The Agenda: Local government briefs for 3.3.25

City announces grant fund for businesses impacted by water outage

A water tank outside HCA’s Chippenham Hospital during January’s outage. (File photo courtesy HCA)

Richmond’s Economic Development Authority is working with the Metropolitan Business League to establish a recovery grant fund for small businesses impacted by January’s water outage.

The EDA approved a $250,000 grant for the program, which will provide grants to small businesses “significantly impacted” by the outage, according to a release. The fund will be seeded with a total initial investment of $500,000 provided by the EDA, Dominion Energy and Altria. Fundraising efforts are ongoing, the city said.

Applications will open March 17-28. The MBL and Richmond’s Office of Minority Development will hold virtual Q&A sessions March 6 and 12. Businesses can sign up here to attend online.

More information about the program, including eligibility criteria, will be available on MBL’s website in coming days, the city said.

Richmond business tax filings moved online, deadline extended to March 31

The City of Richmond has launched an online system that business owners must now use to register and file taxes, and it’s giving them an extra month to do so.

The RVA Business Portal was launched in January and is now the only way to register businesses and renew licenses in the city. The portal also allows for online payment of business personal property taxes and BPOL (business, professional and occupational license) taxes, though payments are still accepted by mail.

In light of the new system, the city announced it is extending the deadline for renewing licenses and paying BPOL taxes to March 31.

180-unit apartment project in Piney Knolls area on city planning agenda

The Richmond Planning Commission meets Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Lawson Cos. seeks a special-use permit for 180 income-restricted apartments it is planning on a 10-acre site at 5015 Snead Road, northwest of Walmsley and Broad Rock boulevards in the Piney Knolls area. The apartments would be targeted to renters earning below 80 percent of the area median income.

Other business includes a plan to add six townhomes beside an existing four-unit multifamily dwelling at 3618 Hawthorne Ave., beside Laburnum Avenue. Baker Development Resources is handling the special-use request for an LLC tied to Stephen Brown.

The commission will also receive an annual presentation on results of the Richmond 300 master plan. The full meeting agenda is available here.

Chesterfield approves grant agreement for $22M plant expansion

Super Radiator Coils recently completed an expansion project at its Chesterfield coil manufacturing and engineering facility, bringing it to 177,000 square feet. (Photo courtesy Super Radiator Coils)

The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors last week approved a performance grant agreement for the latest expansion project at Super Radiator Coils’ local facility.

The Minnesota-based company in November announced plans for a $22 million, 80,000-square-foot expansion of its manufacturing plant at 451 Southlake Blvd. Super Radiator Coils, which makes specialty cooling coils for food processors, the military, data centers and other industries, also said the project involves upgraded equipment and creation of 160 jobs.

The grant agreement provides up to $140,000 as a local match to a $610,000 allocation from the state’s Commonwealth Opportunity Fund Grant. The local match is tied to the marginal real estate tax increase resulting from the property’s improvements after tax year 2024, according to a county memo.

County staff recommended the agreement due to the job creation and new tax revenue associated with the expansion. The project consists of $12 million in construction costs, $8 million in machinery and $2 million in furniture and similar equipment, according to the agreement.

Super Radiator Coils is required to make its stated investment in the project within five years to reap the benefits of the agreement. The project is the fourth expansion of the facility, which opened more than 40 years ago.

Rezoning OK’d for residential development on Swift Creek Reservoir

The proposed Thacker’s View project would bring 260 residential units, most of them single-family homes, to site on Swift Creek Reservoir. (County documents)

Chesterfield supervisors also approved a 260-unit residential project slated to rise on Swift Creek Reservoir.

Thacker’s View, a joint venture between developer Cross Creek Development Corp. and the Thacker family, would feature 172 single-family homes and 88 townhouses on a 139-acre property.

The project site was formerly occupied by events venue Celebrations at the Reservoir.

The single-family homes would be a mix of lots of at least 12,000 square feet and “cluster” lots that would range between 8,400 and 12,000 square feet, according to a staff report. The townhomes would have a minimum lot area of 1,520 to 2,720 square feet.

Plans also include a restaurant, shared-use paths and recreational amenities. The project is expected to retain the property’s existing pathways, gazebos and dock.

Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve the project.

Chesterfield acquires dozens of acres on Appomattox River for park facilities

Chesterfield and a local nonprofit have taken ownership of dozens of acres along the Appomattox River with plans to expand recreational opportunities there.

The county announced last week that it and the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River received more than 42 acres of property, including islands, on the Appomattox River from the Capital Region Land Conservancy, which had recently purchased the land.

About 30 acres of the overall site are in Chesterfield and will be developed and managed as a riverfront park by the county’s parks and recreation department. The acquisition is part of a project to better utilize riverfront land in the county as a public recreational amenity, per a Chesterfield news release.

“Chesterfield is blessed with abundant natural resources, not the least of which is its location along the scenic Appomattox River,” Supervisor Kevin Carroll said in the release. “Acquiring this property will provide opportunities for our growing, active community to enjoy the water, accommodate the park we’ve planned there and preserve both the beauty and historical significance of an important gateway area.”

The partially wooded property features the remnants of former mills, dams and canals. CRLC bought the land for $2.4 million in 2022 from Josh and Ingrid Greenwood, according to the release.

A portion of the overall site that is in Petersburg has been passed on to the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River. That property will fill a half-mile gap in the south bank route of the nonprofit’s 25-mile Appomattox River Trail network, and intersect with the planned Fall Line Trail that would run from Petersburg to Ashland. The whole site is under conservation easements.

Henrico proposing budget with tax rate reductions, $50M for water upgrades

County Manager John Vithoulkas previewed Henrico’s budget plan at a press briefing at Fairfield Area Library. (BizSense file photo)

Henrico County is proposing a fiscal year 2026 budget that would include a 2-cent reduction to its real estate tax rate and $50 million allotted for water service improvements.

With a general fund totaling $1.35 billion, an increase of 8% over the current spending plan, the proposed budget would be based on a real estate tax rate of 83 cents per $100 of assessed value – a 2-cent reduction of the current 85-cent rate. The county last reduced the rate in 2022, also by 2 cents.

The proposal also would decrease the personal property tax rate to $3.35 per $100 of assessed value for both vehicles and business personal property, which are currently taxed at a rate of $3.40 and $3.50, respectively.

The adjustments are projected to provide $18.3 million in new tax relief affecting 115,000 homeowners in the county, 320,000 vehicle owners and 20,000 businesses.

The relief would be offset in part by $13.6 million in revenue expected from a planned increase to the county’s personal property tax rate for data centers, on items such as computers and other equipment used at data centers. The proposed budget would increase that data center rate from 40 cents per $100 of assessed value to $2.60 per $100.

The budget would include a 6% raise for all county government and school employees. It also would set aside $50 million for improvements to Henrico’s water system in the eastern part of the county, which is currently partly served by the Richmond water plant that shut down for several days in January. The county and the city are currently discussing potential long-term solutions for ensuring regional water service.

The county plans to officially propose the budget March 11. The full plan is expected to be posted on the county’s website March 4, and a public hearing is scheduled March 25 at 5 p.m. The board would vote on the budget at its April 8 meeting. The fiscal year starts July 1.

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