Henrico OKs purchase of retail strip to serve as future GRTC Pulse terminus

Henrico County is planning to acquire property at Parham and Broad to serve as a terminus for an extension of the rapid-transit Pulse line into the county. (BizSense file)

Plans to secure what would become the new western terminus of an expanded Pulse bus line are moving forward.

The Henrico Board of Supervisors voted last week to approve the county’s $1.3 million acquisition of a small retail strip at Parham Road and Broad Street.

The county’s intention is to see the site redeveloped as the future westernmost point of GRTC’s Pulse line, which currently has its west terminus nearly 5 miles east at the Willow Lawn shopping center.

Henrico is buying the retail strip at 3400-3408 Old Parham Road, which is currently occupied by Parham Laundry Center and other businesses. The strip would be demolished to make way for the GRTC facility.

The future GRTC facility would feature a transfer station for buses and a park-and-ride area. Other bus lines besides the Pulse would use the station, and the parking facility is intended to make the rapid-transit service more appealing to Henrico commuters, according to GRTC spokesman Henry Bendon.

“One of the things the existing Pulse doesn’t have is a place for commuter drivers in the West End who want to park and take the bus,” he said.

A concept plan for the proposed western terminus of the Pulse rapid-transit line, which would feature a bus transfer station and park-and-ride lot. (Courtesy GRTC)

Whether GRTC would lease the property from Henrico or come to some other arrangement hasn’t been determined, Bendon said. The facility would be financed through a combination of state, local and federal funds.

Bendon said the site at Parham and Broad would extend the Pulse rapid-transit line by 4.5 miles from its western endpoint outside Willow Lawn, which is the line’s only current stop in Henrico. He said the transit organization intends to establish several more stops between the current and future western terminus.

Those additional stops would be along Broad Street, and could be situated around Broad’s intersections with Wistar Road, Glenside Drive and Forest Avenue, according to recent presentation materials about the project provided by the county.

A map that shows possible Pulse stops along the proposed western extension of the line to North Parham Road. (Courtesy GRTC)

GRTC hopes to open the new western segment of the Pulse line in 2028. A cost estimate is still in the works for the extension project.

Bendon said that the planned new terminus would provide a stepping stone toward eventual Pulse service farther west into the county.

“From there, we can start to look at Pulse all the way to Short Pump,” Bendon said.

As part of the purchase agreement OK’d by county supervisors, the seller in the deal, the estate of Julia F. Robins, would lease the storefront at 3402 Old Parham Road for a year, with an option to extend for three more years, according to Henrico spokesman Will Jones.

Not included in the sale is the Tropical Smoothie at 8207 W. Broad St., Jones said, though that building is on the same 1.5-acre parcel as the retail strip Henrico is planning to acquire. The property was most recently assessed at $1.1 million, per online county records.

Jones said the property purchase had not been completed as of Wednesday. GRTC announced its plans to establish the Pulse terminus on the property earlier this week. The transit agency plans to hold a public meeting to discuss the western extension project on Oct. 1 at the Libbie Mill Library.

The retail strip that’s home to Parham Laundry Center and other businesses would be demolished to make way for the GRTC bus station planned for the site. (Jack Jacobs photo)

The project to extend the Pulse line, which opened in 2018 and runs from Rocketts Landing to Willow Lawn, comes as GRTC is planning to introduce new, larger buses on the route. GRTC is additionally in the early stages of planning a north-south Pulse line.

Also in the works is a project to establish a permanent transfer station in downtown Richmond. Bendon said earlier this week that GRTC, which is down to two potential properties, was still working on securing its preferred site.

GRTC is jointly owned by Richmond and Chesterfield. In 2022, representatives from Henrico joined the transit agency’s board of directors.

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