Soon after Saint Paul’s Baptist Church finished its building just outside Richmond, Virginia, more than two decades ago, members began planning a large mixed-use development that would surround it.
After paying off debt on its 300-plus-acre Henrico County property, the church is ready to realize those plans that include 294 single-family homes and townhouses, almost 700 apartments, and office and retail space. The project, dubbed “City of Possibility,” is a means for the roughly 8,000-member church to build a neighborhood but also help residents maximize their potential, pastor Lance Watson told Homes.com.
“We’re hoping it will become a model for church-centered development throughout the country,” he said.
The development site near the corner of Creighton and Cedar Fork roads is in a lightly developed area of Henrico, a suburb that counted 335,000 residents in 2020. Watson said another project goal is to create more opportunities for living and working in the county’s east, since most development to date has been toward the west.
Part of the church’s mission is to help people, especially residents of color and who are economically disadvantaged, to find financial stability, Watson said. While it’s unclear at this stage what businesses would fill the retail and office spaces in the development, the pastor said he’d like to see residents who live nearby find entrepreneurial opportunities on the property.
“It’s not just a brick-and-mortar project, it’s building people,” Watson said. “Our church moniker is that we’re on the grow — helping people grow into every aspect of their lives.”
The single-family homes and townhouses will be divided among three or four sections of the development and range from 900 to as large as 2,200 square feet, according to plans submitted to Henrico County officials. The church wants the development to be pedestrian-friendly, with green spaces that the plans say can help create “a neighborhood that feels like a family.”
Saint Paul’s proposed to locate the one- and two-bedroom apartments close to the church building, but separated by a large open green space and amphitheater for public events such as concerts. Also in the plans are an urban farm, a memory and skilled care center, and a care and distribution facility to help people meet essential needs such as food, clothing and health care.
A pair of developments built around churches in the Phoenix and Houston areas in the past decade provided inspiration for the one Saint Paul’s wants to build.
“We call it the 'City of Possibility' because we began with no money, no land, just a dream based on a scripture that says that with God all things are possible. That's been our driving motivation in pursuing it,” Watson said.
Saint Paul’s is working with Richmond-based design firm Clark Nexsen to obtain a rezoning from the county, since the property is largely designated for agricultural use. Watson said he hopes to present the church’s concept to the county planning commission in August.