Crews work on the site of the forthcoming West Village shopping center, which necessitated the demolition of houses on Old Three Chopt Road. (Photo by Mark Newton)
Goochland County’s plans for its future reckon with the present reality: Short Pump’s economic energy has crossed Little Tuckahoe Creek.
Proposals are in the works for the Courthouse and Centerville areas that have the “capacity to support growth in a thoughtful and intentional manner given their transportation and utilities infrastructure,” according to Krystal Onaitis, Goochland deputy county administrator. The goal of the small area plans is “to strike a balance with our growth so the county can preserve and prosper now and into the future,” she says. “One of Goochland’s core values is to remain 85% rural/agricultural, with 15% becoming commercial/residential.”
From 2020 to 2022, Goochland has seen the third-highest proportionate growth in Virginia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, rising 5.6% from 24,853 residents in 2020 to 26,109 in 2022. Goochland’s growth in that time is surpassed only by neighboring Louisa County (6.7%) and New Kent County (8.9%) to the east. The population of Henrico, which sits between those three counties, fell 0.1% but remained the commonwealth’s sixth most populous locality. Chesterfield County saw the largest overall growth in that time, with 13,862 new residents (3.8%), outpacing Loudoun County, which added 11,130 people (2.6%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
At the core of the Centerville plan is the Village Center, which in a November slideshow was envisioned as “a space where people can shop, dine and live all within walking distance” while remaining “a welcome break from the pace of Henrico and Richmond.” Timmons Group is reviewing feedback from various presentations, and meetings on those findings were set to start in May.
Separate from those plans is a proposal that also acknowledges Goochland’s growth: a new fire station near the intersection of Hockett Road and Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, just south of the Centerville Volunteer Fire & Rescue station. Call volume at that station nearly doubled from 2017 to 2018, according to a January presentation, and it increased by another 15% in 2022, which coincided with the construction of homes at Mosaic at West Creek and Readers Branch and other spots in Manakin-Sabot and Kinloch, as well as the addition of the Avery Point senior living community. With $9.1 million already earmarked, the station could start operation in 2025.
Avery Point, which opened in October, joins other developments at Goochland’s border with Henrico, such as Sheltering Arms Institute, a Residence Inn hotel and the Retreat at West Creek apartments. In March, Erickson Senior Living celebrated the sale of 216 independent living apartments, which represent the first phase of development at Avery Point. Another residence building “that is nearly fully reserved” is set to open this summer, according to a statement. When fully developed, Avery Point will have 1,600 residents and 550 employees, Executive Director Todd DeLaney says. “We look forward to contributing to the long-term economic growth of Goochland County.”
According to Scott Gensler, vice president of real estate acquisitions and government affairs, Goochland County was a good fit for Erickson Senior Living because “growth was headed in the right direction,” he says. “Overall, we liked the corridor, and we had clear direction from local government officials regarding zoning and approvals. It was a positive experience, and we’re glad to be off to such a great start at Avery Point.”
Meanwhile, old continues to make way for new in Short Pump. Homes that once sat amid a sylvan enclave on Old Three Chopt Road have been sold and removed to make way for West Village, a 50,000-square-foot shopping center at West Broad Street and North Gayton Road that will also include a high-end residential component. It will be anchored by Fink’s Jewelers, which will leave Short Pump Town Center for a flagship store set to open late this year.
Henrico planning officials now see development bouncing back toward the city as the limited vacant space near the Goochland border finds a new purpose. But they say Goochland and Henrico haven’t collaborated much on the future and impact of Short Pump because of a significant environmental feature: Tuckahoe and Little Tuckahoe creeks.
“There’s not a lot of opportunity to connect through there because of the conflicting uses that we have along the border,” Henrico Director of Planning Joe Emerson says, citing as examples Henrico’s residential areas and Goochland’s industrial sites, such as Luck Stone’s Rockville Plant. “We have good communication, I think, but it hasn’t been necessary for it to be a closely dovetailed development pattern because of those features that divide us, and the roads are state-maintained, so we don’t really have a lot of commonality there, either.”
