Henrico reconsiders Lakeside redevelopment plan after resident backlash

Henrico County officials are reconsidering elements of a proposed 20-year growth plan for the Lakeside corridor after resident backlash over a mixed-use redevelopment approach intended to make the area more lively and walkable.

The county unveiled the broader proposal in July 2026. By Aug. 6, officials were rethinking parts of the plan, according to reporting on the debate over Lakeside’s future.

What Henrico proposed

The plan envisioned a more active, walkable corridor with a mix of uses rather than a future shaped primarily by separate commercial and residential areas. The proposal raised questions about how land along Lakeside could be redeveloped and how transportation would work as the area changes.

WTVR reported on July 22 that Henrico was considering a transformation of Lakeside into a more lively, walkable corridor. Axios Richmond later reported that the county was rethinking the proposal after backlash.

The plan’s 20-year horizon means decisions made through the county’s land-use process could influence redevelopment, the mix of housing and businesses, walkability and traffic patterns along the corridor. It could also affect how property owners, prospective developers and nearby businesses assess future investment.

Why the plan is being reconsidered

The disagreement centers on the practical effects of the proposed land-use strategy and its transportation implications. Residents’ backlash has prompted county officials to revisit parts of the approach, but the reconsideration is not a cancellation of the plan.

Henrico has not announced the final scope of a revised Lakeside proposal. Specific projects, zoning amendments, traffic changes and funding commitments remain unsettled, and no final Board of Supervisors vote on a revised plan has been identified.

That leaves residents and property owners facing uncertainty about the county’s preferred growth strategy for the corridor. The outcome could determine whether Henrico continues toward the more mixed-use, walkable concept, modifies it substantially or takes another approach.

What happens next

Henrico’s planning department has rezoning and provisional-use-permit activity scheduled for August 2026. Those actions provide the county’s formal planning channel for land-use decisions connected to development and zoning.

Those proceedings are the next known public-planning step, but they do not by themselves establish a final Lakeside redevelopment plan. Any future proposals would still need to clarify the affected properties, permitted uses and transportation changes before residents and property owners can assess the practical effect.