Henrico planners now recommending approval of Willow Lawn redevelopment plans

After two community meetings with residents and nearby property owners, the owners of Willow Lawn have resubmitted, with additional details, to the Henrico Planning Commission their proposal to remake the shopping center, and commission staff members now are recommending approval.

The owner of the site, Maryland-based Federal Realty Trust, wants to rezone the site's 37-plus acres from R-5 (residential) district and B-2 (business) district uses to UMU-PD (Urban Mixed-Use Planned Development District) usage. The company is proposing to create 11 distinctive areas at the site, with a mixture of residential and commercial uses as well as a central courtyard. Development would take place in stages during the next 20 to 30 years, but eventually Willow Lawn would contain approximately 2,000 residential units and more than 500,000 square feet of commercial and office space.

The exact amount of residential versus non-residential uses of each space would depend upon the individual plans of development that would be submitted before each phase takes place. Updated traffic studies also would be submitted with each individual plan.

Noteworthy changes to the proposal include:

• Height: All buildings would be limited to 100 feet, except a possible signature building, which could be up to 150 feet. The signature building will not be located on the eastern side of the property (Areas 1, 9 or 11).

• Density: Blocks of new development would be limited to 650 feet, and the overall density for each section has been specified.

• Hours of operation: Businesses would be required to be closed between midnight and 6 a.m. unless they have an existing provisional use permit allowing different hours of operation.

• Streets and parking: Internal streets would connect with the roads on the east side of the property as much as possible and sidewalks would connect to crosswalks across Willow Lawn Drive. Parking is anticipated to be handled mostly on the existing parking lots.

• Timing of improvements: The central courtyard would be created in stages with half (or 20,000 square feet) finished when the site hits 645 completed residential units and the other half when it reaches to 995.

A public hearing will be held on the proposal during the commission’s monthly meeting Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.