Libbie Mill—Midtown Mixed Use Development

A new and vibrant community, Libbie Mill – Midtown is an 80-acre mixed-use site in the heart of Richmond between West Broad Street and Staples Mill Road. Its convenient combination of retail, restaurants, offices, homes, a library, and a park will make Libbie Mill a unique, walkable community in which to live, work, and play at total build out, anticipated for 2024.

Involved with the project since 2006, Schnabel completed the preliminary geotechnical engineering study for the land, the former site of a dense apartment complex. The developer, Gumenick Properties, requested additional geotechnical studies and design recommendations, which were informed by site reconnaissance, subsurface investigation, and soil tests. As a quality control measure, we also conducted laboratory testing of soils, concrete, masonry, reinforcing steel, structural steel and wood framing, spray-applied fireproofing, and asphalt.

The master plan for the $434 million project includes 994 single-family homes, 1,096 apartments, and 200,000 sf of commercial space. So far, we’ve worked on the infrastructure for the first two phases of the project, the $30.6 million library, two retail/office buildings, a 50,000 sf commercial space for Southern Seasons, and the central lake and surrounding park amenities. Our latest assignment is performing special inspections for a five-story residential/commercial building with a two-level parking garage and central courtyard.

^{Photo: © Gumenick Properties}