Officials shovel dirt to mark the start of construction of the two hotels and two restaurants that Shamin Hotels is developing beside the Henrico Sports & Events Center, visible in the background. (Jonathan Spiers photos) With Henrico’s new sports and events center now open and residential construction underway next door, work is starting on two hotels and two restaurants that will likewise add to the transformation of Virginia Center Commons. County officials and developers took part Thursday morning in a groundbreaking ceremony for a 114-room Home2 Suites and 111-room Residence Inn bei ..read more

TOP THREE SALES #1   700 West 44 LP purchased 6.6 acres at 700 W. 44th St. in Richmond for $2 million. Tom Rosman, Ryan Rilee and Lory Markham with One South Commercial represented the seller. #2   F and C LLC sold 17,135 square feet at 1808 Coyote Drive in Chesterfield for $1.55 million to Aromatique. Byron Holmes with Porter Realty Co. represented the buyer. #3 Uphoff Ventures purchased 0.6 acres at 7420 Whitepine Road in Chesterfield for $220,000 from True Recovery RVA LLC. Michael Mayhew and Colton Konvicka with Commonwealth Commercial Partners represented the buyer. TO ..read more

Pieces in this suit of armor date from 1400 to the 18th century. All images courtesy The Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum, Dallas. Photos by Brad Flowers “Samurai” has arrived and the proverbial turnstiles are spinning at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. If a recent weekday visit to the exhibition and a “windshield” survey of attendance are indicative, the word is out: “Samurai: Armor from the Collection of Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller” is a knockout – visually jaw-dropping, intellectually stimulating and a surprisingly moving experience. Most museumgoers enter a highly anticip ..read more

Babylon Micro-Farms recently unveiled a new product called the STEM Garden, an indoor farming unit intended for education. (Courtesy Babylon Micro-Farms) A local indoor farming startup is zeroing in on a new customer base: K-12 schools. Babylon Micro-Farms recently unveiled The STEM Garden, a hydroponic device used to grow vegetables indoors and geared toward classroom instruction. The STEM Garden is a smaller version of the company’s Galleri Micro-Farm unit, which was rolled out in May 2022. Babylon sells or leases these hydroponic systems to businesses and then uses its own in-house softwa ..read more

The diverging diamond interchange planned for Interstate 64 at North Gayton Road. (Henrico County images) Henrico County is making progress in its yearslong effort to secure approvals and funding for a new interchange and other traffic improvements in the Short Pump area. In an update to county supervisors Tuesday, Public Works Director Terrell Hughes reported that Henrico has secured nearly $91 million in state and regional funding for over $300 million in planned transportation improvements primarily along West Broad Street and Interstate 64, including a long-sought interchange at Gayton R ..read more

Benton Woods, a proposed subdivision planned near the interchange of Chippenham Parkway and Iron Bridge Road. (Images courtesy Chesterfield) A proposed residential development in Chesterfield would fill out a large piece of an area that county officials want to see revitalized. Cross Creek Development Corp. is seeking zoning approval to build an 85-lot subdivision at 4911 Iron Bridge Road, near the Chippenham Parkway and Iron Bridge Road interchange. Called Benton Woods, the project was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission last week and is headed to the Board of Supervisors fo ..read more

The property includes more than 800 parking spaces and lakefront views. (Image courtesy JLL) A sizable office compound in Goochland’s West Creek Business Park long owned and occupied by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has been left empty and on the market. The Richmond Fed earlier this month listed for sale its 28-acre property at 12560 West Creek Parkway. The gated, highly secured site is home to a six-story, 200,000-square-foot office building that a Fed spokesman said had been primarily used by the bank’s IT staff before being gradually vacated over the course of the pandemic and in ..read more

Chesterfield Circuit Court Mediterranean Shipping Co (USA), Inc. as agent of Mediterranean Shipping Co, S.A. v. Trinity Logistics, LLC Plaintiff says it provided equipment and transportation services September 2022-June 2023, and is owed $77,545. Attorneys: P. George Eliades II of The Eliades Law Firm Filed: 4/4/2024 CL24001381 Ferguson Enterprises, LLC v. What You Won’t Do Handyman Service LLC and Clarence Boyd Plaintiff says it is owed $32,512.12 for materials and services. Attorneys: P. George Eliades II of The Eliades Law Firm Filed: 4/4/2024 CL24001382 Euler Hermes North America Insurance ..read more

A site plan of the 44th Street complex, which would consist of six apartment buildings, a clubhouse and parking. (City documents) An apartment complex for lower-income renters that’s been three years in the making is set to move forward after a seven-figure land deal. Norfolk-based developer The Lawson Cos. recently purchased a 6.5-acre tract at 700 W. 44th St., where it’s planning a 144-unit complex with apartments targeted to renters making below 80 percent of the area median income. Lawson paid $2 million for the wooded site, which is south of Forest Hill and northeast of the intersection ..read more

The former pizzeria building is behind the Mocha Market corner store on Idlewood Avenue. (Mike Platania photo) A vacant Oregon Hill pizza place is set to become a pig pen of sorts.  Goochland’s Hog Haven Farm is moving into the former Peddler on Pine Street space at 238 S. Pine St., with plans to use the building as a prep kitchen for its growing business that’s fueled by its popular breakfast sandwiches.  Earlier this month, Hog Haven owners Rob Staples and Verde Shaffer bought the Pine Street building for $475,000.  Tucked away and located behind the Mocha Market on Idlewood ..read more