As people sought to relocate earlier in the pandemic, one region that experienced significant population increases was the outskirts of the Richmond, Virginia, metro area. In January, the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service found that since 2020, the three Virginia neighborhoods that saw the most rapid growth were the ones based around Richmond.

Real estate investment firm Middleburg Communities has recognized this growth and sought to expand its footprint to provide single-family and multifamily rental housing options around Richmond. Managing Director Robin Bettarel said that the company has been focusing on helping communities create diverse housing options that fit the modern population’s preferences and budgets.

“The American dream has long been to own your house with the white picket fence, have two kids, the dog and two cars,” Bettarel said. “I'm not sure, environmentally or economically, that this is a sustainable dream.”

Bettarel will be in attendance at Bisnow’s Greater Richmond 2024 Development Forecast on Dec. 13, speaking on the panel The Future of Henrico County: A Placemaking Development Story, which will focus on community development in the region.

In a conversation with Bisnow, Bettarel discussed how suburban housing is following in the footsteps of urban development and shared more about Middleburg Communities’ diverse offerings for residents who are embracing rental homes.

Bisnow: What are some of the rental trends you're noticing within the Henrico and Chesterfield counties around Richmond?

Bettarel: Similar to other parts of the country that have seen a lot of development happen very quickly, the counties around Richmond are experiencing a race to Class-A, where higher-quality finishes and amenities are becoming standard versus a nice-to-have.

The latest projects in the development pipeline are starting to mirror the urban product, offering the latest interior finishes and amenities. The density of urban areas naturally creates more competition amongst properties. In an attempt to capture more of the market share, owners and developers are always looking at what, aside from price and location, can differentiate a property from its competition. Of course, once one property does something new and innovative and it's successful, other properties follow suit. Over time it becomes standard, and you have to find the next new thing.

Developers are thinking about, “How can we make sure that our building is a place people are going to want to call home this year, next year and 10 years from now?”

Bisnow: How does Middleburg Communities focus on local community growth and engagement within its developments?

Bettarel: When we go into a new community, we try to understand who the constituents are. We usually start with the leaders of that community, such as elected officials and planning staff at the local level, but we also lean heavily on our local civil engineers and land use attorneys to illuminate who the major community groups are as well as who are the vested stakeholders that are interested in what our development could bring to their community.

We get feedback from the community that is helpful and critical to understanding how they view the needs in their community and how our development can help address some of those needs.

Bisnow: What attracted Middleburg Communities to the Richmond area?

Bettarel: Our headquarters are in Northern Virginia. The firm started studying the Richmond MSA, or metropolitan statistical area, and the demographics of the area made it a natural fit for the type of multifamily products we build. Our primary activity prior to moving north was in Florida and the Carolinas, but there was a desire to do more work closer to our headquarters. Richmond was the first area MSA that we really focused on outside of the Sun Belt markets.

A lot of the Washington, D.C., consultants we work with have opened offices in Richmond over the last several years, partly due to the building boom down there and because their employees desire to move there and enjoy a lower cost of living. It's a beautiful historic city with a lot to offer in the downtown from both a cultural and arts perspective and a food and beverage perspective. If you only have to be in your D.C. office once or twice a week, the commute is doable.

Bisnow: What are some of the types of housing that Middleburg is currently working on? How can these projects contribute to attracting and retaining tenants?

Bettarel: One of our main multifamily projects in Henrico is called The Brook, which is currently under construction on the site of a former Motor Inn motel. The county was looking to revive the area and add more housing, and this particular site was available. It backs up onto a concrete plant, and the neighborhood could currently be described as light industrial, but there's already some residential activity.

Usually homebuilders’ for-sale products tend to pave the way in emerging markets in the suburbs. Stanley Martin Homes was doing a very large project right across the street from this site, which gave our investors additional comfort that there was demand to live in that area. It's a very close, easy commute into downtown Richmond. The Brook has a mixture of garden-style multifamily as well as for-rent townhomes.

Our single-family rental program, which we call “home rentership,” was born out of the idea that there was going to be a growing desire for an alternative type of rental housing to your typical multifamily apartment. Not only has homeownership become increasingly unaffordable for many due to increased home prices coupled with increasing interest rates, but more folks who may be able to afford to buy a home are opting out for various lifestyle reasons.

Our firm took the approach of custom-designing these single-family rental communities as a horizontal multifamily building where the individual units come in the form of a detached cottage or a townhouse. Having high-quality single-family rental homes that are part of a professionally managed and amenitized community provides renters with a new option and eliminates the stigma that some might experience as renters in a mostly for-sale community.

Bisnow: What do you look forward to most about attending The Greater Richmond 2024 Development Forecast and speaking on the future of Henrico County?

Bettarel: I'm really looking forward to meeting the other folks on the panel and sharing ideas with other business leaders who have chosen to make major investments in the Richmond MSA, and particularly in Henrico County. There are quite a few large and transformative projects planned for the county over the next decade, and I’m looking forward to hearing the latest on those.

This article was produced in collaboration between Middleburg Communities and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.