Developer seeks more townhomes, starts condo sales at Landmark project near Sandston

First batches of townhomes have been built at Landmark’s initial phases. (BizSense file photos)

At the massive Landmark development taking shape near Sandston, detached homes may be out, more townhomes could be in, apartments are on hold and condo sales are getting underway.

Developer Godsey Properties continues to fine-tune its plans for the 150-acre project that’s approved for about 900 new homes and supporting commercial development along Williamsburg Road west of Interstate 295.

A site map of the section that had been planned for detached homes and is now proposed for more than twice as many townhomes. (County documents)

Most recently, the locally based firm has applied for a rezoning to allow 99 townhomes where it had originally planned 41 single-family homes on about 15 acres within the development. The section is on the east side of Dry Bridge Road between Landmark’s developed sections and Old Williamsburg Road.

The units would add to 355 townhomes already approved for Landmark, where dozens of the for-sale homes have been built so far. Principal Doug Godsey, who is working on Landmark with Ryan Homes, said nearly 100 of the townhomes have been sold to date, at prices starting in the upper $200,000s.

Godsey said those sales, which started last year, are prompting the request to build more of the townhomes. The rezoning request is scheduled to go before the Henrico Planning Commission this month, though county planners are recommending a deferral to allow Godsey time to make revisions to submitted proffers.

Planners say the proffers need to be more consistent with those included in Landmark’s original 2020 zoning. In a staff report, they add that the requested change to townhomes “would be a logical continuation of the residential development recently completed in the area and continuing on adjacent property.”

About 16 people attended a community meeting about the proposal and voiced concerns about increased development density and impacts on traffic and schools, according to the report.

A site plan shows the townhomes in blue and a commercial section planned at Dry Bridge and Williamsburg roads. (BizSense file)

While the bulk of the townhomes are planned east of Dry Bridge Road, some would rise behind a 40-acre commercial section planned at the northwest corner of Dry Bridge and Williamsburg Road, where a Wawa is in the works and other uses could include fast-food restaurants or a grocery store.

Last fall, Godsey proposed replacing those townhomes with two apartment buildings for renters ages 55 and up. Godsey withdrew that proposal in February because of concerns from the county and area residents about the buildings’ height, which was proposed to reach four stories.

Godsey said in recent weeks that the apartments project is “not completely dead” but has been “pulled for now” while other options are considered.

A rendering of the condos, which will be single-level units stacked one above another. (Image courtesy Ryan Homes)

Meanwhile, sales are starting this month for the first condos at Landmark, which is approved for as many as 484. The condos make up what had been called Gateway at Landmark, an extension project that added about 50 acres to Landmark’s original 100-acre footprint.

Now called Landmark Condos, the single-level homes are being built as two-story buildings, with one unit above the other. The condos range from two to three bedrooms and include a balcony or patio. Prices start in the low $200,000s.

“The condos at Landmark bring a totally new price point and product to this community,” Godsey said. “This is giving folks who have only been able to afford to rent an apartment up until now the opportunity to actually buy and own a new home and build equity in it.”

A site plan for the condos, oriented with the left side as north. (BizSense file)

Godsey also is finishing sitework for a third section of townhomes set to start sales this summer. The section will feature larger units with first-floor primary bedrooms. Prices will start in the low $300,000s.

Landmark, which Godsey has described as a $55 million project overall, has included sewer extensions for the nearby Sandston Woods apartment complex and adjacent subdivision that the new development will wrap around. Godsey said $2.5 million in road and sidewalk improvements have been made to Old Memorial Drive, which is planned to bisect the development.

Godsey said work is about to start on the Wawa, which he said will trigger a $2 million project to add a signalized intersection at Williamsburg and Dry Bridge.

As Landmark takes shape, Godsey also is underway on Fairways, its 290-home redevelopment of the former Glenwood Golf Course along Creighton Road. Ryan is also building those homes, which are planned to range from 1,350 to 3,000 square feet and be priced above $400,000.

Other projects include the last section of Greenwood Estates in New Kent County, where Godsey will develop 55 lots to be sold to Eastwood Homes.

Godsey also is planning a 140-home subdivision off Creighton Road on 52 acres at the northern terminus of Westover Avenue. A rezoning request for that project is also scheduled to go before the Henrico Planning Commission at its May 15 meeting, after deferrals the past two months.

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