Bacon's Rebellion

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Two Stories on Change in Richmond’s Suburbs

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by

Peter Galuszka
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New wegmans site
New wegmans site

By Peter Galuszka

Well, well,

Jim Bacon has this month’s cover story in the Henrico Monthly about the changing nature of office parks in one county that has plenty of them.

Not to be outdone, I have my own cover story in the Chesterfield Monthly, a sister magazine published by the same people.

My piece is about how Midlothian Turnpike, the main artery of suburban sprawl in Chesterfield County, is being led into its next iteration y two new types of grocery stores.

One is the high-end Wegmans. The other is New Grand Market, a large-scale international food store that reflects Richmond’s fast-growing diversity and foreign flare.

I think both of our pieces, in different ways, reflect big shifts in two of the largest counties in the state. (I wonder if I got paid more than he did).

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5 responses to “Two Stories on Change in Richmond’s Suburbs”

  1. larryg Avatar
    larryg

    I think the allure of Chesterfield and Henrico and places like them arrayed around an urban core – have an undeniable strong appeal for a variety of reasons – that are not going to go away.

    gasoline would have to exceed $5 a gallon and/or draconian tolls to drive people to a different choice – and that choice would not be to move to the urban core but to use vans and buses …

    there is quite an experiment going on in Fredericksburg/Stafford/Spotsylvania right now as we speak.

    it’s called I-95 HOT lanes and there is a whole lot of commuters hating life going on these days blaming everything from treasonous duplicitous leaders to legislative buyouts by Transurban to VDOT selling us out to Hampton and other parts of the state.

    but there is no movement to move back to NoVA… not a smidgen… especially since we got our Wegmans… a few years back.

  2. Les Schreiber Avatar
    Les Schreiber

    Try Albis on Parham road. An interest concept .Low prices but few choices. It works in Germany. It will be interesting as they expand in Richmond. Wegmans is worth the wait.There are several in NOVA.

  3. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    Sounds like Chesterfield is missing a major opportunity. With all the new investment in retail, the opportunity exists to transform land use along Midlothian. But it doesn’t sound like there’s a plan in place. Retailers are working within the same zoning constraints and parameters as always. Admittedly, changing land use patterns is like turning around a battleship — except that the battleship is far more nimble. It takes a generation or two. Did you get any sense that anyone acknowledges the desirability of evolving to a pattern of walkable urbanism along the corridor?

    Henrico County is moving in fits and starts in that direction. County leaders seem to share the vision. Give it another 50 years, and Henrico might get there. Chesterfield… I’m not so sure.

  4. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Walkable?

    E eventually but it’s abut six miles from one grocery to the other. You could make a nod to the smart growthers, but the reality is somewhat otherwise. AIn’t going to happen anytime soon. Sorry.

  5. Bosun Avatar
    Bosun

    …Midlothian Turnpike, the main artery of suburban sprawl in Chesterfield County…
    Have you driven on Hull Street Road lately?
    Pick a main artery leaving most any central city in the USA.
    Bosun

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