Construction halfway done on 310 apartments beside Midlothian Walmart - Richmond BizSense

Jonathan Spiers November 7, 2024 0

The 310-unit apartment complex is taking shape along Walmart Way in Midlothian. (Images courtesy Apartments.com)

With a clubhouse and two of four planned buildings complete, an apartment complex beside the Midlothian Walmart is taking shape and on track to wrap up by the end of this year.

Florida-based Bainbridge Cos. is over halfway through construction of Bainbridge Midlothian, a 310-unit development filling part of a 26-acre tract between Walmart Way and Old Buckingham Road.

Two of the development’s four apartments buildings have been built so far, representing about 60 percent of the total number of units, as well as a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse with amenities including a pool, grilling area, pavilion, pickleball court and a covered outdoor area with TVs and seating.

The first two apartment buildings enclose a clubhouse on the site between Walmart Way and Old Buckingham Road.

Two remaining buildings that would finish off the development are on track for completion by the end of the year, said Greg Cavanaugh, Bainbridge Cos.’ senior vice president of development.

Greg Cavanaugh

Cavanaugh said the project has stayed on budget but fallen a few months behind schedule due to site and weather challenges. He said the company does not disclose development costs for its projects.

“We’re a few months behind, mostly due to site work and proceeding with that through the winter. And, as expected in that area, some rock to contend with that we had to excavate,” he said.

“We knew what we were getting into, but that did not absolve us from the challenges that we faced. It was a very difficult site, between topography and there are wetlands on the site that we had to make sure that we steered clear of, and a complicated stormwater management design. It was certainly a challenge, but we kept pressing forward and it should end up a very successful project for us.”

Previously called Coalfield Reserve, the project is the first locally for Bainbridge and originally was planned to consist of six apartment buildings. Plans were changed to four larger four-story buildings, one of which is set apart along Walmart Way from the others but is to be connected via a walking trail. A dog park also is planned on the property.

The clubhouse area includes a pool and other amenities.

Leasing for the apartments started in June, and Cavanaugh said the community was about 25 percent leased as of last month, with 75 or so apartments rented. The one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans range from 700 to 1,500 square feet in size and rent from about $1,600 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $2,600 for a three-bedroom.

Poole & Poole Architecture designed the apartments, and Balzer & Associates handled engineering work on the project. Bainbridge Cos. is providing property management.

Bainbridge, which has a Mid-Atlantic office in Washington, D.C., was brought on to develop and the build the apartments by LBD Investments, a locally based group led by Randy Cosby and Chris Jenkins. Bainbridge purchased the site in mid-2022 for just over $1 million, and site work for the project got underway that fall.

A site map shows the apartment buildings’ configuration along Walmart Way. (File image courtesy LBD Investments)

As it wraps up construction, Cavanaugh said Bainbridge is on the lookout for its next project in the Richmond area. Elsewhere in Virginia, the company developed the Bainbridge 3200 apartments in Suffolk.

“We’re certainly keeping our eyes out,” Cavanaugh said of the local market. “It’s a market that we love and we want to build and maintain a strong presence. We plan to do more business in Richmond, for sure.”

Bainbridge Midlothian is taking shape behind the Walmart and Sam’s Club from Midlothian Turnpike. Across the street, the Wegmans-anchored Stonehenge Village shopping center sold last month for $62 million.

Jonathan joined BizSense in 2015 after a decade of reporting in Wilmington, N.C., and at the Henrico County Leader. The Virginia Tech grad covers government, real estate and other news. Reach him at (804) 308-2447 or [email protected].