Family Dollar in Forest Hill to close; landlords plan heavy renovation for new tenants

The building, once a Safeway, was previously eyed by a food co-op. (Mike Platania photo)

A longtime Southside retail building is once again being eyed for redevelopment. 

The Family Dollar at 1200 Westover Hills Blvd. will close this fall on Oct. 1, according to property co-owner Birck Turnbull. 

Turnbull, who owns the building with frequent collaborator Charles Bice, said they’re looking to rehab the 15,000-square-foot building to bring in new office and/or retail tenants once Family Dollar closes. 

The roughly 30-year-old structure has drawn plenty of interest and headlines over the years. Early in its life it was home to a Safeway grocery store, then later housed a thrift store before Family Dollar moved in about a decade ago. It was also, perhaps most notably, where a food co-op was planned to open in the 2010s. 

Beginning in 2012, the Richmond Food Co-op raised around $450,000 to lease part of the building for its would-be member-owned grocery store, but the concept never came to fruition.

The co-op folded in late 2018, the same year that Turnbull and Bice bought the property for $1.4 million. The duo also developed the nearby mixed-use Hill Standard building that includes dozens of apartments along with commercial tenants including The Veil Brewing Co. and Blanchard’s Coffee. The Veil also previously eyed the Family Dollar building to house some of their non-public-facing operations. 

Once Family Dollar closes, Turnbull said they’ll remove the mansard roof and renovate the building for new users. He said the space could be split into a handful of suites for different tenants. 

Fultz & Singh Architects, a local firm that’s headquartered on the same block, is the project architect. Turnbull, who’s also a senior vice president at Thalhimer, is marketing the property for lease. 

The project would add to other recent new developments in the neighborhood, including the Evelyn, a mixed-use building from Dodson Development Group and Evolve Development at 4701 Forest Hill Ave. The three-story building recently began welcoming residents into its 40 apartments, and it’s also lined up a trio of commercial tenants in Taou Yoga, Lucky AF and Janet’s Cafe & Bakery that are set to open later this year. 

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