‘Total transformation’: Henrico homes once riddled with code violations to become brand new residential community

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — From thousands of housing violations to “total transformation,” a rental community in Henrico County with a problematic past is on the path to becoming an entirely new living space.

Henrico County’s Board of Supervisors recently approved the rezoning of Glenwood Farms, which sets the stage for redevelopment to finally begin.

The Fairfield District’s supervisor, Roscoe D. Cooper III, said he is thrilled about the update.

“Total transformation,” he said when asked about the vision for the future of the Glenwood Farms property. “I mean, total transformation.”

The aging rental community was built in 1948. In 2022, 8News took action for residents who reached out to our team about unacceptable living conditions .

“Prior owners cut a lot of corners,” another Henrico County official said.

Residents complained of rotting floors, damaged infrastructure — and one resident even had wastewater leaking through his ceiling.

“You can’t have people living like this,” a community advocate said at a county meeting back in 2019.

Henrico County inspectors got involved and took the previous owners to court. They cited a peak of 2,000 building code violations.

“Residents matter,” Cooper said. “We do not look at people through the lens of socioeconomic status. We look at people through the lens of humanity and it is imperative for us to make sure our residents know how much we care as a county and as a community

Now, two years later, Crescent Development and Spy Rock Real Estate are joining forces with Henrico County to re-imagine the entire property. As of last week, the project can officially begin now that Henrico County supervisors voted to approve its rezoning.

“It’s imperative for us that every resident of Henrico County is able to live in a nice house, live in safe neighborhoods and send their kids, their children, to great schools,” Cooper said. “This property was antithetical to all of that, in that the living conditions were deplorable.”

The units currently house about 140 tenants, but the new community will boast more than 900 units in a modernized facility. Developers told 8News that, as the plan currently stands, the project could likely include a daycare element, too.

Zac Frederick with Crescent Development said his team completed a similar transformation down the street at Springdale Park, so he is confident his group can achieve similar success here along Byron Street.

Glenwood Farms’ previous owners were out-of-state, so Frederick shared one factor that will make things different this time around.

“We are locals,” Frederick said. “My partners and I and Spy Rock Real Estate … we’re based here in Richmond. Our kids go to the schools here. We’re here every day as well as the management company. So the management folks are here, this is their community as well and it’s important to us because we have a stake in the success of not only Henrico but Richmond as a region.”

Developers told 8News that they’re taking a phased approach to construction, so crews will begin demolishing vacant units within a few weeks.

Frederick explained what current tenants can expect.

“People that are currently living here, which we estimate to be somewhere between 100 and 140 tenants households — they will be able to remain on-site,” he said. “There may be a small handful that may have to move offsite if there are not enough units to accommodate them on the property, but we estimate that to be less than probably 15 households. But they will be able to remain on the property and will continue to rent at the same rent level that they’re renting at currently. Then the property will be redeveloped — demolished and rebuilt into a newer community that they will be able to return back to if they’re in good standing with the property owner.”

Developers plan to begin vertical construction within a year, which paves the way for the entire development to be complete within seven or eight years.

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