A former Henrico Volunteer Rescue Squad building is up for rezoning to serve as a YMCA daycare near Richmond International Airport. (Jackie DiBartolomeo photo)
A new 24-hour childcare option geared toward Richmond International Airport workers could soon open up in eastern Henrico.
County planning commissioners will hear a proposal at their meeting this evening for a new childcare facility that would be operated by the YMCA within a vacant 14,400-square-foot, two-story building at the northwest corner of the airport’s property. The building previously served as a station for the Henrico Volunteer Rescue Squad for decades.
The building is located on a 1.68-acre parcel at 5301 Huntsman Road, at the southeast intersection of Lewis and Huntsman roads. The property is owned by the Capital Region Airport Commission, which also owns and operates the airport.
The airport commission is seeking a rezoning from the property’s current conservation and residential zoning to office district conditional, which would allow for the daycare facility. Henrico County planning staff have stated their support for the rezoning.
According to project plans, the daycare “mainly seeks” to provide services to airport shift workers and their families, and would likely serve about 140 children, ranging from infants to 12 years old.
The facility would operate 24 hours per day, with most children expected to remain at the facility from four to 12 hours, according to project documents.
Troy Bell with Richmond International Airport told BizSense Wednesday that the daycare facility idea has been floated by the airport commission for at least two years, though he added it’s likely been longer than that.
“We started to just take a look as we were coming out of the (COVID-19) pandemic of what was around us, where were we running into apparent needs,” Bell said. “Frankly, it was looked at as something that would help us in terms of workforce solutions.”
He noted that while the airport does not run flights 24 hours per day, early cargo operations, flights that can arrive past midnight, and the 4 a.m. opening of the airport checkpoint make RIC a 24-hour operation.
“Imagine that you are a parent with young children, infant to 12 years old, and you’re trying to find childcare to fit a schedule that could start as early as 4 o’clock in the morning, might go until midnight, maybe even later. Nights, weekends, holidays. … I think that your options become relatively few,” he said.
Bell said that while the daycare is slated to be mainly for airport workers, the airport commission is still working on determining how that metric would be applied. He said the plan as of now is to reserve around one-third of the daycare spots for children of airport-based employees, adding that that is subject to change.
“It’s not written in stone, but a high percentage like that,” he said.
Building plans call for the YMCA daycare’s first floor to be an early learning center, with things like three preschool classrooms, as well as infant and toddler areas, a kitchen, two common areas, parents and caregivers areas, a director’s office, an admin area and storage.
Second-floor plans call for a school-age childcare center, with four classrooms, a gross motor skills room, a resource room and some flex space.
Plans also show multiple outdoor play areas, including a play yard for younger children and a playground for older children, connected to the north and south facades of the building, as well as pick-up and drop-off areas and a parking lot at the rear.
Primary access to the property would remain on Huntsman Road.
Plans for the two-story YMCA daycare at 5301 Huntsman Road. (Henrico planning documents)
Vegetative buffers along Lewis Road would be required for the project. Project documents also state that two, 28-passenger buses associated with the daycare would provide after-school transportation for school-age children.
The Capital Region Airport Commission is spearheading the project. Bell said that, if the rezoning is approved, there will ultimately be an agreement between the airport commission and its foundation, and then the foundation and the YMCA of Greater Richmond concerning the YMCA’s involvement in running the daycare.
“The YMCA is tremendously experienced in the childcare sphere. They have provided some additional design concepts,” Bell said. “We look forward to partnering with them, but, really, the first hurdle is getting through the rezoning hearing.”
A YMCA of Greater Richmond representative told BizSense that while the rezoning is being handled by the Capital Region Airport Commission, the organization welcomes the opportunity to work with RIC on implementing the daycare in Henrico’s eastern end.
“As the region’s largest child care provider, we welcome opportunities to expand access to care that helps families thrive. We are excited about the opportunity to work with Richmond International Airport and support its efforts to meet the needs of its workforce,” a statement from YMCA of Greater Richmond reads.
The building at 5301 Huntsman Road was constructed in 1972 and was the home of the Henrico Volunteer Rescue Squad until 2022, when it ceased operations. The building has remained vacant since.
The property was most recently assessed at roughly $1.33 million.
The rezoning proposal comes soon after Henrico County’s recent purchase of two properties on Williamsburg Road near the airport. The county plans to raze the properties as part of a revitalization effort called Rebuild Henrico.
Henrico is preparing to position the sites for redevelopment, with options including public-private projects with developers in which the EDA would retain ownership of the land.
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