Henrico County has launched an effort to revive its older commercial strips, starting with the stretch of Williamsburg Road that travelers see first when they leave Richmond International Airport. As Jonathan Spiers reported for Richmond BizSense on Sept. 23, the county’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) owns one troubled property there, is about to close on a second, and plans to demolish both. For owners and buyers in Sandston, Highland Springs and Varina, it is the most tangible public investment the corridor has seen in years. It is also a first step, not a finished plan.
Two sites, about 5 acres, both headed for demolition
The program, called Rebuild Henrico, was announced Sept. 22 outside the shuttered Bowl America at 5018 Williamsburg Road. BizSense reports the EDA paid $3 million in May for the former All Day Inn Airport hotel at 5500 Williamsburg Road, across from the airport, and has the bowling alley under contract for $2.95 million, a deal still pending when the story ran. The county’s announcement rounds that price to $2.9 million.
Each parcel is just over 2 acres with a building of about 30,000 square feet. Both prices sit well above the county’s assessments ($1.93 million for the hotel, $1.1 million for the bowling alley), so Henrico is paying a premium for control of the land. Varina Supervisor Tyrone Nelson told BizSense the two sites generated roughly 700 calls to the county and police over four years.
What the form-based overlay allows, and what nobody has decided
No developer has been named and no timeline released. One option BizSense describes is a public-private deal in which the EDA keeps the land. Future projects will be guided by a form-based overlay district, drawn from a 2019 design workshop and folded into the county’s recent zoning code update. Form-based rules focus on how buildings meet the street more than on narrow use lists. EDA Director Cari Tretina floated medical offices, coworking, conference-style hotels, a workforce training center and airport-related skilled trades, and summed up the county’s new role simply: “we’re going to be the owners.” Anything the overlay does not allow would go through a public process; our guide to rezonings and use permits in Henrico and Chesterfield explains the steps (Henrico calls its version a provisional use permit).
What it means for Sandston, Highland Springs and Varina
Short term, expect fencing, demolition crews and extra truck traffic. Longer term, removing two properties officials describe as chronic problems should help the residential streets directly behind them. But we would not price a house today on the assumption that a medical office or hotel is coming. Nothing has been proposed, and Nelson named coordination with VDOT, which controls Williamsburg Road, as a longstanding hurdle; sidewalks or signals would need state involvement.
Airport proximity cuts both ways. The EDA is also working with the airport commission to ready about 200 acres for aviation and defense employers, which could mean jobs nearby. Aircraft noise, though, is part of daily life in parts of Sandston and in Elko, the smaller community farther east in eastern Henrico County. Before touring, read our guide to buying near a railroad, highway or flight path and our list of the quietest Richmond neighborhoods. If a quick airport run is the priority, see our roundup of neighborhoods a short drive from the airport.
Keep an eye on Sandston and eastern Henrico listings
Set up a saved search on our home search for eastern Henrico, and see the Sandston neighborhood page for what homes there typically look like, so new listings reach you while the Williamsburg Road sites are cleared.
Henrico County-wide numbers for August 2026
These figures cover all of Henrico County, not Sandston, Highland Springs or Varina individually.
Henrico County-wide, single-family detached, August 2026
| Measure | August 2026 | Change vs. August 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Median sold price | $425,000 | +7.9% |
| Median days on market | 18 | 0.0% |
| Months of supply | 1.6 | 0.0% |
| Closed sales | 229 | -7.3% |
| Median price per square foot | [DATA NEEDED: median price per square foot, August 2026, by area] | |
Source: CVR MLS via Richmond Association of REALTORS sortable monthly statistics, Henrico County row.
At 1.6 months of supply county-wide, well-priced Henrico homes still move fast, and this news does not change that overnight. Our buyer services page explains how we help, and the mortgage calculator lets you test a payment at county-wide price levels.
A familiar playbook, with one difference
Henrico cites earlier turnarounds at the former Regency and Virginia Center Commons malls, where private redevelopment followed county investment. There, the county did not own the land. On Williamsburg Road it does, which means more control and more risk. More coverage lives in our Richmond-area news section, and the simplest way to follow the Sandston market meanwhile is a saved search on our property search.
Questions we are hearing about Rebuild Henrico
Does Rebuild Henrico rezone homes in Sandston or Varina?
Nothing announced so far rezones any house. The form-based overlay was drawn for the Williamsburg Road commercial corridor near the airport. To check whether a specific parcel falls inside it, use Henrico’s online zoning map or ask the Henrico Planning Department before making an offer.
Could new housing be built on the cleared sites?
Possibly. Henrico says its 2019 workshop recommendations call for a corridor mix that includes hospitality, retail, commercial and residential uses. No residential project has been proposed for either site.
When will the buildings come down?
The county has not published a demolition date or redevelopment schedule. The hotel purchase closed in May 2026 and the bowling alley closing was pending as of Sept. 23. With no developer chosen, any new building is likely years away.
Will this purchase raise my property assessment?
Not directly. Henrico reassesses real estate each year based mainly on sales of comparable homes, so a county land purchase on a commercial corridor does not by itself change a house’s assessed value.
How are Henrico townhomes and condos doing?
Henrico County-wide, 106 condos and townhomes closed in August 2026, down 19.7% from a year earlier. The median sold price was $380,017, up 5.6%, with 36 median days on market and 2.2 months of supply, per CVR MLS data via the Richmond Association of REALTORS.
Is anything changing at the airport itself?
Henrico’s announcement notes that Richmond International Airport is about to start combining its two security checkpoints into one, ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2027. That work is separate from the Williamsburg Road purchases.
