Demolition has started on the former A.C. Moore at the Festival at Midlothian center, which along with other big-box spaces is being razed to make room for a new apartment complex. (Jack Jacobs photo)
An empty big-box retail strip is coming down and apartments are going up at a Chesterfield shopping center.
Sauer Properties is moving forward with plans to add two apartment buildings to its Festival at Midlothian center, which is being rebranded as The Village at Bon Air as part of a multi-use transformation.
The residential project at 9700 Midlothian Turnpike will rise on the site of the now-vacant 90,000-square-foot retail space toward the rear of the development, where demolition started this week, Sauer President Marshall French said.
The Richmond-based real estate firm is planning more than 200 apartments across two 4-story buildings – one with 139 units and the other with 67 units. There will be a roughly even split of one- and two-bedroom units in the complex. Amenities include a gym and clubhouse.
The apartments will take the place of storefronts formerly occupied by a Stein Mart that closed in 2020, a Marshalls that closed more recently and an A.C. Moore arts and crafts retailer.
The retail strip being razed for the residential redevelopment project was formerly home to A.C. Moore, Stein Mart and Marshalls. The center’s other commercial spaces occupied by smaller retailers will remain. (Jack Jacobs photo)
The project site has been fenced off, and part of the vacant structure had been torn down by Wednesday afternoon. French said this week that demolition and site work is expected to play out over the next couple of months, and the apartments are anticipated to go vertical by mid-to-late-September.
The project will be built on a portion of the center’s existing parking lot. Nearly 650 parking spaces will exist at the center after the project, a mixture of new and current spots.
Purcell Construction is the project’s general contractor. ISG is the architect, and Timmons Group is the civil engineer. French declined to share a cost estimate for the project.
While the anchor spaces will be torn down, the center’s other retail buildings, where smaller stores operate, will remain. Tenants in those sections include Dollar Tree and clothing store Plato’s Closet. The buildings occupied by Olive Garden and T-Mobile also will not be affected by the development plan.
The two 4-story apartment buildings would have more than 200 units in total. (File photo)
The center will have more than 80,000 square feet of retail space remaining after the construction of the apartments.
French provided a prepared statement that said the project has been several years in the making for Sauer.
“For decades, the center has served as a community retail hub, and this redevelopment honors that legacy while meeting the demographic growth of Chesterfield County,” the statement reads. “This milestone follows more than three years of planning, collaboration, and entitlement work to rezone and prepare the property for long-term success. Our vision is to transform the former big-box retail anchored shopping center into a dynamic mixed-use destination anchored by two new multifamily buildings that will bring new residents, activity, and energy to the area.”
The company also thanked Chesterfield County and Supervisor Mark Miller for their support of the project.
A rendering of the apartments being planned as part of the redevelopment project. (Courtesy Sauer)
French said the new apartments will introduce additional “workforce housing” stock to the area, and the units will be aimed at nurses, teachers and similar professionals. The developer worked with Berkadia to secure HUD-insured financing for the project.
Sauer is also planning new green space and improvements to retail storefronts as well as new pedestrian walkways at the roughly 183,000-square-foot center.
Sauer filed a site plan for the project last year and received zoning approval for the project in August 2023. Though the firm had at one point considered building three apartment buildings at the property, there aren’t currently plans to construct the third building, French said.
The developer has permission to build up to 350 apartments on the property, which is near the intersection of Midlothian Turnpike and Robious Road.
