A rendering of Midtown64. (Courtesy Greenberg Gibbons)
The Richmond region may soon get another Trader Joe’s.
The grocery store chain is planning to open a location at Midtown64, the massive redevelopment of the former Genworth Financial campus at 6610 W. Broad St. in Henrico, according to sources with knowledge of the project.
Baltimore-based development firm Greenberg Gibbons is leading Midtown64 and held a groundbreaking event for the $500 million effort on Tuesday morning. CEO Brian Gibbons said at today’s event that the firm has signed a lease for a “nationally-recognized boutique grocery store,” adding that “the lease is signed but I’m still not allowed to say the name.”
Multiple sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to BizSense that the tenant is Trader Joe’s.
Preliminary plans filed with Henrico County show that the grocery shell space at Midtown64 would be 12,500 square feet, similar to the footprint that Trader Joe’s typically occupies.
The Trader Joe’s location in Short Pump in 2020. (BizSense file photo)
A spokesperson for Greenberg Gibbons said after Tuesday’s event they could not confirm nor deny Trader Joe’s involvement. A spokesperson for Trader Joe’s said that the chain is “actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country, including neighborhoods in Richmond, as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year,” but would not confirm the new location at Midtown64.
It would be the California-based grocer’s third store in the Richmond area, joining spots in Short Pump and the Bon Air section of South Richmond.
Midtown64 will span 45 acres and include around 1,000 apartments, 200 townhomes and 300,000 square feet of new and renovated office space. It’s being co-developed by Greenberg Gibbons and local hotelier Shamin Hotels, the latter of which is planning to build at least one dual-branded hotel as part of the project.
The developers kicked off demolition for the project this week. Construction is planned to occur in three phases. The first phase would include the new grocery store space and is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
This is breaking news. Stay tuned to BizSense tomorrow for more details on Midtown64.
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