West Creek commerce center breaks ground, signaling industrial growth in Goochland

The Hardywood-area stretch of West Creek is headed for more truck traffic, more concrete and a bigger industrial footprint. Summit Real Estate Group broke ground April 16 on West Creek Commerce Center, a 221,231-square-foot speculative warehouse planned for a 23.18-acre site in West Creek Business Park, giving Goochland County’s eastern corridor another large project tied to logistics and manufacturing.

The building is being designed for multi-tenant industrial use, with 1,880 square feet of office space, 32-foot clear heights, dock-high and drive-in loading, 46 dock positions, 9-by-10-foot dock doors and 36 trailer stalls. County economic development materials say delivery is expected in early fourth quarter 2026. For nearby businesses and drivers, that means construction activity now and, later, a facility built to move freight in and out quickly along Route 288.

The site sits inside West Creek Business Park, a 3,500-acre mixed-use development that county materials say has four full interchanges on Route 288 and easy access to Interstate 64, Interstate 95 and Interstate 295. Richmond International Airport is about 26 miles away, and the Port of Richmond is about 26.3 miles away. Summit has described the West Richmond industrial submarket as severely supply-constrained, with a 4% vacancy rate and little existing Class A industrial space, a market condition that helps explain why the company is betting on a new speculative building here.

The project also fits Goochland County’s larger development pattern: concentrate growth near existing infrastructure while leaving the county’s rural interior largely intact. County planning materials show the warehouse concept was reviewed by the Goochland County Planning Commission in July 2025, and county records say the property is zoned M-1 and governed by West Creek’s proffers. Summit bought the site in October 2025, and the land is controlled by funds tied to Loci Capital Group in partnership with Summit Real Estate Group.

The groundbreaking comes as West Creek’s industrial profile is changing fast. In September 2025, Eli Lilly and Company announced a $5 billion manufacturing facility in West Creek Business Park, a project expected to bring 650 jobs and 1,800 construction jobs. Together, the Lilly plant and West Creek Commerce Center point to a corridor that is moving from a largely office-oriented business park into one of Goochland’s most important industrial engines.

West Creek Business Park materials say the park includes about 800 developed acres, 1,700 undeveloped acres and 650 acres preserved in a flood plain. That leaves room for more growth, and the new commerce center suggests the eastern end of Goochland is likely to keep drawing large employers that want highway access, modern warehouse space and room to expand.