Henrico to host charrette Aug. 25-28 to seek community input about Lakeside's future

Henrico County will host a design charrette for the Lakeside area Aug. 25-28 to gather ideas and input from community members for a new vision of the corridor.

Beginning on Monday, participants will hear from the Henrico Planning Department’s project team about the general direction of the study and will be able to give feedback and ideas directly to the designers. On Thursday, the charrette will conclude with the team offering proposed ideas for the future of the study area.

The Lakeside area, one of Henrico’s historic commercial corridors, was identified as a special study area in the county’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan. The study area extends along Lakeside Avenue, stretching from Bryan Park to Hilliard Road, and also includes areas north of Hilliard Road such as Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and Lakeside Park Club.

County officials already have talked with, and promoted the charrette to, many business owners and residents along Lakeside Avenue, passing out a total of 1,200 mailings in the area, said Henrico planner and project team lead Livingston Lewis.

The charrette will include the following events, all held in the Kelly Education Center auditorium at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden:

• Monday, Aug. 25, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: meet the project team, hear a presentation about the charrette process and the general direction of the study, and participate in a public Q&A with the opportunity to discuss specific properties and topics;

• Tuesday, Aug. 26, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: observe the design process underway;

• Wednesday, Aug. 27, noon to 1:30 p.m.: review in-progress designs, receive a mid-week progress summary, and provide feedback;

• Thursday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: receive a comprehensive summary of the week’s discussions and ideas, hear a presentation on the completed work, and discuss next steps.

Anyone can participate in any of the events, whether they live or work in Lakeside or just have ideas for the corridor, said Lewis. 

County has no preset plans for community

The planning department has frequently gotten the question – “What is the plan?” – from community members about the Lakeside area, but Lewis said that the county is “wide open” to any ideas and does not have any set plan for the corridor.

The charrette will allow for a plan to be developed for the area that is completely community-based, he said – even if that means making no changes to the area at all.

But certain topics that are likely to be discussed, according to Lewis, will be:

• linking the Fall Line Trail to Lakeside Avenue’s commercial corridor;

• improving bike and pedestrian infrastructure and safety;

• promoting economic development;

• sprucing up buildings and landscapes to enhance the overall outward appearance.

The current parameters of the study area could also be expanded if residents from surrounding neighborhoods bring up challenges or ideas.

The planning department is working with the locally-based Glavé & Holmes architecture firm for the charrette.

After the event, the planning department will produce a study and a land use document, which will be incorporated into the county’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan.

Community members should email Lewis at lew02@henrico.gov or call (804) 501-5822 with any questions or concerns.

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.