendering of Springline at District 60. Image courtesy Chesterfield County

Remaining phases are still in planning stages, according to Chesterfield Economic Development Authority Director Garrett Hart. The county expects to have 1,200 residential units total, split between apartments and townhouses, and plans to add another office building, an extended-stay hotel, entertainment venues, a police station and a central square that could be used for festivals.

“We’re pretty much looking at phase two to … be under construction in ’25,” Hart said. “And we’re not really sure what phase two is right now. It’s definitely going to involve some more apartments, but it could also involve the hotel.”

The county EDA bought the land from Bond Cos. in 2021 for $16 million and will build infrastructure and utilities that are expected to cost $20 million or more. Chesterfield will sell the office and first residential pads to Collins in May or June for construction to begin.

Small retail tenants, like restaurants and clothing stores, have expressed interest in the ground-floor space, said Collins Principal Arthur “Art” Collins. Residential units will be mainly one- and two-bedroom units, with three-bedroom units comprising about 2%, Collins said.

Rendering of Springline at District 60. Image courtesy Chesterfield County
Rendering of Springline at District 60. Image courtesy Chesterfield County

Architecture firm Cooper Carry led rebranding for the area. District 60 will include Springline, the Stonebridge Shopping Center and The Boulders Office Park.

“I just want to have that dream one day where someone says, ‘Just meet me at District 60 and we’ll figure out what to do when we get there.’ I think you’re seeing the beginnings of that nexus between this property and across the street,” said Chesterfield County Administrator Joseph Casey.

Springline’s name comes from the Beaufont Lithia Springs Co. that sold bottled water from the nearby Beaufont Springs. James Robertson built a springhouse on the site in 1896 and sold the company to Frederick Sitterding in 1916. The company was shut down in 1940 as water treatment plants improved.

Divaris Group acquires N.C. mixed-use leasing, advising firm

Virginia Beach-based Divaris Group has acquired North Carolina-based real estate planning, advisory and leasing firm The McGarey Group, the firm announced Friday.

Financial terms and other details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The McGarey Group, led by President and CEO F. Denver McGarey, is now operating within Divaris Advisory, a division of Divaris Group. McGarey’s team will maintain its current roles, with its four employees transitioning to Divaris. McGarey Group has employees in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in San Diego.

“The McGarey Group has played a vital role in transforming numerous communities through landmark developments, spurring economic and social renewal,” Divaris Group Chair and CEO Gerald Divaris said in a statement. “Denver and his team have ambitious work ethic, unwavering commitment to integrity and an impressive track record of delivering exceptional results, enabling them to forge powerful strategic alliances across all areas of mixed-use development.”

Companies making up the Divaris Group include Divaris Real Estate Inc. and Divaris Property Management Corp. The McGarey acquisition expands Divaris Real Estate’s services throughout the mid-Atlantic and to Arizona, Michigan, California and beyond, Divaris said. The McGarey Group has worked on 65 projects involving 41 million square feet across 22 states as well as in China and Japan. McGarey Group provides comprehensive planning, advising and core leasing of mixed-use retail projects, including projects involving professional and college sports teams.

In a statement, McGarey called merging with Divaris “the most perfect fit.”

“This amalgamation of advisory, leasing, marketing, management, development and acclaimed transactional brokerage services gives our clients a tremendous advantage,” McGarey said. “Throughout this process, we had an unobstructed view to the sophistication of their verticality and, more importantly, to the remarkable character and integrity of the Divaris family and company.”

News of the acquisition comes less than two weeks after Divaris announced it had added 2.3 million square feet of new property management and engineering assignments following a joint venture with Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate firm KLNB in which Divaris will manage property obtained by that company.

Founded in 1974 in South Africa and headquartered in Virginia since 1981, Divaris Group is an international real estate services, brokerage and property management company that manages and/or leases more than 37.3 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space throughout the nation. IDivaris Real Estate Inc. has offices Virginia Beach, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, as well as in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, Beverly Hills, California, and Washington, D.C.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated the location of The McGarey Group. The company is based in North Carolina.

ASM Global to develop, run GreenCity arena in Henrico

ASM Global will develop and operate the 17,000-seat arena at Henrico County’s $2.3 billion GreenCity development, county officials announced Monday.

Billed as what will be the nation’s greenest arena with net-zero energy impact, the venue is set to be part of a multiuse community with a focus on environmental sustainability at the intersection of Interstates 95 and 295 at East Parham Road, the former home of Best Products’ headquarters. Design of the arena is expected to be finished this fall, and construction is scheduled to start in early 2024, with completion in 2026, according to Monday’s announcement. GreenCity was announced in December 2020.

The county will issue and sell bonds to finance the arena, and on-site revenue will be used to pay them off. In January, the county Board of Supervisors established the GreenCity Community Development Authority to issue bonds and finance public infrastructure at the 204-acre property; the authority will have its own board, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is expected to lead underwriting, the county said.

Officials from Henrico County, ASM and GreenCity developers didn’t specify particular music acts or sports that will be part of the arena’s schedule, but Liam Thornton, ASM’s executive vice president of development, said the company “believe[s] this is an optimal location for a new arena,” as it’s right off of I-95 and convenient for touring shows.

Michael Hallmark, a GreenCity Partners LLC principal and the project’s main developer, noted that many musical acts have become more environmentally conscious and would be interested in performing at the arena. He added that developers expect to be able to capture rainwater for future use and process organic waste on-site, part of the arena’s sustainability efforts.

Hallmark, an architect who has built other arenas, said that although the arena is the highest-profile part of the GreenCity project, it “is part of a much larger mosaic” and will not just consist of “a one-off arena and a parking lot.” The project is also expected to include two hotels with 600 rooms, about 2.2 million square feet of office space, 280,000 square feet of retail space, 2,100 residential units and green space and plazas. The entire development is expected to be finished by 2033 or 2034, officials have anticipated.

“It’s a beautiful development plan, impressive at every level,” ASM Global President and CEO Ron Bension said in a statement. “GreenCity offers tremendous synergies for the talent we hope to attract as well as the corporate partners we believe will be eager to be a part of this exciting project.”

ASM runs more than 300 stadiums, arenas and other venues around the world, including Charlottesville’s John Paul Jones Arena and Richmond’s Altria Theater and Dominion Energy Center in Virginia.

 

$130M mixed-use development planned for Hampton

A proposed $130 million development will bring 118 townhomes, 284 luxury apartments, 96 senior apartments and 6,000 square feet of retail space to Hampton.

The project, called The Olde Hampton Village, will span 16 parcels across nearly 23 acres near downtown Hampton, at the former site of the Lincoln Park housing development, on LaSalle Avenue, off Interstate 64 and near Langley Air Force Base and NASA Langley.

The former housing development closed and was demolished in 2016, according to the city’s staff report on the project. The proposal went in front of Hampton City Council on Wednesday night, seeking rezoning and use permits, and earned the council’s approval.

The Olde Hampton Village is a joint venture between Virginia Beach-based Axis Global Enterprises Inc. and Virginia Beach-based EDC Homes, and has been in the works for four years, according to a news release from the developer.

A rendering shows the pool and clubhouse area.
Courtesy Axis Global Enterprises Inc.

The townhomes would each be three stories and the developers are proposing four multifamily buildings, each four stories high. The development will also have park space, a pool, a dog park and washing station, a clubhouse and a fitness center. It could also include a child care facility, hair salon and coffee shop.

The developers expect to break ground on the project in late summer 2023, after all site and building plans are approved and finalized. The project will be built in phases and is expected to be completed in 28 months,  a spokesperson for Axis told Virginia Business.

“The Olde Hampton Village development is an opportunity to revitalize the gateway to the Olde Hampton community, which is rich in history for our region,” Ross Vierra, president and CEO of Axis Global Enterprises, said in a statement.  “Bringing this vision to life has been a long road which we have been dedicated to ensuring the highest quality designs to honor the heritage and inspire a new generation of residents and businesses. Service is at the heart of our development process and this vote from the Hampton City Council permits our team to bring this transformational gateway project to life.”

The site was once a Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority housing project that was too old to rehabilitate, according to a news release from the city. The housing authority has approved the sale of the land.