Best Richmond-Area 55-Plus and Active Adult Communities: What Each Offers and Who It Is Wrong For

No public dataset lists every age-restricted community in the Richmond area, so this guide works differently from a ranked list. I started with names that kept appearing in searches, then opened each community’s or builder’s own website and kept only the ones that state a 55+ rule themselves. A few communities that listing sites label “55+” were left out because their own pages never say so. What follows is grouped by county, not ranked, and it is not a complete census of the market.

For each community you will find what the developer publishes, a price marker where one is published, and a line on who it is wrong for. Prices below are builder-published starting points read on 2 October 2026, not sold prices.

What “55+” means under federal law

The Fair Housing Act bans discrimination based on familial status, among other things, as the HUD overview of the Fair Housing Act lists. Housing “intended and operated for persons 55 years of age or older” is an exemption from the familial status rule, and the details sit in 24 CFR Part 100, Subpart E. Reading the text of sections 100.304 through 100.307, a qualifying community needs three things:

• At least 80 percent of its occupied units must be occupied by at least one person who is 55 or older (section 100.305).
• It must publish and follow policies that show it intends to operate as 55+ housing, which the rule says can be judged from how it describes itself to prospective residents, its advertising, and its written rules, covenants or deeds (section 100.306).
• It must be able to prove occupancy with reliable surveys and affidavits, with updates at least once every two years (section 100.307).

So the 80 percent figure is a legal floor, not a promise about who lives next door. Many communities write stricter rules into their covenants. The only way to know a specific community’s rules is to read its recorded covenants and rules.

Henrico County: CrossRidge, Glen Allen

CrossRidge describes itself, on its homeowners association website, as an independent living community for people ages 55 and better, on 400 acres in Glen Allen. It has six neighborhoods and 746 homes in several styles: condos, townhomes, duplexes and single-family homes. Home sizes run from 1,760 to 2,600 square feet with two to four bedrooms, and most have a screened porch or sunroom. The association says dues cover most exterior maintenance and repair, landscape maintenance of builder-installed plantings, refuse collection, road maintenance and snow removal, with interior and some exterior items left to the owner. Amenities listed include an indoor salt water pool, a seasonal outdoor pool, a fitness room, pickleball courts, a ballroom and a full-time lifestyle director. The site sits next to a Publix-anchored shopping center, and the HOA names Short Pump Town Center as the closest mall.

Location context: this is the far west end of Glen Allen, a short distance from Short Pump. The HOA site publishes no prices, so none are quoted here.

Wrong for: anyone who wants to pick a lot and finishes in a brand-new build, or anyone who wants a quiet community without a full social calendar and a lifestyle director.

Chesterfield County: three communities, three price tiers

Oasis Reserve, Midlothian

Main Street Homes markets the Reserve at Oasis as 55+ active adult villa living in Midlothian. The furnished model, the Maple, is a two-story, 2,387-square-foot plan with three bedrooms, two and a half baths and a two-car garage. The builder lists walking trails, a clubhouse, a dog park, pickleball courts and an outdoor pool, and says exterior upkeep such as gutters and roof, deck or porch repair is included for owners; ask for the exact scope in the HOA documents. Plan and quick move-in prices on the page ranged from $447,950 to $524,950 when I read it.

Wrong for: buyers who need the primary bedroom and every living space on one level without checking each plan, since the model shown has two stories.

Traditions of America at Chesterfield

Traditions of America describes a 104-acre, 55+ resort-style community in the southern suburbs of Richmond, with 234 single-family, low-maintenance homes and prices from the upper $400s. It lists an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse with a fitness center, a sports bar, a golf simulator and a heated outdoor pool, plus a full-time lifestyle director. The developer says the location is minutes from the 288 beltway, Midlothian and Pocahontas State Park. The page calls it a 55+ community but does not spell out the occupancy rule in the text I read, so request the covenants.

Wrong for: buyers who want a mix of attached and detached homes, since the developer lists only single-family homes.

Lake Margaret at The Highlands

Eastwood Homes calls Lake Margaret an age-restricted neighborhood inside The Highlands golf community in Chesterfield County, at 8142 Lake Margaret Terrace. Lawn care is included. Amenities listed are three lakefront pools, a clubhouse, tennis courts, nature trails and a playground, plus two lakes totaling more than 100 acres for fishing, paddling and canoeing. Eastwood marks it as final opportunities, with homes from the high $700s, so this is the top of the price range here. It overlaps with our golf course homes search if the course matters to you.

Wrong for: anyone shopping under $600,000, or anyone who wants a wide choice of lots, since the builder lists just one home building.

Hanover County: Hickory Grove, Ashland

Eastwood Homes calls Hickory Grove its newest age-restricted community, designed exclusively for 55+ living, at 10035 Providence Church Road in Ashland. The homes have first-floor primary bedrooms. Two plans were listed: the Burton, a one-story ranch with three bedrooms, two baths, a one-car garage and 1,477 square feet at $499,990, and the Patterson, a two-story with four bedrooms and 1,940 square feet at $549,990. Amenities listed include a community garden, a pond with a pier, a firepit, a pavilion, pickleball and walking trails. Lawn care, irrigation, snow removal and trash service are listed as included. The builder places it minutes from downtown Ashland, I-95 and Route 1.

Ashland is not one of our neighborhood pages, so use the Hanover County hub and the Hanover page for the county context.

Wrong for: buyers who want a large clubhouse with an indoor pool and fitness center, since the amenities listed are outdoor and garden focused.

Coming soon: Osborne Retreat, Chester

Eastwood Homes lists Osborne Retreat Townhomes as a 55+ active adult community off Osborne Road in Chester, in Chesterfield County, marked coming soon with proposed pricing from the low $400s. Proposed pricing can change, so treat it as an early marker only. See the Chesterfield County hub for the area.

The comparison at a glance

Questions to put in writing before you tour

Because the legal test turns on a community’s own rules, ask the sales team or association for the recorded covenants and the age-occupancy policy before you fall for the clubhouse. Ask what the monthly association dues are and exactly what they cover, since none of the pages I read published a dollar figure for dues. Ask when the reserve study was last done and what a special assessment would look like. Ask how resales are handled, because a resale buyer must also meet the age rule.

If you are still deciding between a 55+ community and a conventional neighborhood, our guides to neighborhoods for retirees, empty nesters and downsizers, single-story living and low-maintenance townhomes cover options with no age rule. For layout and safety features, see aging in place in a Richmond home, and for the practical side of the move, moving from a house to a condo or townhome. If you are financing, our preferred lenders can walk through options, and the buyer page explains how we work.

55+ community questions