Midlothian

Residents of Tarrington get to live the high life in modernly furbished homes and a community well-cared for by their homeowners associations while also being within close proximity to the James River, the highway and shopping centers. All these features make for a neighborhood attractive to homebuyers of all stripes. “Tarrington provides a unique variety of home sites and homes that can accommodate everyone from growing families to empty-nesters to seniors,” says Dianne Long, a Realtor with Napier Realtors ERA who has over 40 years of experience selling homes in the area. “It’s a very desirable neighborhood.” Two-story brick Colonial Revivals with upwards of 3,000 square feet tend to start around $650,000. Residents in the east belong to the Tarrington Homeowners Association, which ensures houses are kept spick and span as well as providing residents with an outdoor swimming pool, clubhouse, gym and riverfront park. Cul-de-sacs split off streets like tree branches, and lawns are always verdant and manicured. Residents on the west in the River Downs are well-cared for by their homeowners association too, their calendars stocked with fun events like an annual spring market. Regardless of which subdivision one chooses, Tarrington houses tend to be fairly uniform, dating from between the 1990s and 2020s and following Colonial Revival and New Traditional designs with brick and vinyl facades, with a square footage of 3,000 or above. $650,000 is about as low as they go, though it’s more common to see them sell for between $800,000 and $1.1 million. But whatever the design or price, these highly desired homes sell fast. “The market there is hot as a firecracker,” Long says. “Inventory is very low, so when something goes up for sale, it’s snapped up quickly.” A few townhouses and condos can also be found, starting around $250,000. Kids can start off at Robious Elementary School or Bettie Weaver Elementary School right in the center of the neighborhood. They can then move up to Robious Middle School before wrapping up at James River High School. Robious Elementary and Robious Middle School have a B-minus and B-plus rating from Niche, respectively, while Bettie Weaver Elementary and James River High School boast A-minuses. Students at James River High can participate in over 25 clubs including DECA, French club, badminton club, and fashion club. Tarrington residents all have easy access to Robious Landing Park. This 100-acre park feature over 3 miles of forested hiking trails and picnic shelters available for rent. The main attraction of Robious is its boat landing from which residents can launch their canoes and kayaks into the James River. Independence Golf Course to the west Tarrington doesn’t just offer par 3 and 18-hole golfing opportunities, but the property is also available for rental for weddings, cocktail parties and other large, formal gatherings. At Independence, locals can also play footgolf, a hybrid of football and golf where balls are kicked into holes by players’ feet instead of by swinging clubs. Various shopping and eating options can be found at shopping centers like Bellgrade and Huguenot Village and the Chesterfield Towne Center shopping mall. Costco, Publix and ALDI are just a few of the stores there. River City Diner serves up American staples like hamburgers and chicken and waffles in a nostalgic, ‘50s-themed setting, the establishment even furbished with kitschy décor from the era such as a life-sized James Dean statue and the front of a faux 1957 Chevrolet. For an upscale meal, residents might try the steak and seafood at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, and a visit there is never complete without ordering a slice of the establishment’s highly esteemed cheesecake. For even more dessert fixings, locals swing by Crumbl Cookies. With a menu that rotates weekly, each visit is bound to bring even more delicious flavors to locals’ taste buds. As the neighborhood is not served by buses and most shops are not within walking distance, residents usually prefer getting out of Tarrington by car. Robious Road is the community’s main thoroughfare, connecting residents to various stores in the east in North Chesterfield and Bon Air. To the west, residents will find Virginia State Route 288. Most residents are within a 15-minute drive of Johnston-Willis Hospital.

Bordered by the James River, the Robious area offers residents spacious, convenient living in a highly rated school district. This community is filled with homes, all of which sport large lots under the shade of indigenous trees. Part of the neighborhood is also taken up by Reed’s Landing, one of the few gated communities in the Richmond area. This mainly residential area also offers quick access to both the local elementary and middle schools as well as two popular shopping areas. Just past the shops, there are multiple parks that allow hikers and athletes alike to make the most of the ranges of Virginia’s weather. For commuters, the neighborhood is connected by Robious Road with quick access to Downtown Richmond and the rest of the area, making daily drives a simple feat. Homes in Robious make up a majority of the neighborhood. Around every bend of the street, locals can find colonial revivals and transitional-style homes with varied rooflines, most of which sport four to five bedrooms as well as multiple stories on lots that are often over one acre. These lots are often covered by mature oak trees and provide plenty of space for parking or for a garage. Properties in Robious range in price from $480,000 to upwards of $1 million, with prices increasing with lot size and access to the water. Students can start their education at Robious Elementary School, which earns a B-minus rating on Niche before heading off to Robious Middle School, which receives a B-plus rating. Both the middle and elementary schools are within walking distance of many Robious homes. Students finish their education at the A-rated James River High School, which has a robust athletics program, including swimming, soccer, baseball and golf teams. For private schools, students in grades eight through 12 can attend the coeducational Trinity Episcopal School, which also receives an A rating. After school and on the weekends, many locals head to the 53-acre Huguenot Park near the neighborhood. The area is heavily wooded with pine and hardwood and offers fitness trails and a popular playset alongside basketball courts and fields for soccer and football. Robious Landing, another local park, is right next to James River High and offers “lots of trails that are right along the river, and it is a great spot to put in the kayak,” says Karen Kerner, an office assistant at Robious Middle School and a lifelong resident of the area. Robious residents are never too far from shopping and dining options, with such destinations as The Shoppes at Bellgrade and Chesterfield Towne Center both within 2 miles of the neighborhood’s center. For dining, the Shoppes at Bellgrade offer varied options, like the modern sports bar setting at Wood and Iron, a local Richmond chain. The shops also have The Hard Shell, another local chain with an “upscale seafood sort of feel” Kerner says. The restaurant that is repeatedly voted the best seafood in the city by Richmond magazine. For creating seafood dishes at home, Kroger is mere feet from both restaurants. For shopping, the Chesterfield Towne Center boasts over 100 retailers and restaurants and is anchored by the Macy’s and JCPenney. The neighborhood is mainly residential, with few sidewalks for residents to use. “You really have to drive around here,” Kerner says, “but it is super convenient, you are about an 8-minute drive from Carytown.” This is partially due to the Midlothian Turnpike being just 2 miles from the neighborhood, providing quick access to the rest of the greater Richmond area. For trips unreachable by roads, Richmond International Airport is 23 miles to the east of the neighborhood. For medical care, Johnston-Willis Hospital is 2 ½ miles from the neighborhood and specializes in Neurological care and oncology. For weekend and summer fun, the VA Power Boat Association sits along the James River. This private club has been open since 1939 and offers a small marina for boating along the river, a pool area, and a place to dry dock the boat. For annual events, many choose to head to downtown Richmond and enjoy events such as Dominion Riverrock, which is said to be one of the largest outdoor sports and music festivals in the U.S., and the Carytown Watermelon Festival in early August.

The aptly named Westchester is situated in west Midlothian, around the curve where State Route 288 and the Midlothian Turnpike meet. “It’s a nice, convenient area right on the edge of Midlothian,” says Craig Via. The Realtor with Craig Via Realty and Relocation has worked with buyers and sellers locally for more than 30 years and says many of his clients are interested in Westchester for its location. There are two golf courses and retail and dining options galore right around the corner from the residential sections of the neighborhood. And despite the myriad amenities surrounding them, the subdivisions that make up Westchester remain peacefully suburban. While most of the broad, manicured front lawns are uninterrupted by sidewalks as they stretch to the street, streets here are wide enough to be shared between cars, walkers and bikers alike. “There’s not a lot of through traffic, so you’ll see everyone out walking their dogs and kids learning how to ride a bike down the driveways to the streets,” says Via. But its location isn’t sought-after just for its combination of convenience and calm. Via: “The elementary, middle and high school are exceptional, so the school district is certainly a big factor for buyers looking here.” Westchester is made up of several smaller subdivisions. Most sprang up between the late 1990s and early 2000s. “But there’s still a lot of new development going on in this part of Midlothian,” says Via, noting that one of his recent listings was built in 2019. “As you move west, homes get older, but there’s more land out here, so we’re continuing to see new construction all the time,” he says. Many of the subdivisions have been built out in phases; Via says that Founders Bridge, at the north end of Westchester, is one such community. “Construction started in the early 2000s and there are still parts of the community being built out today. And the nice thing about there being so much new construction is that many of the homes are custom,” he says. Westchester prices range from $400,000 to more than $1 million. Via: “It’s fairly affluent because of the price tag, but there are homes here for nearly every life stage, starting with those move-up homebuyers looking to upgrade from their first homes to people emptying out their nests and looking to downsize.” Westchester students attend highly sought-after schools in the Chesterfield County Public Schools system. The exact pathway can differ depending on address, so make sure to double-check the district boundaries ahead of registration. Youngsters living in the Founders Bridge community go to Bettie Weaver Elementary, Robious Middle and James River High School. “They’re exceptional, three of the most highly rated in the Richmond area,” says Via, noting that several of his clients have cited the schools as a major deciding factor in their homebuying process. On Niche, Weaver and James River High both earned A-minus grades in 2023. Robious Middle earned a B-plus that same year. Teens at James River High can participate in a diverse array of clubs and extracurriculars, from joining athletic teams like soccer or football to joining clubs like Brass & Woodwind Ensemble, chess, drama or Family Career and Community Leaders of America. There are neighborhood parks in most Westchester subdivisions. Some, like Founders Bridge on the north side of Westchester, offer outdoor pools, playgrounds and tennis courts. For a round or two of golf, locals can visit either Independence Golf Club or Windy Hill Golf Course and Sports Complex. Independence, the club around which Founders Bridge circles, is a public club designed and developed by the Virginia State Golfers Association. “It’s a very unique situation because most of the golf communities in and around Richmond are built around private clubs, but here, you have the benefit of living in a country club community without having to join a private club and fork over all the fees associated with being a member,” says Via. The Windy Hill course is also public, as is the adjacent sports complex, which features everything from mini golf and go-karts to batting cages. It’s off the Midlothian Turnpike toward Westchester’s west end, near Huguenot Springs Road. For a more intense workout, residents can join Gold’s Gym in Westchester Commons. The local movie theater, Regal Cinemas, is in the Westchester Commons shopping center, too, in the curve between State Route 288 and the Midlothian Turnpike. Locals can visit Westchester Commons for everyday essentials, retail therapy or even date night. The Main Street-style, walkable shopping center is near the center of Westchester, in the curve where State Route 288 meets the Midlothian Turnpike. There’s a Target and Petco, a JOANN Fabrics and Crafts and quick dining options like Panera Bread and Chick-fil-A. But for a fancier sit-down dining experience, locals enjoy Dominic’s Italian Grille and NAPA Kitchen and Wine. Dominic’s serves up classic Italian fare in an upscale, yet casual atmosphere. For a culinary experience slightly closer to home, NAPA Kitchen and Wine serves up California-inspired dishes and a wine list that reads like it was ripped directly from the vines in Napa Valley. There are tons of options for shopping and dining just minutes down the Midlothian Turnpike, too. In the Ivymont Square shopping center, off the turnpike about 6 minutes east, there’s a Kroger and a Publix. Across the street, there’s also an Aldi. Midlothian Turnpike, which bisects Westchester from east to west, connects residents from Midlothian all the way through to Richmond. Bisecting Westchester from north to south, State Route 288 is a main thoroughfare locals can hop on to get from Westchester up to Short Pump or down to Chester. Bon Secours Westchester Emergency Center is in the Westchester Medical Park at the center of Westchester, off the turnpike. The Richmond International Airport is farther afield, but still just a 30-minute drive east across the city.