Henrico issues formal bid for developer interest in GreenCity arena, commercial section

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

Not waiting for a legal cloud hanging over the project to clear, Henrico County has issued its promised solicitation for developer interest in the arena-anchored commercial portion of the stalled GreenCity development.

Henrico on Tuesday put out a formal request for interest from firms that would pick up – and potentially rework – the commercial development planned for the 93-acre Best Products property that makes up about half of the 200-acre mixed-use project at Interstate 95 and Parham Road.

Master developers, arena operators and other interested parties have until July 28 to respond to the RFI, the county said in a release.

The release included comments from County Manager John Vithoulkas, who said Henrico “is ready to engage with the development community to select a partner or partners with the expertise, vision and resources to transform one of the mid-Atlantic’s premier sites into a world-class entertainment destination for residents and visitors alike.”

“Our region and its 1.3 million residents are yearning for a modern arena that can host major sporting events, concerts and other entertainment year-round,” Vithoulkas said in the release. “This location – along interstates 95 and 295 and easily accessible from Interstate 64 – is ideal, and the time is right to bring this kind of transformative development to the heart of Henrico.”

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

The RFI comes a month later than Henrico had originally projected. Officials had said it would be issued in late April, after the county deemed the project’s original developers in default of their agreements due to a lack of progress and a missed payment for the property.

Contributing to the delay is a dispute between the developers, the Henrico Economic Development Authority and venue management company ASM Global over $1 million that the developers – Green City Partners and Green City Development Corp. – had paid for the property prior to the default.

ASM is seeking to collect those funds from the EDA to help satisfy a $1.5 million debt it says the developers owe it from a loan it provided when it signed on to develop and manage the arena. The EDA had planned to pay the funds back to the developers through a repurchase option in their development agreement, but in a lawsuit filed against them last month, 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. A hearing in Henrico Circuit Court had not been scheduled as of Tuesday.

In its release about the RFI, the county said the EDA is enforcing the repurchase option and “expects to complete the reacquisition of the site in the coming months.”

A site plan of the GreenCity project shows the original conceptual layout with the arena in pink. (BizSense file)

With the solicitation, the county is seeking interest in what it’s now calling “Best Products Reimagined,” referring to the 93-acre property that includes the former retailer’s headquarters building and had been zoned for a 17,000-seat arena, 2.2 million square feet of office space, 280,000 square feet of retail, two 300-room hotels, 2,400 residential units and green space.

According to the release, the project’s master plan now calls 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 arena, parks and green space. The project also would involve rehabbing the Best Products building.

The county is recommending that developers revise the master plan “to reflect current development and industry trends, with likely more density, less office space and an adjustment to the arena’s location to maximize its visibility and connectivity within the development.” The release adds that the county seeks an accelerated timeline for the arena, which it projects to generate 8,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in economic impact.

“Statement of interest” submissions will be reviewed by a committee of county offices that would make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The EDA and the Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority are to be represented on the committee.

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

Last month, around the time that the RFI was originally planned to go out, Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Schmitt told BizSense that developer interest in the project appeared to be high.

“The conversation among the development community is high. I can’t wait to see that RFI go out,” Schmitt said. “Certainly the sooner the better for me, because this has been time lost. No taxpayer money has been lost, but opportunity cost here has been time.

“For it to be successful and for it to get on the pace that we want it on, I would think there’d need to be a conglomerate,” he said. “I would think there would need to be some cooperative developers to get together and put a new name, new face and new timeline on this project.”

Since announcing GreenCity in late 2020, Henrico has established two community development authorities to help fund the public-private project and invested in infrastructure improvements, including a planned extension of Magellan Parkway across I-95 and a pedestrian-bike crossing at the former Scott Road bridge that would connect GreenCity with the future Fall Line Trail.

In Tuesday’s release, Dennis Bickmeier, executive director of the Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority, said: “From the county’s perspective, the ingredients for success – from major utility and transportation improvements to the arena’s financing mechanism – are in place and ready to go. What we need now are partners who can help us turn this incredible vision into a reality.”

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