Hearing for proposed self-storage/retail complex in Glen Allen delayed until April

A proposal that would allow construction of a self-storage facility and retail shops at the corner of Mountain Road and Woodman Road in Glen Allen won’t be heard by the Henrico Board of Supervisors until at least April 9.

The project’s applicant, General Land Company, LLC, requested and received a deferral of the case from the board’s Jan. 23 meeting, when it had been scheduled to be heard. It was the second deferral of the case, which previously was scheduled for a Dec. 12 public hearing.

The firm wants to rezone about 8.6 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection (just south of I-295) from agricultural land to a B-2C Business District (Conditional) designation to build a three-story, 105,000-square-foot self-storage facility and a 10,900-square-foot retail center with a drive-through location for a restaurant or coffee shop.

But the plans have caught the ire of some nearby residents, who believe the area’s residential nature makes it a bad fit for commercial use.

“Our board members are extremely concerned about this proposed rezoning,” Mountain Laurel Townhouse Association Board of Directors President Kitty Boitnott told supervisors Jan. 23. “We don’t think it would be a good addition for our community. It would look out of place, frankly, on the corner of Woodman Road and Mountain Road.”

Residents of that community, which sits diagonally across the intersection from the proposed project, are concerned about the potential traffic impacts of the development, which they believe would create more congestion and cause problems for local commuters.

Anncarol Johnson, who lives on Mountain Road, about half a mile from the site, echoed the concerns outlined by Boitnott.

“That area is a residential area and has been a residential area for over 50 years,” she told supervisors Jan. 23. “By putting storage units there, it would be detrimental to our community. I’m pleading with you all to please, please take another look at this situation.”

The site is designated for office, environmental protection area and suburban residential uses in the county’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan, and Henrico planners wrote in a report that the applicant “has provided a number of quality guarantees and protections for the adjacent community, and the relatively low-impact nature of the proposed uses would be more compatible with the neighborhood than other uses that might otherwise typically locate on similarly situated high-traffic corners.”

Planners concluded that the proposal would be fitting for the parcel “given the site’s existing zoning, potential buffering and proximity to the transportation network.”

They also wrote that several road improvements would be necessary if the proposal ultimate is approved, including:
• a slight widening of Mountain Road along the site;
• the addition of an eastbound right-hand turn lane on Mountain Road into the site;
• the extension of the existing eastbound left-turn lane on Mountain Road at Woodman Road;
• the installation of a right-turn lane from Mountain Road onto Woodman Road ;
• the extension of the median along Mountain Road to prevent westbound left turns from Mountain into the site;
• sidewalk construction along Mountain and Woodman roads.

Initially, the applicant was proposing a convenience store along with the self-storage facility. But following a community meeting in May, the plans were revised to include a small retail center and drive-through restaurant option instead. The Henrico Planning Commission recommended the proposal for approval during its Nov. 9 meeting.