Jahnke Road apartments, Hanover Ave. townhomes pass city planning commission

A rendering of the apartment building as it would appear from Jahnke Road at its intersection with Hioaks Road. (City documents)

Two residential projects that received considerable scrutiny and revisions over the past year have passed muster with the Richmond Planning Commission, while a vote on a controversial infill project in the city’s West End was deferred another month.

The commission OK’d a plan for a three-story, 17-unit apartment building at 7100 Jahnke Road, across from Chippenham Hospital near the Hioaks Road intersection.

The proposal had undergone several changes since first going before the commission last November as a mixed-use building with 14 apartments, seven of those to be short-term rentals, and a ground-floor commercial space planned for use as a convenience store.

The short-term rental units were envisioned to serve travelers and potentially visitors to the hospital, but that provision was removed in response to feedback from neighbors who also opposed the commercial use, which was also deleted. Members of the Westover Gardens Civic Association expressed concerns that the space would be used as a vape shop.

Will Gillette with Baker Development Resources told the commission that the apartments would be market-rate, long-term rentals. Gillette represented the applicant, Marwa Enterprises, an LLC organized by Redwan Saif.

Speakers in a public hearing maintained that the building height and density would be out of scale for the neighborhood and add to traffic congestion on Jahnke. They also said the apartments, with 29 off-street parking spaces included, would require on-street parking that is limited in the area.

A site plan shows the 29 parking spaces that would fill the site behind the apartments.

All but one of the units would be one-bedroom apartments with 600 square feet of space. The remaining unit would have two bedrooms and two bathrooms and total 830 square feet.

Commissioner Elizabeth Greenfield said she was disappointed to see the short-term rentals removed, contending that they could have been useful for traveling nurses working short stints at the hospital. The hospital had previously owned the half-acre property, which Marwa Enterprises purchased in 2023.

Greenfield said the primary concern about a vape shop had been addressed and that, after many months of continuances, the project was designed and ready to go to city council, which is set to consider a final vote at its July 28 meeting.

Chairman Rodney Poole, addressing the residents who spoke in the hearing, added: “I think we’ve worked together to make this a better project.

“Every project is not perfect; it’s never going to be,” Poole said, adding that Richmond has declared a housing crisis and is in need of more residential housing. The commission recommended approval by a 6-1 vote, with Commissioner Rebecca Rowe dissenting.

The latest site plan for 3801-03 Hanover Ave. shows four new townhomes fronting Hamilton Street. Four previously proposed units have been removed from along Reveille Street.

Also recommended for approval was a special-use request from developers Jeremy Connell and Julie and Paul Weissend for a four-townhome infill project behind two existing houses at 3801-03 Hanover Ave.

The proposal was reduced from an earlier plan that called for eight new townhomes. The three-story townhomes would fill the backyards of two existing houses on the properties.

The four units removed would have fronted Reveille Street behind one of the two houses, which would be retained and be lightly renovated. The four remaining townhomes would front Hamilton Street across from the Mount Vernon Condominiums that line the Interstate 195 expressway.

Questions arose about a condition requested by the developers that accessory dwelling units be permitted on the property as part of the special-use approval. Opponents who spoke in a hearing before the vote argued that allowing ADUs would potentially bring the project back to eight units, but it was noted that ADUs could also be used by the residents of the townhomes.

Kevin Vonck, the city’s planning director, noted that ADUs could not be allowed there by right due to rules restricting them from fronting streets such as Reveille. Because the spaces available for ADUs would front a street and not an alley, Vonck said special-use permits would be required.

The commission endorsed the townhomes by a unanimous vote.

Meanwhile, the commission deferred a vote on another townhome infill project proposed by Center Creek Homes at 3923 Grove Ave. The developer requested the deferral after hearing concerns from some commissioners and Councilmember Andrew Breton, Center Creek COO Greg Shron said.

Center Creek is proposing 16 townhomes next to a centuries-old house that would remain on the property. A dozen townhomes would fill the lot behind the house, while four townhomes would be beside it and likewise front Grove. The project was revised from an earlier plan based on community feedback.

The commission deferred that case to its Aug. 19 meeting.

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