Altria Group Inc. is selling the land in south Richmond that was previously pitched to house a casino. The property went back on the market Wednesday.
Richmond voters twice rejected referenda to build a casino there, near Interstate 95 and the Bells Road interchange. The 98-acre space is zoned for industrial uses and could bring another distribution or light manufacturing center to the city.
In 2021, the city of Richmond chose Altria’s property as the site for media company Urban One and the owner of the Colonial Downs racetrack to pitch a casino. But voters rejected the proposal in a referendum later that year and again in 2023.
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Altria, the Henrico County-based owner of Philip Morris, still wants to sell the land at 2001 Walmsley Blvd., which is adjacent to its main manufacturing center.
The plot for sale contains a three-story, 460,000-square-foot office and lab space that was previously the Philip Morris USA Operations Center. It has been vacant since about 2008, said Jeff Cooke, a senior vice president of Cushman & Wakefield — Thalhimer, which is marketing the property. Philip Morris moved its lab downtown and its corporate headquarters to Henrico County.
Cooke said he has tried for years to get a new business to inhabit the building, but it has not drawn much interest because it is so large. Whoever buys the 98 acres likely will tear it down, he added.
Once the referendum failed, Cooke started receiving calls about the property. He said he has one offer already and is expecting more.
Of the 98 acres, about half are usable. The other half contains ponds and wetlands. The city assessed the two parcels that make up the space for about $45 million.
Altria has not set an asking price, Cooke said. Developers will determine a value based on what they think they can build, subtract the cost of demolition, and make offers to Altria.
The properties nearby, in addition to the Philip Morris plant, are distribution centers for Amazon and Brother At Your Side, which sells printers and home appliances. Kinder Morgan Inc., an energy infrastructure company, and DuPont, a chemical company, also have locations close by. The Altria property backs up to a CSX railroad.
In recent years, companies have been more likely to build distribution centers than manufacturing centers in greater Richmond, Cooke said. One notable exception is toy giant Lego, which is constructing a plant on 340 acres in Chesterfield County.