'Keep the area green' – Tuckahoe community celebrates creation of new public park

Dozens of community members flocked to Maybeury Elementary School Aug. 4 to celebrate the creation of a new neighborhood park, which more than 400 residents requested in a petition this past spring.

Henrico County officially purchased the six-acre plot, located between Maybeury Elementary and the Tuckahoe Family YMCA at 9301 Patterson Avenue, for nearly $3 million on July 22. The area is currently undeveloped, forested land and was previously considered by developers for the creation of single-family homes, an assisted living facility, or retail stores.

The county is open to several different ideas for how to use the new park space, said Tuckahoe District Supervisor Jody Rogish, with some residents requesting new pickleball courts, some wanting to add walking trails or outdoor gym equipment, and others wanting to keep the space “100% green.”

But for Beth Motley, one of the three residents who started the community petition, the main part of the battle has already been won. Whether the space is used for trails or for a small outdoor gym, Motley just wants to ensure that a good amount of the area is left untouched and natural.

“It’s a lot more than I thought it would be,” she said. “I think we’ll have some interesting discussions with the [Henrico] Recreation and Parks. I’m for leaving as many of the trees in place. So saving the green space, having a place for the kids to play. And that’s what I spoke about when I was out getting signatures.”

The community celebration, hosted by Rogish and Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas, included several family-friendly activities such as a bounce house, a dunk tank, and food trucks. Rogish hopes that community members will continue to stay engaged in the process of developing the new park, with Henrico Recreation and Parks planning to host at least two community meetings during the next six months to garner feedback.

“It’s just so important to understand that you do have a voice in your local government, and I hope that this tells you that we are listening,” Rogish said. “We care about what you want in this community. And we will take some time over the next few months, we’ll have some community meetings.”

A longtime Tuckahoe resident, Pat, who lives nearby the new park area and supported the community petition, said she wants the county to prioritize preserving green spaces rather than adding new housing developments.

“Even just small neighborhood parks, they can make good community spaces,” she said. “It’s so much better than the first time they were talking about putting 30 houses in there. Having it as a park is just ideal, to see a lot of the trees be saved, have some green space, and it’ll be so much safer for the kids of the school.”

Many areas in Henrico have been slated for new housing and retail developments, including areas in the Tuckahoe District such as Regency Square. But some residents are growing increasingly concerned with the amount of development coming into their community.

“We’ve watched too many little areas like this, forested areas in neighborhoods, be sold and developed,” said another longtime Tuckahoe resident, Jessica. “Squished-in homes and developments, they’re a dime a dozen, you see them everywhere. It would make the area just look like anywhere. There’s a certain amount of preserving the character of the neighborhood that’s nice.”

And in Western Henrico, specifically the Tuckahoe area, neighborhood parks are already few and far between, said Rogish. While more areas in Eastern Henrico have recently been developed into public parks, the layout of the Tuckahoe District makes it more difficult to find undeveloped areas for potential neighborhood parks, he said.

“There is a little bit of a dead zone, especially in Western Henrico on parks,” Rogish said. “This was all built in the late 1950s, and they just didn’t plan for the parks like we do today. And so finding a little pocket area with six acres is challenging in the West End of Henrico.”

While there are no solid plans for any other new parks in the Tuckahoe area, Rogish said his goal is to continue “slow, smart” development in the district, balancing new growth with preserving the character and natural green space of the area.

“That’s the balance and the challenge of putting new development in places, along with keeping the character of our county,” Rogish said. “Slow, smart growth is important to me. And in this area, we need a little bit of parks. So when the county saw the ‘for sale’ sign and the community had the petition, we made it happen.”

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.