Left: Photo by James Dickinson; Right: Photo by Jay Paul
For many people in Goochland County, the best part of living there is its farmland charm, and they want that preserved.
“I believe that most residents who live in the rural areas are very concerned about the encroaching business, and I think the county supervisors recognize that,” says Cyndi Young, a psychologist with Hopewell Public Schools who lives in Goochland. “I’m hopeful that we can build a space to help the economy without really damaging some of the qualities that we all loved when we moved there.”
That sentiment is shared by Rachel Parker of Parker Properties, a family-run real estate business in the county. “Goochland remains the most rural and scenic of the counties surrounding Richmond due to the widespread desire of the residents to maintain our pastoral quality of life,” she says.
But Richmond is bursting beyond its borders out West Broad Street and into Goochland, leaving the county at a crossroads. About 27 percent of its mass is farmland, but growth has been steady along its border with Richmond, and employment has increased 5 percent yearly for three years running, according to the county’s comprehensive plan, which outlines growth objectives through 2035. The county wants to find a balance, and to that end, set economic goals that involve bringing businesses and industry to the area, which are offset by the desire to maintain the county’s rustic beauty.
“Last year was our highest year of capital investment on record, and I think we’re going to see capital investment outpace past years,” says Goochland County Administrator John Budesky. “But we also want to maintain the balance of the rural community in our future plans — we have to sort of acknowledge both sides.”
The county has encouraged several major projects on its eastern border with Henrico and Richmond that allow for economic growth but retain a campus-like environment that complements the more rural portions of the county. These include a rehabilitation hospital that will be run in a partnership between Sheltering Arms and VCU Health, plus an expansive development by Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.
A rendering of the Sheltering Arms Rehab Institute (Image by Kahler Slater Experience Design courtesy Sheltering Arms)
The 114-bed Sheltering Arms Rehab Institute is set for a groundbreaking in late summer or early fall and will open in fall 2020. The $119 million project will be an in-patient facility with a park-like setting on 25 acres in the West Creek Medical Park.
“We looked at many different areas for [the hospital] with VCU Health,” says Stephanie Sulmer, a marketing representative for Sheltering Arms. “We wanted a location that had a lot of natural green space. That kind of holistic environment helps patients to a great degree.”
A rendering of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Goochland (Image courtesy Hardywood)
Richmond’s own Hardywood is also traveling west, constructing a 22-acre craft-beer park near the Virginia Farm Bureau headquarters in Goochland’s West Creek Business Park.
The opening date for the facility has been pushed back to spring 2018 after problems were discovered in the structure of the soil on the site. When completed, the campus will have enough space to allow the brewery to expand production of its product and also will include an amphitheater, an area for food trucks and a beer garden.
Groundbreaking with Gov. Terry McAuliffe (center) and Hardywood co-owners Patrick Murtaugh (left) and Eric McKay (right) (Photo courtesy Hardywood)
The $28 million project will be developed in phases and eventually will add about 56 jobs to the county while enabling Hardywood to produce more than 100,000 barrels a year. Goochland was a great fit for the project, according to the brewery.
“We searched all over the region for a site that offered visitors and team members a peaceful, bucolic setting, while also providing needed access to significant utility and highway infrastructure,” says Eric McKay, a co-owner of the business with Patrick Murtaugh. “We’re excited to bring to life what we hope will become one of the premier destination breweries in the country.”
Growth and preserving rural roots can sometimes be combined, as with another local business, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, which is also a working farm where they grow their own ingredients and more. “It’s businesses like ours that help show visitors the beauty of Goochland’s nature, and it’s a great asset to support,” says Sean-Thomas Pumphrey, one of Lickinghole’s founders.
Pumphrey is pleased with the type of growth the county is attracting: “We really are happy to see Goochland get some great businesses with a lot to offer the area, but also that businesses are coming from around us.”
