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owntown Richmond’s 2025 real‑estate pulse was dominated by a handful of headline‑making projects. The new Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront opened its first concert season, while CoStar Group’s 35‑story office tower topped out and is poised to become the city’s tallest structure. A spring reveal from a New York developer announced a potential 400‑plus‑foot mixed‑use skyscraper—residences, hotel rooms, offices and a grocery store—targeting an undisclosed downtown lot, likely to challenge CoStar’s record.
Two downtown office “plazas” charted divergent courses. Wytestone Plaza, a 17‑story tower, sold and is being converted into 300 apartments. Riverfront Plaza, a twin‑tower complex along the James River, fell into receivership and faces foreclosure. Meanwhile, the city pushed forward with the Richmond Coliseum redevelopment and a new GRTC bus‑transfer station within a mixed‑use block. The Commonwealth finalized plans for a $400 million office building to replace the Monroe Building and a new courthouse. In Jackson Ward, a 12‑story apartment building broke ground, and Shockoe Bottom saw the completion of another 12‑story complex, The Bakery. Shockoe Institute construction began, adding to the city’s slavery‑museum campus, and a request‑for‑proposals was issued for the long‑delayed Intermediate Terminal Building.
Manchester’s Southside remained a hotbed of activity. Two 16‑plus‑story apartment towers are under construction, with New York‑based Avery Hall breaking ground on a 550‑unit project near Legend Brewing. South Carolina’s The Beach Co. started work on a mixed‑use site just south of Avery Hall, while Texas developer Trammell Crow Residential secured a 5‑acre parcel at Semmes and Cowardin for a 260‑unit upscale community. Local developers also moved forward: CMB Development filed plans for two mid‑rise towers north of Trammell Crow’s plot, and Fountainhead Real Estate Development began a 6‑story apartment building on Maury Street and a 40‑unit townhome project on Decatur Street, partnering with Dodson Development and WVS Cos.
In the Fan, D.C. firm Audeo Partners led the most activity. The Carousel, a 125‑unit conversion of a former Dominion Energy warehouse, opened in winter, followed by a 200‑plus‑unit project across the street—one of the densest developments in the neighborhood. Audeo also secured the Virginia Home complex in Byrd Park for a 130‑plus‑unit conversion. A lawsuit over a mechanic’s lien on the former Shenandoah building now threatens the future of the six‑story structure at 501 N. Allen Ave., where Ash Hotels is nearly finished converting it into a boutique hotel. North of the Fan, Hoffman & Associates confirmed involvement in the Sauer Center’s second phase, a $2 million‑square‑foot project that would essentially create a new neighborhood.
West End milestones included the demolition of the former Genworth campus on West Broad Street, where Greenberg Gibbons is building Midtown64—over 1,200 apartments, townhomes, multiple hotels, new and renovated office space, and a retail strip anchored by Trader Joe’s. At Staples Mill and Broad, Kinsale Capital Group completed a renovation of a former Anthem office building that will serve as its new headquarters; this is the first phase of the broader Kinsale Center, which will also feature hundreds of apartments, hotel rooms, office and retail space. In the Near West End, the city approved a redevelopment plan for the Westhampton Pastry Shop at Libbie and Patterson, and a proposal was filed to turn the Seventh Street Christian Church site at Grove and Malvern into dozens of townhomes and condos.
Chesterfield’s development scene was the most active in the region. The $1 billion Springline at District 60 project continued, with Shamin Hotels breaking ground on a 12‑story hotel. Courthouse Landing, a 124‑acre mixed‑use development off State Route 288, welcomed its first tenants. Midlothian Depot, a $100 million townhome and retail complex, began construction and secured Whole Foods as its grocer. The long‑awaited Lake project, spanning over 100 acres near Genito and Old Hundred roads, stalled after its general contractor filed a lien, though new ice rinks are under construction just north of the site. Ed Nunnally, a prolific Chesterfield developer, is partnering with Markel | Eagle Partners on a 200‑acre project that could bring single‑family homes, retail, medical office and retail space to Hull Street and Otterdale roads. The county’s flagship mall, Chesterfield Towne Center, was sold for $80 million to out‑of‑town buyers who are considering redevelopment. A new zoning ordinance was recently adopted to guide future development.
Goochland’s headline deal was Eli Lilly’s announcement of a $5 billion manufacturing facility in West Creek. The largely rural county also approved a controversial “Technology Overlay District” covering much of West Creek, permitting data centers, pharmaceutical plants and biomedical research centers. An Amazon fulfillment center, 3 million square feet, began construction in Rockville.
For those tracking the region’s commercial real‑estate pulse, BizSense’s Development Tracker—powered by PlanRVA—offers an interactive map of all projects in the Richmond area, complete with key details.
