A rendering of the promenade and homes planned for The Aire at Westchester along Watkins Centre Parkway across from Westchester Commons. (Images courtesy HHHunt Communities)
As construction begins on a new food option at Westchester Commons, a massive development getting underway next door is set to add thousands of potential customers.
Site work has started on The Aire at Westchester, a mixed-use development with 2,200 homes that’s set to fill parts of a 334-acre tract directly west of the shopping center at Route 288 and Midlothian Turnpike.
HHHunt Communities is developing the project through a joint venture with GrayCo Properties, the Henrico-based firm that owns the land.
The project’s master site plan shows residential sections closer to Route 288, and commercial and mixed-use development planned near Midlothian Turnpike.
Jonathan Ridout, general manager and vice president of real estate development for HHHunt Communities, said land-clearing work is underway for the project’s first phase, which will consist of for-sale townhomes and two-over-two units on the hillside beside Watkins Centre Parkway.
A subsequent phase for more townhomes will start in six months, with single-family homes and commercial buildings to follow over the course of the development. Ridout said the overall project is expected to take 10 to 15 years to complete.
Jonathan Ridout
“It’s market-driven, what’s going to come next,” Ridout said. “Our plan enables us a lot of flexibility, so we’re just going to go in a direction that the market tells us to go from a development perspective.”
Plans call for a mix of homes, including single-family, townhomes and apartments and up to 200,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 70,000-square-foot grocery store and potentially an 80-room hotel. Ridout said the developers have yet to line up users for the grocery or hotel and have not signed other commercial tenants yet.
The three-section development is to be integrated with Westchester Commons and connected via a park system and greenway, which Ridout said would include a promenade overlooking Watkins Centre Parkway.
“A lot of focus has been spent on the amenities and the walkability of the community. With our first phases, we’re bringing on part of the greenway network that’ll be there, and a couple of our larger park systems are going to be implemented with the first phase of development,” Ridout said. “It’s going to be a great combination of residential uses and something different for the area.”
An image shows potential uses for each of the development’s three sections. (BizSense file)
Ridout said home prices have yet to be set but would be in line with the townhomes that StyleCraft Homes is building on vacant parcels within Westchester Commons. Called The Edge at Westchester Commons, those three- and four-story townhomes are priced starting at $425,000, with units ranging from 2,000 to 2,800 square feet.
Full site development for The Aire is expected to take 12 to 18 months, with vertical construction starting in 18 months. Ridout said final plan approvals are hoped to be secured from the county soon.
He said an overall project cost estimate for The Aire could not be provided because of cost fluctuations anticipated over the course of the development.
Chesterfield supervisors approved the project in 2021, updating previous zoning that allowed for up to 1,600 residential units and 350,000 square feet of commercial space. The Aire at Westchester calls for 615 more residential units but 150,000 square feet less commercial space.
The project site consists of four parcels, at 1801 and 2021 Huguenot Springs Road, and at 15550 and 15900 Midlothian Turnpike. GrayCo has owned the land since 2006, when the parcels were purchased for $11.7 million collectively. Chesterfield has assessed the parcels at $23 million combined, up from nearly $12 million in 2021.
GrayCo was represented in joint venture negotiations with HHHunt by Thalhimer’s David Smith.
Brick House Diner breaks ground
The vacant parcel at the shopping center’s Midlothian Turnpike entrance is the site of the new Brick House Diner, which is starting construction. (Images courtesy Chesterfield Economic Development)
While The Aire at Westchester gets started next door, a new location of a restaurant Midlothian diners are familiar with is starting construction within Westchester Commons.
Brick House Diner recently broke ground on a 5,000-square-foot restaurant building at 100 Schofield Drive. The new spot will replace the diner’s current Midlothian Turnpike location, which is slated to close eventually. The Westchester Commons outpost will rise on a vacant 1-acre parcel beside the Taco Bell at the shopping center’s entrance off Midlothian Turnpike.
County officials joined the Routsis family in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Brick House Diner.
Brick House’s owner-operators, the Routsis family, bought the parcel in 2020 for $600,000, property records show. The new building will seat 140 people, 20 more than the 3,000-square-foot space at 13520 Midlothian Turnpike, which they lease and opened in 2004.
The Westchester Commons location is targeted to open later this year. The Routsises opened a second area location, Brick House on the Boulevard, in the former Kitchen 64 space in the city last year.
Joining Brick House at Westchester is The Bowl, a Vietnamese restaurant that recently signed on for the former Dominic’s Italian Grille space at 15270 WC Main St. The Bowl’s menu includes Vietnamese staples such as pho, banh mi sandwiches and rice and noodle dishes.
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