A local developer wants to turn roughly 72 acres of Manakin-Sabot farmland into 72 house lots, and the property line runs against one of the most recognizable estates in Goochland County. Reporter Jackie DiBartolomeo broke the story for Richmond BizSense on September 8, 2026. What follows is what the filing contains, and what it would mean for anyone already living near it.
What The Manakin Companies actually filed
The Manakin Companies LLC, run by Rob Chesson, filed a pre-application last month to rezone about 72 acres along Hermitage Road from agricultural to residential use. The proposed subdivision is called Allston Station, and it would carry 72 lots of roughly one acre each, with houses between about 3,200 and 6,000 square feet connected to public water and sewer.
Chesson told BizSense he is aiming at “higher-end, $1 million to $3 million range houses” for empty nesters downsizing into what he described as jewel-box homes. He named Kinloch and Dover Branch as the developments he sees Allston Station sitting alongside. The site is two parcels, one near 46 acres and one near 26 acres, which Chesson bought in late 2021 and 2022 for a combined $4.3 million.
One word carries the weight here: pre-application. Nothing has been approved or entitled. The request has not gone before the Goochland Planning and Zoning commission or the Board of Supervisors, and Chesson said the formal application is likely to be filed by around October.
Why 72 lots is a large number in a county this size
Goochland is the priciest and thinnest market among the localities we cover, which is what makes the lot count worth pausing on.
| Closed single-family sales | 44 (up 51.7% year over year) |
| Median sales price | $655,000 (down 3.0%) |
| Days on market | 30 (up 11.1%) |
| Months supply of inventory | 2.8 (up 3.7%) |
Goochland County, single-family detached, July 2026. Source: Central Virginia Regional MLS, published in the sortable monthly tables from the Richmond Association of REALTORS. These are county-level figures, not Manakin-Sabot figures. Median price per square foot is not carried in the free county tables, so it is not quoted here.
The county closed 44 single-family sales in July 2026. Allston Station would add 72 lots, more than a month and a half of Goochland’s entire single-family volume, though phased across several years. The price band matters more. At $1 million to $3 million these houses would sit far above the county’s $655,000 median, in the tier that turns over slowest. Goochland’s days on market rose to 30 in July while the metro average fell to 19.
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What would change along Hermitage Road, and when
If the application lands in October, it goes to the Goochland Planning Commission for a recommendation, then to the Board of Supervisors for approval or denial. Chesson said he hopes to begin construction in the third quarter of next year, phased, with six to eight months from groundbreaking to the first completed homes. Stack that up and the earliest anyone moves in is late 2027, and that assumes the rezoning passes on the first pass, which is not how these usually go.
The detail worth watching is the public water and sewer connection. Agricultural land here does not generally support one-acre density on wells and septic, so the utility connection is what makes the plan work, and it marks where county service now reaches. Hermitage Road is a two-lane secondary road maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, and phased construction traffic there would be a multi-year condition.
What it means if you are buying or selling near Manakin-Sabot
If you are buying anything adjacent, read the county file before you write an offer. A pre-application is public, and the site plan shows where the entrance, stormwater ponds and rear lot lines would go. The longer version is in buying a home next to undeveloped land in Richmond VA, and the questions worth asking a builder about the unfinished part of a subdivision are collected in what to ask a Richmond builder about the rest of the subdivision.
If you are selling nearby, the effect cuts both ways. New one-acre lots at $1 million and up can support your comparables, and can also be the inventory a buyer tours instead of your house. Manakin-Sabot sits between the Goochland courthouse area and western Henrico, so buyers looking here are usually also looking at Short Pump and the rest of Henrico County. How the July numbers actually broke down across the acreage counties is in our Goochland and Powhatan July 2026 review.
More development and rezoning coverage across the metro is collected in Richmond Area News.
Questions we are getting about Allston Station
Has Allston Station been approved?
No. As of September 8, 2026 it is a pre-application only, not yet heard by the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors. The developer expects to file the formal application by around October 2026.
How much would a house in Allston Station cost?
The developer is targeting $1 million to $3 million, for houses of roughly 3,200 to 6,000 square feet on one-acre lots. Goochland’s median single-family sale in July 2026 was $655,000, so these would sit well above the county middle.
Where exactly would it be?
On roughly 72 acres along Hermitage Road in Manakin-Sabot, at the eastern end of Goochland County. It abuts the 35-acre property at 785 Oak Spring Lane, the homestead of former NBA player Ben Wallace, which listed this summer near $7 million and is now contract pending.
When could the first homes be finished?
The developer hopes to start construction in the third quarter of 2027, phased, with six to eight months from groundbreaking to the first completed homes. Late 2027 is the earliest realistic completion, and only if the rezoning passes without delay.
Does a rezoning request mean the subdivision will get built?
No. In Goochland the Planning Commission recommends and the Board of Supervisors decides. Applications regularly return with added conditions, get deferred for months, or get withdrawn.
What is the Goochland market doing right now?
In July 2026 Goochland closed 44 single-family sales, up 51.7% year over year, at a median of $655,000, down 3.0%. Homes took 30 days to sell against 2.8 months of supply. These are county-level CVR MLS figures, not Manakin-Sabot figures.
Who reported this first?
Jackie DiBartolomeo of Richmond BizSense, on September 8, 2026. The developer interview and parcel history come from her reporting, linked at the top of this post.
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