Rocketts Landing development straddling Richmond, Henrico in full swing again

The first units in a 156-unit apartment building on the Henrico side are scheduled to be finished in April. Across the street, the first of 28 town houses in various stages of development by HHHunt Homes, is sold and occupied.

By the end of July, all but one parcel in this second phase of construction — encompassing four city blocks — should be finished. An additional 130 apartments are planned for the remaining parcel, but construction won’t start until the first building is well on its way to being fully leased, Souter said.

Apartments in general rent for $1,100 to $2,100 a month in Rocketts Landing. The new town houses are expected to sell for $400,000 to more than $600,000.

Rocketts Landing has gotten a boost from the nearby Stone Brewing complex, he said. The brewery is running and the company is working on a bistro and beer garden.

With the brewery project, the city is reconfiguring the streetscape from Poe’s Pub to Rockets Landing, providing another boon for the development. “It will give Rocketts Landing a very attractive entryway,” Souter said about the city’s efforts.

Throw in the Virginia Capital Trail, a 52-mile bicycle and walking trail that goes through Rocketts Landing, and next year’s start of Pulse bus rapid transit line from there to Willow Lawn in Henrico. “Those were the final links that Rockets Landing needed to tie itself into the downtown fabric,” Souter said.

Rocketts Landing got off to a slow start in 2005, just as the nation was heading toward recession. Housing prices peaked in 2006 and hit new lows in 2012 before turning around.