GreenCity solicitation nets ‘multiple’ responses from developers, Henrico says

The former Best Products headquarters building, which is to be repurposed as part of the GreenCity development. (Henrico County images)

Henrico’s call for interest in the arena and commercial portion of its stalled GreenCity development drew “multiple” responses from developers, the county said, though it is not disclosing how many or from whom.

Monday was the deadline for the request-for-interest solicitation that Henrico put out in late May, in hopes of lining up one or more developers to pick up the commercial development that is planned for the 93-acre former Best Products property, which makes up about half of the 200-acre project at Interstate 95 and Parham Road.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, County Manager John Vithoulkas said multiple responses were received for both the arena that would anchor the project and the mixed-use development that would surround and support the venue.

The statement did not specify the number of responses received or identify the respondents by name, as some jurisdictions have elected to do with other solicitations for public-private development projects. Recent examples include the City of Richmond’s solicitations for its Diamond District and City Center projects.

Asked to elaborate on the response it received, Henrico officials said they “will not be sharing the number of submissions received from prospective partners or further details about the submissions in order to maintain fairness throughout the review and negotiation processes.”

The officials cited a section of state code that allows a public body to not disclose information that would adversely affect its bargaining position or negotiating strategy in awarding a contract. The law does, however, allow a public body to disclose such information in its discretion.

John Vithoulkas

In his statement, Vithoulkas said: “Henrico County is pleased with the response and looks forward to reviewing the ‘statements of interest’ that were submitted by prospective partners for an arena-anchored, mixed-use development on the former Best Products property.” He added that the submissions “include ones by entities with world-class experience and credentials.”

The submissions will be reviewed by a committee of county offices that would make a recommendation to the Henrico Board of Supervisors. Henrico’s economic development and sports and entertainment authorities are to be represented on the committee, which also will review the respondents’ qualifications, Vithoulkas said.

“We believe this process will allow us to identify a partner or partners with the vision, experience and capacity to deliver a development that will provide entertainment and other quality-of-life benefits to our community while leveraging the extraordinary interstate access and other unique attributes of the property,” the statement said.

The review would be conducted in coming weeks, and the county is aiming for the process to result in a proposal that could be presented for supervisors’ consideration by the end of this year.

A rendering of GreenCity as originally envisioned. (BizSense file)

Henrico is seeking a new developer for what it’s now calling “Best Products Reimagined” after, in March, it deemed the project’s original developers in default of their agreements due to a lack of progress and a missed payment for the property.

The county was set to take back the 93-acre property in exchange for $1 million that the developers had paid for it up to that point. That process has been delayed by a dispute between the developers – Green City Partners and Green City Development Corp. – the Henrico EDA and venue management company ASM Global.

ASM, which had signed on to help develop and manage the arena, is seeking to collect the $1 million to satisfy a debt it says the developers owe it. In a lawsuit filed in April, the EDA says the developers have refused to go through with the repurchase and property conveyance in light of ASM’s filings.

ASM has requested a hearing to resolve the matter. That hearing is scheduled to be held next month.

In its solicitation, Henrico recommended that developers revise the project’s master plan “to reflect current development and industry trends” with more density, less office space and an adjustment to the arena’s location to maximize its visibility. The county is seeking an accelerated timeline for the arena, which it projects to generate 8,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in economic impact.

The master plan had called for 1.9 million square feet of office, 135,000 square feet of retail, three hotels with 600 rooms apiece, and just over 2,100 residential units, in addition to the 17,000-seat arena, parks and green space. The project also would involve rehabbing the former Best Products building.

Developers selected for the project would join the overall effort that includes local firm Markel | Eagle, which is developing the other, residential half of the 200-acre project.

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