NoVA builder enters Richmond market with 20-home project in Chesterfield

One of the designs McShay Communities is including in Kings Park. (Images courtesy McShay Communities)

A new-to-market homebuilder is planting its flag in metro Richmond with a subdivision in Chesterfield that’s beginning to take shape.

McShay Communities, a 30-year-old firm headquartered in Alexandria, has started going vertical on Kings Park, a 20-lot subdivision on about 10 acres at the southeast corner of Iron Bridge and Kingsland roads, a couple miles east of Chesterfield County Airport.

The project, which is underway, marks McShay’s expansion to the Richmond market, where operations manager Joe Evans said it plans to open a second office.

Evans, son-in-law of McShay owner Michael McGhan, moved his family to Powhatan County after the company identified Richmond as an expansion market.

He said they first considered markets in and around the Shenandoah Valley, where he and his wife Mary met at James Madison University, before he was encouraged to look at Richmond by a mutual acquaintance who connected him Kyle Yeatman, an area real estate agent whose Long & Foster-aligned Yeatman Group is listing the homes at Kings Park.

Joe Evans

“After looking at the market, it really seemed like a place that we could put our roots down and grow with the area,” Evans said of Richmond. “When we decided to do that, we said we need to be a part of the community and we need to have boots on the ground, so my family and I have been down here for three years now.”

In addition to single-family detached homes like those planned at Kings Park, Evans said McShay’s work in Northern Virginia has included townhomes, condos and some commercial buildings. He said the competition for land and development opportunities there factored into the company’s desire to expand to another market.

“Reading the room up there, it’s tough to find land and opportunities,” he said. “We’re based in Fairfax (County), so we wanted to get a little bit further outside of that comfort zone.”

After identifying the Kings Park site, McShay secured approvals from Chesterfield County and purchased the two parcels that made up the site, which has since been subdivided for the 20 lots. The county’s online property records no longer show what McShay paid for the property, though real estate websites indicate that one of the parcels – 8 acres at 4901 Kingsland Road – sold for $225,000 in 2021.

The site at Salem Church and Kingsland roads has been subdivided into 20 lots. (County documents)

The homes at Kings Park are planned to range from 2,300 to 5,100 square feet for units with a walkout basement. They’ll include three to four bedrooms and up to six bathrooms and will be priced between $450,000 and $550,000.

Evans said the homes will feature four McShay designs, three of which were created specifically for Kings Park.

“We wanted to start out fresh with something that fit the look of Richmond and the community, so we have three new home plans drawn up from scratch. We worked over them for about a year and a half trying to refine them and really make sure that it was something that we thought would resonate in the market here,” he said.

“Being new, you don’t want to just take what you have and pluck it down and expect people to love it. Richmond has its own identity and its own culture.”

Evans said the homes will be built with higher-grade materials including Harvey windows, AdvanTech Subflooring, Energy Star-rated insulation and air control, and poured-concrete foundations for basements and crawl spaces that he said are larger for easier access. He said the garages will be fully-insulated.

A rendering of the St. Clare design, recently built as Kings Park’s model.

Evans said the construction quality will distinguish McShay from competitors in the market.

“If we’re planning to be here for a while, we definitely want to build a quality product that’s going to age well with our clients,” he said. “Whether it’s a $10 home or a $6 million home, it’s everything that person has and they’re counting on us to do it right, so we put a high level of emphasis on paying attention to the small things.”

Sales for Kings Park got underway in recent weeks with the completion of a model home and sales office. Two additional homes are under construction, and Evans said the others will be built as they are sold. McShay worked with Townes Site Engineering on the project.

Evans leads a local team that includes one other full-timer and a part-time laborer. McShay has nine employees overall, and Evans said the plan is to open a local office and hire additional staff in Richmond over the next year. He said his team also is looking for their next development opportunities in the area.

“This is just the first job,” he said. “This is definitely an intentional move to expand the company with a permanent presence. The market’s great, it’s a wonderful town for family, for opportunity and growth, so we definitely want to be a part of it and a part of all the action.”

McShay joins a crowded field of homebuilders operating in Chesterfield. Among them are Midlothian-based builders Main Street Homes and StyleCraft Homes, which converted to employee-stock ownership structures earlier this year.

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