Locally owned Carytown Bicycle Co. will open a third area store in the GreenGate mixed-use development in the Short Pump area of western Henrico County, the developer and bicycle company announced Thursday.
GreenGate, a 70-acre planned development that will include 200,000 square feet of commercial and office space and 230 town homes and single-family homes, is being constructed about a quarter-mile west of Short Pump Town Center.
The development’s commercial space will be anchored by a 36,000-square-foot Lidl grocery store.
The new bike store and some other retail tenants are expected to open in early spring.
GreenGate’s developers are touting the project’s design as “putting the urban in suburban,” with sidewalks and mini-parks that give it the feel of city streets while offering the convenience of suburban living.
“Our shop was born in the city, and our brand is built on the riding and culture woven into Richmond,” said John Hessian, co-owner of Carytown Bicycle Co., in a statement.
“We were drawn to GreenGate’s ‘urban in suburban’ vibe and knew it was the perfect place to extend our brand and customer experience in an authentic way,” Hessian said.
Hessian, Tim Mullins and Jesse Leadbetter own Carytown Bicycle Co., which opened in Carytown in 2007. A second Carytown Bicycle store opened in Westchester Commons in Chesterfield County in the spring of 2015.
The GreenGate store will be 2,727 square feet — smaller than the Carytown store’s 4,500 square feet and the 3,700-square-foot Westchester Commons store.
Additional GreenGate tenants that have been announced include several restaurants: West Coast Provisions, The Daily Kitchen & Bar, Mellow Mushroom pizzeria, Starbucks and a steak and sushi restaurant.
Also locating in GreenGate are CycleBar, an indoor exercise cycling studio, and a Polished Nail Salon. Carytown Bicycle Co.’s store will be next to CycleBar.
“I like the theme of what they were doing. The other merchants and restaurants that they have, they are a lot of our neighbors that we have here in Carytown,” said Carytown Bicycle Company co-owner Mullins.
“The other thing that is attractive is knowing that Markel is involved. They are a top-notch company. I think if they are behind a development project, then that adds a lot of surety that it will be done right,” Mullins said.
Markel|Eagle Partners LLC, a real estate asset manager, is developing GreenGate. The project’s design team is led by Burt Pinnock of Baskervill, an architecture, engineering and interior design firm.
Read full article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch here.