The Signal at Medallion Park apartments opened this summer. (Photo courtesy Bristol Development Group)
As hundreds of new homes continue to fill out the former Virginia Center Commons mall site in Henrico, a new apartment building in a renovated office park across the street is adding even more homes to the fast-transitioning area.
County officials joined developers for a ribbon-cutting earlier this month marking the completion of Medallion Park, a $100 million project that includes the 279-unit Signal at Medallion Park apartments and renovations to two neighboring office buildings.
The project was led by National Financial Realty, which purchased the 17-acre assemblage in 2021, and Bristol Development Group, a Tennessee-based firm that developed the apartments.
Consisting of the former Citizens Bank and Colonial Place office parks between Telegraph Road and Interstate 95, Medallion Park is home to employers including Citizens Home Mortgage and, now, with the completion of the Signal apartments, over 150 residents and counting.
Of the 279 units at Signal, more than 50% were leased as of Monday and 122 remained available, according to its website. Move-ins started in early summer.
The apartments range from studios as small as 450 square feet to two-bedroom units up to 1,200 square feet. Studios start at nearly $1,500 a month in base rent and fees, while one-bedrooms start at nearly $1,600 and two-bedrooms above $2,100. Amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, dog park, pet washing station and electric vehicle charging stations.
On hand for the event was Roscoe Cooper, chairman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, who said the apartment building made up $60 million of the overall investment in the site. The renovations to the office buildings, which total 170,000 square feet and are fully leased, were supported with a grant through the Henrico Economic Development Authority’s Henrico Tomorrow initiative, which provides incentives for office renovations.
The two adjacent office buildings were renovated as part of the project. (Courtesy CBRE)
Other speakers included National Financial CEO Vincent Pellerito and Bristol Development’s David Hanchrow, who likened the project to the Tennessee-based developer’s Tapestry West apartments in Henrico’s Westwood area, part of a mixed-use project that included an office building originally used by Kinsale Capital Group.
“Coming off of the Tapestry West project where we partnered with Kinsale to bring apartments adjacent to office in a new building with shared parking, we thought that we could execute this successfully,” Hanchrow said. “We’re very pleased with the results.”
Added Pellerito: “We had a vision. That vision was that we’re going to activate this project with a mixed-use … live-work-play environment. Let’s face it: live-work-play means something only if it’s true.”
Taking part in the ribbon-cutting were, from left: David Hanchrow with Bristol Development, Henrico Supervisors Chairman Roscoe Cooper, Vincent Pellerito with National Financial, and Henrico EDA Director Cari Tretina. (Photo courtesy Bristol Development Group)
Work on the apartments started in 2024, when Bristol Development initiated construction after buying its 3.3-acre parcel for $6 million. The site had been meant for a third office building but was never developed before National Financial sold it to an LLC that in turn sold it to Bristol. National Financial, based in Florida, bought the 17-acre assemblage in 2021 in separate deals totaling $25 million.
The apartments’ name, Signal, is a reference to Telegraph Road, which originally ran along one of the nation’s first telegraph lines from Richmond to D.C., according to a release.
The project adds to the flurry of new development that is spilling over beyond the mall site redevelopment.
Around the corner from the apartments, along J.E.B. Stuart Parkway, HHHunt Homes has started building its Edgebrook townhomes, while Sauer Properties has started initial site work nearby for what’s planned to be a mix across 93 acres of industrial, office and retail development, along with 780 residential units.
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