> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Conversion of 95-year-old Virginia Home in Byrd Park to apartments gets thumbs-up from Planning Commission - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/conversion-of-95-year-old-virginia-home-in-byrd-park-to-apartments-gets-thumbs-up-from-planning-commission/ - Published: 2026-08-20T20:38:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-20T20:38:34.000Z - Description: “I think it is an attractive, iconic building that is worth saving. It is historic.” - Author: Sarah Vogelsong - Tags: Housing, #the-bridge A proposal to convert the nearly century-old Virginia Home that sits on the edge of Byrd Park into apartments after the facility relocates to Hanover County got unanimous support from Richmond’s Planning Commission Tuesday, despite concerns from neighbors in Randolph about parking and traffic. “I think it is an attractive, iconic building that is worth saving. It is historic,” said Commissioner Brian White. “I acknowledge the concerns about parking, and I can’t say that the parking will not evolve because of this project. It very well might. “But,” he continued, “I don’t think anyone wants a 100,000-plus square foot building in the middle of a residential neighborhood to go vacant and dark for a generation.” While the special use permit being sought for the project will have to get the approval of the City Council to move forward, the Virginia Home is hoping the process will move quickly. The organization, which currently houses 130 adults with irreversible physical disabilities at its six-story building between South Meadow and Hampton streets, is planning to move into a new [$128 million facility](https://richmondbizsense.com/2025/11/19/the-virginia-home-breaks-ground-on-128m-facility-in-hanover/) it is constructing in Hanover. The new site is expected to be able to serve 30 more residents and offer a day program to 60 more people. Board of Trustees Chair Laura Stewart also said it will provide better conditions for residents, including larger rooms, semi-private bathrooms and a one-story footprint that will be easier for people with disabilities to navigate. In letters to the Planning Commission, staffers and residents described the sale of the Richmond property to Audeo Partners for redevelopment as “critical” and “essential” to that work proceeding. But the exit of the organization from its long-time home has also caused concerns among some neighbors of the adjoining Randolph neighborhood, who worry that a sudden influx of new residents will overwhelm the area’s narrow streets and infrastructure. “I do support thoughtful development and recognize that Richmond needs additional housing and new housing options,” Robin Levey told the Planning Commission Tuesday. “But I also believe that development must be appropriate for the neighborhoods in which it occurs, and that the process must give citizens confidence that the city is carefully evaluating the impact of these projects.” The conversion of the historic Hampton Street building is just one of the projects that would be linked to the Virginia Home’s departure. Separately, the organization is pursuing the sale of a 0.75 acre property on the other side of South Meadow to Audeo [for the construction of a block of townhomes](https://www.richmonder.org/planning-commission-backs-31-townhouse-development-in-randolph/). [Planning Commission backs 31-townhouse development in Randolph“In the spirit of increasing density according to the master plan, I think this is a beautiful project.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-20283f20-5555-4e6f-ab0a-de78bebd3abd.png)The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/meadow_renderings-f8d039b1-2dc2-4dc1-8215-0108b151c0f7.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/planning-commission-backs-31-townhouse-development-in-randolph/) An earlier version of the South Meadow project that was endorsed by the Planning Commission would have built 31 attached homes with garages on that site, with 15 facing Meadow and 16 fronting on the alley that runs parallel to it, which would be paved and renamed Field Way. Concerns from neighbors led Audeo to significantly revise its plans down to 21 homes, add parking and reorient the houses to only face existing streets. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/08/data-src-image-1c3b6ca6-3e64-464d-b214-7d748423e235.png) ### **Parking and traffic worries** Parking and traffic continued to be primary concerns for some Randolph residents in reviewing the plans for the Hampton Street facility that came before the Planning Commission Tuesday. In letters and public comments, those neighbors said the redevelopment would cause overcrowding and increase congestion in the surrounding streets, two conditions the city charter requires the Planning Commission and City Council to consider in deciding whether to approve a special use permit. “We have a lot of questions we would like another meeting with the developers to have answered,” said Randolph neighbor Toni Mounce. Under the Audeo plans, the current building would be rehabilitated into 28 studio apartments, 79 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units of various configurations, for a total of 131 apartments. “The exterior and footprint of the existing building would remain largely unchanged and only the interior would be converted to multifamily use,” Lory Markham, a planner involved with both Audeo projects, wrote in the permit application. The one change Audeo is proposing to the exterior would be the addition of new windows, doors and patios to units that front along South Meadow, which Markham said would “provide more life and eyes on the street.” The current parking lot would be reconfigured from 44 to 61 spots, with five others intended for visitors. If the SUP is granted, Audeo has said it wants to work with the city’s Department of Public Works to allow additional parking along a section of Lake Road where it is currently prohibited. Other parking would occur on the surrounding neighborhood streets. [Richmond issues about 11,000 parking tickets a month. We dug into the data.In total, offenders paid $42.9 million in parking tickets over an 8-year period.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-f1392af4-a567-45c7-8088-ec0bd53f8fde.png)The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/DSCF8660-1-485f71bc-0d1c-49de-8823-445218f8fde9.jpeg)](https://www.richmonder.org/richmond-issues-about-11-000-parking-tickets-a-month-we-dug-into-the-data/) Preston Lloyd, a lawyer with Williams Mullen who is representing Audeo, told the Planning Commission that the conversion would actually decrease traffic and parking pressure on the area because there would no longer need to be staff constantly onsite or large-scale deliveries for the facility’s commercial kitchen. The Virginia Home currently has roughly 260 staff members to care for residents. The Randolph neighbors concerned with the plan disputed that conclusion, however, saying that a traffic assessment done by engineering firm Timmons Group for Audeo was flawed. In particular, they pointed to an email from DPW Right of Way Manager Doug Mawby noting that the numbers of on-street parking spaces shown as being available “is not accurate as many of those spaces will be restricted by parking regulations, or by the width of a particular street.” Mounce told the Commission that while the Virginia Home has a large staff, their impact is blunted because they work on shifts and many use the bus to get to and from work. “They are not driving cars into the neighborhood,” she said. “They are not seeking parking in the neighborhood.” She and Randolph resident Claire Guthrie Gastañaga also contended the capacity of the new apartments could be far higher than the roughly 200 the developers estimated if four people inhabited many of the two-bedroom units. Gastañaga put the potential peak capacity at 320 to 350 residents. The vehicles associated with those apartments will likely cause significant traffic, they said, particularly because of the lack of commercial amenities like small grocers in Randolph or Byrd Park. In addition to the trips residents will take, Gastañaga pointed out delivery trucks could also cause obstructions. “How many of you get a delivery from FedEx once a day? A lot of us. Some of us twice a day,” she said. “There are going to be 200 people living in the building getting FedEx deliveries, getting deliveries from Grubhub, getting deliveries pretty much 24/7.” [Avula administration drops duplex proposal in third draft of code refresh“There will be many nervous residents that will breathe a sigh of relief when they see that update.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-e2e43771-532e-4fb4-9b89-8fb68c726fdd.png)The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/C2222ADB-6CC1-49D5-9D51-3C39F27ECC73_1_201_a--1--62ccc159-e52a-469d-afe2-06446ae8ea5e.jpeg)](https://www.richmonder.org/avula-administration-drops-duplex-proposal-in-third-draft-of-code-refresh/) Lloyd told the Planning Commission that residents had “asked the right questions about whether this will ultimately have an undue impact on their community.” “But we believe that after that thorough analysis and after the engagement that has occurred, we can answer that question definitively: This is the right amount of density in the right place because of the existing infrastructure that’s there, because of the existing park access, the transit,” he said. The Planning Commission agreed. Even Commissioner Rebecca Rowe, who previously voted against Audeo’s Meadow Street townhome project, said the Hampton Street redevelopment “checks all of my boxes” and warned that adding more dedicated parking for the facility could have “unintended” impacts on the neighborhood. Still, Councilor Ellen Robertson (6th District), who also serves on the Planning Commission, noted that “parking continues to be a major concern” for residents in numerous projects and raised the possibility of analyzing how the City Council’s [2023 decision to get rid of parking minimums for new development](https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/richmond-ends-parking-minimums/) has played out. “At some time I do think it’s important that we assess the impact of that policy,” she said. *Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at* [*svogelsong@richmonder.org*](mailto:svogelsong@richmonder.org)