Hourigan pays $58M for site of future Varina industrial park

A sample image of the data centers envisioned for the site. (BizSense file photos)

Weeks after securing county approval for a massive new industrial park in eastern Henrico, a local developer now controls the land needed to keep the project moving.

Earlier this month Hourigan purchased nearly 400 acres in Varina for $58.6 million, Henrico records show. The assemblage is a mostly wooded area near the Interstate 64-295 interchange, just east of Richmond International Airport. 

Though the exact scale of the park is to-be-determined, and despite some local opposition due to noise and environmental concerns, a rezoning for the development was approved by Henrico’s Board of Supervisors in May. The approval allows for uses such as data centers, offices and manufacturing facilities. 

A site plan shows the seven developable areas where an unspecified number of buildings would be developed.

The development as proposed is set to span more than 600 acres, though Hourigan’s land purchase was for around 397 acres. The remaining acreage is owned by QTS, the Kansas-based data center giant that already has a significant presence in eastern Henrico. County records show that QTS bought an adjacent 220 acres in December 2023 for $17.3 million, and transferred it for $0 to a new entity on July 1, the same day Hourigan closed on its land. 

It’s unclear whether Hourigan and QTS are now working together on the development.

Hourigan CEO Mark Hourigan wasn’t available for comment by press time, and QTS did not respond to a request seeking comment. No preliminary plans for buildings on the site have been filed with the county. 

The rezoning in May applied to the total 600-acre project site and would allow 65 percent of that total to be developed with those approval industrial uses. The remainder would be open space or green space.

The new development would become part of the existing White Oak Technology Park.

Hourigan’s 397 acres were most recently assessed by the county at a combined $2.2 million. The company bought the land in a pair of separate transactions: Hourigan bought 174 acres for $20.5 million from D.C. firm Vienna Finance Inc., and it bought the remaining 223 acres for $38 million from local entity Harmon Properties LC. 

East Williamsburg Road runs through the acreage, and the land is spread across multiple parcels and addresses, including 3250 and 3555 E. Williamsburg Road. 

A group including Texas-based Hillwood Development had previously eyed the land for an industrial development, but punted on the project in 2022. 

Hourigan has also been planning a development in the city that’ll impact the Manchester skyline. Since 2020 the firm’s been plotting to raze the Southern States silos to make way for a mixed-use development.

 In 2022, Hourigan announced plans for a 20-story apartment tower and 6-story office building for the site, however demolition on the silos has yet to begin. Reached in the spring, a spokesman for Hourigan said they’re “still evaluating the development.”

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