1,600-unit mixed-use community coming to Short Pump
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The Henrico County Board of Supervisors approved a mixed-use development at the intersection of Bacova Drive and N. Gayton Road as well as two other housing projects during a Jan. 25 meeting.
Eagle Construction’s planned Avenlea mixed-use community will feature as many as 1,600 residential units and amenities (including a one-mile linear park) on 183 acres along the north line of Bacova Drive at its intersection of North Gayton Road. Supervisors approved a rezoning from A-1 (agricultural) land to the county’s UMUC (urban mixed-use district) to allow the development.
Henrico’s 2026 comprehensive plan recommends most of the site for offices, along with smaller portions for residential and environmental protection areas for corresponding floodplains, Planning Director Joe Emerson said, but the planned development would complement existing and future uses.
“This is a very pedestrian-oriented type of development,” Emerson said.
In addition to the residential units, the development will include a minimum of 150,000 square feet of commercial space. Residential units will include single-family, townhomes and independent living within a life-care facility; there will be no more than 800 units of any one residential type.
The applicant is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to set aside the area necessary for a potential interchange at the adjacent intersection of North Gayton Road and I-64 and is also coordinating with the Department of Public Works, Emerson said.
One resident who attended the meeting was not opposed to the proposal but expressed concerns surrounding the potential impacts of traffic, particularly if the interchange at North Gayton Road and I-64 led to more traffic volume on Kain Road. But the development does not connect to Kain, Emerson said.
Bentley Homeowners Association representative Eliot Evans also said he wasn’t opposed to the development but was concerned with the proposed housing density.
“The proposal is not in keeping with the lessons learned about housing we have experienced during this lengthy pandemic,” he said. “We would like that future plans consider the housing density with the likelihood of a continued pandemic and future pandemics happening more frequently. The highest death tolls so far during our historic pandemic have occurred in higher density housing areas.”
The proposed housing density is lower compared to other densities throughout the county, Emerson said.
Evans also requested that the developer not clear-cut the woodland area, and instead incorporate it into the plan. If clear-cutting is necessary, he requested that the developer notify all “life protection agencies” so they can safely identify, extract and relocate animals, Evans said.
James Theobald, representing the applicant, said his client intends to plant trees before construction starts so that they would be fairly mature upon completion.
In another case, Edward Rose Properties is planning a 17.2-acre multi-family development for the northwest intersection of North Gayton and Old Three Chopt roads. The board approved the developer’s request to conditionally rezone from A-1 to R-6C (general residence district, conditional) parcels.
The site would be impacted by the potential interchange at North Gayton Road and I-64, but the applicant will continue to work with the Henrico Department of Public Works regarding the final design requirements, Emerson said. The 2026 comprehensive plan recommends urban-mixed use and environmental protection area for the property.
RJM Land, the applicant of the third case, is planning detached single-family dwellings in a 30.45-acre area located on the north line of Mountain Road, approximately 400 feet west of its intersection with Woodman Road.
The proposal is a conditional re-zoning from A-1 and R-5AC (general residence, conditional) to R-5AC. The comprehensive plan recommends suburban residential usage, with density not exceeding 2.4 units per acre, and environmental protection area uses for the site. The proposed density of 1.6 units per acre is consistent with the plan, Assistant Planning Director Jean Moore said.
