Henrico County recently released its draft master plan for the area around the former Best Products headquarters, a step toward moving past the failed GreenCity project.
The focus areas include Best Products Reimagined, a 320-acre site anchored by the mid-demolition Best Products property and the nearby Brook Road corridor, a 275-acre area that includes businesses from approximately Magellan Parkway to Hilliard Road.
The recommendations were driven by a community workshop known as a “charrette,” held in March, which identified strategies for new development and reinvestment along the gateway.
Henrico contracted the Miami-based design firm Able City to set up an overlay district, which provides an alternative set of standards for targeted areas of pedestrian-oriented growth within the county.
Jason King, a project director with Able City, told VPM News the firm wanted to create a plan that accurately reflects stakeholders’ interests.
“Our two goals were to create a plan and work with the community,” King said. “That community plan is essentially the criteria by which the county can judge the development proposals as it looks for a master developer.”
The plan is built around a zoning approach called a form-based alternative overlay, which includes standards for building that emphasize mixed-use, walkable development. Several areas in Henrico utilize alternative overlays, including the West Broad Street corridor near Short Pump Town Center and Virginia Center Commons in Glen Allen.
“It’s the same approach that was used to create the American downtowns,” King said. “These overlays make it a lot easier to redevelop and turn it into a walkable mixed-use neighborhood.”
Brook Road is one of Henrico’s most significant north-south routes, connecting the county to the City of Richmond. Historically, the corridor along Brook supported a broad mix of retail hubs, most of which have aged past their use and are surrounded by fragmented pedestrian infrastructure.
The Best Products site is central to the county’s long-desired arena development, formerly known as GreenCity. Henrico reacquired the property from Green City Partners, the developer behind the failed project, but the county determined that it would be too costly to refurbish the building.
Henrico issued a request for interest for Best Products Reimagined last May, seeking ideas for redeveloping the former retail company’s headquarters site, which sits on 93 acres along East Parham Road near Interstates 95 and 295.
Able City’s plan incorporates the envisioned arena development alongside an aspirational future for the surrounding area. King cited Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom as an example of what the area could become, an area he described as a network of housing and low-density developments with access to outdoor paths like the Capital Trail.
“There’s a high degree of open space. Those open spaces are all connected by a path network,” King said. “The 17,000-seat arena is integrated into urbanism. It’s not surrounded by a sea of parking — it’s surrounded by a district commercial office that is synergistic with game day.”
County officials are in the process of reviewing proposals from multiple prospective developers, but components of the major redevelopment are already underway.
Markel|Eagle Partners is working on a nearly 900-unit residential development that was initially meant to be part of GreenCity, and the county is constructing an extension to Magellan Parkway, a roadway that connects neighborhoods in the Fairfield District to the Best Products site.
However, King believes the property still has potential even without an arena if the county decides to pivot away from the entertainment venue.
“The county’s position is that it will create an arena.” King said. “It would be a great anchor for development. However, it isn’t necessary. It could still be a successful site, even without the arena.”
Henrico’s planning commission is set to review the initial draft of the county’s 2045 comprehensive plan, which includes recommendations from Able City’s guide, on June 11.
