Long-planned Fulton Yard project near Rocketts Landing remains stalled but still in the works
It was four years ago that North Carolina-based Zimmer Development Co. said it was ready to break ground on its Fulton Yard development, a project that at that point had been in the works next to Rocketts Landing since 2019.
But while that groundbreaking has yet to occur, the company in recent weeks said it still intends to move forward with its plan to bring commercial space along with hundreds of apartments to 20 acres along Orleans and Nicholson streets.
Zimmer last month filed amended plans for the long-awaited mixed-use development, showing an increase in density compared to its initial proposal at the development’s first phase on a 5-acre site at 201 Orleans St.
The Orleans Street phase was initially set to consist of a pair of mixed-use buildings with just over 200 apartments and 3,000 square feet of commercial space. Zimmer is now planning to build two five-story buildings with over 350 apartments total. The two buildings would no longer have commercial space and they’d be connected via a four-floor parking garage, another new addition to the phase one plans.
Managing partner Landon Zimmer said they’re tweaking the design and that they’re now looking to begin construction on the first phase in early 2027.
“We’re still going to proceed with all the proffers and everything we agreed to. It’ll be a new design, we’re excited about it,” Zimmer said. “We’re going to add some more units. The demand is there, (but we’re) working within the city and county parameters.”
The second phase is planned for 25 Nicholson St., a 1.5-acre plot north of The Waterford, the mid-rise apartment building WVS Cos. completed in 2023. Zimmer said they’re still planning a five-story, 20,000-square-foot office building, but that they’re currently focusing on the Orleans phase.
“We’re still still looking for a tenant for Nicholson, but Orleans was always the first one to be developed,” Zimmer said.
The building is now set to include over 350 apartments and no commercial space.
What becomes of the third, largest phase of Fulton Yard is less clear. Nearly 300 more apartments and 80,000 square feet of commercial space were initially planned for that phase, which would rise on a 15-acre, unaddressed parcel near 4900 Old Osborne Tnpk., but Zimmer said they’re not sure what they’ll ultimately end up doing there.
“That (phase) was more mixed-use, that was always the original plan. But we’re not sure yet. Again, we want to get (Orleans) up and running before going forward with that,” Zimmer said.
For the first phase, Zimmer is working with Baltimore architecture firm Ci Design. The engineering team consists of local firm Timmons Group, Raleigh-based Crenshaw Consulting Engineering, and Woods Engineering out of Wilmington. Zimmer said they haven’t selected a general contractor yet.
Zimmer began plotting Fulton Yard in 2019 as its entrance into the Richmond market, and received approval from both the city and Henrico that same year. Both localities needed to sign off on it as the land is split between the city and the county. Zimmer bought the land for the project for $5 million in 2020.
Fulton Yard’s not the only long-planned development in Rocketts Landing sitting idle.
The city’s Economic Development Authority is continuing to review proposals for the redevelopment of the Intermediate Terminal Building at 3101 E. Main St. The stilted, 100+-year-old building was initially set to become a Stone Brewing Co. bistro, and had been in limbo for years, until the city issued a request-for-proposals for it last summer.
The RFP netted multiple responses, but it’s unclear what’s being proposed or when the EDA will make its selection. An EDA spokesperson said last month that “forward movement is happening,” on the Terminal Building, but that they couldn’t share anything further.
While the future of Fulton Yard and the Terminal building remain dormant, work is underway on a new building nearby. Earlier this year WVS began building a six-story, 184-unit apartment building next to The Waterford at 4401 E. Main St.
Long-planned Fulton Yard project near Rocketts Landing remains stalled but still in the works