Henrico supervisors defer decisions on proposed 7-story apartment building, 74-unit townhouse complex

The Henrico Board of Supervisors deferred two Western Henrico housing proposals at its May 12 meeting after expressing concerns about potential school overcrowding, overdevelopment, and high housing prices.

One provisional use permit case, which the board deferred until its Sept. 8 meeting, would allow for a seven-story, 224-unit apartment complex to be built within about two acres in the Westwood area just north of Willow Lawn (southeast of the intersection between Westmoreland Street and Jacque Street). The building also would include about 2,500-square-feet of retail space.

The development would be mixed-use, but compared to the large amount of residential space, would only dedicate about 1.5% of the space to retail, said Tuckahoe District supervisor Jody Rogish.

“I’d like to see more retail space there,” Rogish said. “We’re going to put almost 600 people in this area, and they’re not going to have a lot of retail space to eat and live.”

Rogish and Brookland District supervisor Dan Schmitt also expressed concerns about the large number of residential housing already approved in the area; 8,512 residential units are set to be built within the school district of Tuckahoe Middle, which is currently at 90% capacity. Those residential units would also impact the number of students at other nearby schools such as J.R. Tucker High.

“That’s a little scary for me. . . I want this Westwood area to be a thriving place to live, work, play, eat,” Schmitt said. “But at what point do you throw up the caution flag and slow down the traffic a little bit? . . . I just don't know how much water you keep putting in the bucket before you see what the impact is coming out.”

While Tucker High is expected to gradually reduce its student population after redistricting is implemented this fall, Tuckahoe Middle will see no change to its districts, although Henrico Schools officials may have to consider programmatic changes to the school’s International Baccalaureate program if overcrowding becomes more of an issue, said HCPS planning specialist Rachael Thayer.

The board also voted to defer a rezoning case to its June 9 meeting that would allow as many as 74 townhouses to be built within 10 undeveloped acres just north of Short Pump (northwest of the intersection between Pouncey Tract Road and Kain Road). 

Some nearby residents said that adding more housing to the already congested area would make the neighborhood unsafe to navigate.

“Pouncey Tract [Road] has become a nightmare,” said resident Brad Rosenthal. “I've lived off Pouncey Tract in a small, quiet neighborhood for the last 40 years. We now have multiple neighborhoods and a senior living center with entrances onto Pouncey Tract with very bad traffic issues. Look at the narrow nature of our roads, and with 74 units using those roads, it can't be safe.”

Several residents of the 55-plus Bacova Village community, which is right next to the proposed site, also said that they opposed the developer’s plan to connect the townhouse development to the senior village using a cut-through road. The proposal, which could lead to an additional 300 vehicles traveling in the area, would disrupt residents’ “oasis of safety” within the already crowded Short Pump area and present dangers to elderly residents, said 77-year-old Bacova resident Marcia Barton.

“We rely on scooters or walkers or canes to navigate the narrow sidewalks and often choose to travel on foot in the roadways instead,” Barton said. “We strongly urge you to consider approving the townhome project with the caveat to never allow this northern secondary access to our village community, to consider instead the health, safety, and quiet enjoyment of the elderly residents.”

Attorney Andy Condlin, who represents developer Bacova Development Company, said that the cut-through road would only be created with the approval of the Bacova Village residents. Bacova also would make improvements to Pouncey Tract Road as a part of the proposal by adding more turn lanes and sidewalks.

However, Three Chopt District supervisors Misty Roundtree said she had additional concerns about the price point of the housing, which developers said would be at least $700,000. 

“In Three Chopt, the price of dirt is so expensive, but I don’t know that there’s really an appetite for really expensive luxury townhomes, particularly in an area where we have such limited land to work with already,” Roundtree said. “So I am asking the developer to come back with some other alternatives.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.