Local developer planning 400-unit lower-income apartment project on the Southside

A site plan of the proposed development. (City documents)

One of the area’s most prolific affordable housing developers is looking to go big in the Southside.

Lynx Ventures is planning to build a 400-unit apartment project geared to lower-income residents at 3609-3616 Cottrell Road and 4611-4705 Walmsley Blvd. 

The phased project would rise on about 11 acres of undeveloped land near the intersection of Walmsley and Broad Rock boulevards. Lynx principal John Gregory said the units will be available to those earning between 50 and 70 percent of the area median income. 

Headquartered in Manchester, Lynx is one of the busier developers in South Richmond, particularly with income-based projects such as Noon Hioaks, which will have more than 200 units north of Chippenham and Midlothian Turnpike.

John Gregory

The Cottrell development will also carry Lynx’s “Noon” brand, which Gregory said includes a quality of build that doesn’t look different from market-rate apartments. 

“We’re trying to change the narrative around affordable housing, and make somewhere that people are proud to live,” Gregory said. “(The apartments) don’t look any different from any of the market rate properties that are going up in terms of finishes and amenities.”

Both buildings of Noon Cottrell will reach four stories, with the first phase counting around 230 units and 170 in the second. It’ll be supported by a 410-space parking lot, and amenities would include a courtyard, gym and pool.

Baskervill is the development’s architect and Gregory said they haven’t yet selected a general contractor. VHB is the engineer, Waterstreet Studio is the landscape architect and Nyfeler Associates is the surveyor. 

Conceptual drawings of Noon Cottrell.

Lynx bought 9.5 of the 11 acres it needs for the development in a pair of deals this year totaling $2.3 million. It has the last 1.5 acre parcel at 4705 Walmsley Blvd. under contract. 

Lynx is pursuing a special-use permit to allow the development, and Hirschler’s Brian Jackson is representing the company in that process. Gregory said they’re hoping to break ground in mid-2025. 

In the meantime, the developer has plenty else going on in Southside to keep it busy. In addition to the nearly complete Noon Hioaks, Lynx is also building a 255-unit affordable housing development at the site of the former Oak Grove Elementary School. That development, which goes by Noon Ingram, is getting ready to have roofs put on, and the firm is also planning a final phase of its New Manchester Flats development on East Fourth Street. 

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