At the Old Virginia Center Commons Site, the Holiday Calendar Got There Before the Restaurants

The former Virginia Center Commons site in Glen Allen now has a busy November and December schedule. From the first week of November through the week after Christmas, the Henrico Sports & Events Center has a card show, a two-day holiday craft show, several basketball tournaments, a fencing cup, gymnastics and volleyball events, and a college basketball classic. Most of what was planned to surround those events isn't open yet. One new hotel is running, a second is taking reservations for mid-December, and the two restaurants planned next to them have no opening dates.

That gap matters if you live nearby. The site is useful this season, and you get the most out of it by planning around the events center's calendar, the businesses that outlasted the mall, and a parking situation the venue itself flags.

The county built the draw first

This order of things was deliberate. At an October ribbon-cutting nearby, Fairfield District Supervisor Roscoe Cooper explained how the county handled the mall's decline. The Henrico Citizen reported that Cooper said Henrico "acquired a portion of the site, demolished part of the aging mall structure, and built the $50 million Henrico Sports and Events Center across the street, giving Henrico its first major indoor sporting venue in 2023." The mall closed in 2022 and was later demolished to make room for new uses.

Cooper credited that venue with drawing a wave of private development to the site, including hotels, dining and new homes. The newest piece is Medallion Park at 10551 Telegraph Road, a 17-acre, $100 million project. It pairs two renovated office buildings with 279 apartments in the Signal at Medallion Park building. The offices are fully leased, with about 600 employees at companies including Citizens Bank and Enterprise Mobility.

"We know that strategic reinvestment gives aging properties a powerful second life."

Henrico EDA Executive Director Cari Tretina said that at the same ceremony, in the Henrico Citizen's account. She also said she hoped office workers would head "across the street" to restaurants or "off to Brook Road, just a block over," to Target and Ross. The plan is for event crowds and office workers to keep the businesses around them busy. This holiday season, the events center is the part of that plan that's fully working.

What's on the Henrico Center calendar, November through December

Many of these listings are youth and amateur tournaments. Several event pages don't say whether spectators can attend or whether admission is ticketed, so check with the organizer before you go. The events with clear public details are in bold.

• Nov. 7: East Coast Pokémon & Sports Card Show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event page lists $10 general admission, free parking and all ages, but it also calls the event a "free" card show. Confirm the price before you bring the family.
• Nov. 7: NewBreed's Virginia State Championships. Doors open at 8 a.m. and competition starts at 9 a.m.
• Nov. 14 to 15: Kiefer Meinhardt Fencing Cup.
• Nov. 20 to 22: Turkey Tumble Invitational.
• Nov. 21 to 22: Richmond Holiday Craft Show. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Organizer Cheers Festivals says one general admission ticket is good for both days and parking is free. The Eventbrite ticket panel shows $9.31.
• Nov. 25 to 28: 4 Tha Culture Holiday Hoops Classic, details still to be announced.
• Nov. 27 to 29: 4 Tha Culture Women's Holiday Hoops Classic, with ticketed sessions. The Nov. 27 ticket covers three games starting at 2:30 p.m.
• Dec. 3: Henrico Business Resource Fair, 9 to 11 a.m. It's an open house. Registration is encouraged and walk-ins are welcome.
• Dec. 12 to 13: 2026 Reindeer Rumble volleyball.
• Dec. 19 to 20: Futsal RVA Winter League.
• Dec. 21 to 22: 804 Coaches for Change Community Classic.
• Dec. 28 to 29: DIII Men's National Champions Basketball Classic, ticketed. Day one starts at 5 p.m. with two games.

The craft show and the DIII classic are the easiest picks for a weekend outing. The card show is the easiest pick for a kid who collects.

There's also one Glen Allen event outside the arena. Henrico's parks calendar lists a free outdoor screening of Hamilton at Crump Park on Nov. 6, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with the VA250 Mobile Museum on site before the movie starts.

Where you eat before or after is still mostly the old lineup

The new dining around the arena exists so far only in approved plans. In August, Richmond BizSense reported that EAT Restaurant Partners plans two standalone restaurants next to the hotels: a Lucky AF sushi restaurant and a sports-bar concept. The report gave no opening date for either. Lucky AF's own website still lists only Scott's Addition, Short Pump and Forest Hill.

That means this season's dinner-and-a-game plan uses businesses that were already there. Texas Roadhouse and Regal Virginia Center sit across the site's loop road, and American Family Fitness is still operating from the old mall. Target and Ross are a block over on Brook Road, the same stops Tretina named.

The convenience market is planned for a three-story building at All Star Boulevard and Belladdie Way, with four apartments upstairs. The county approved the plan in July, and no operator has been named.

Being early comes with a parking note

The unfinished pieces also change how you arrive. The Henrico Center has four free lots, called East, South, North and West, with ADA parking in the East Lot. Its parking page warns that "Parking may be limited due to hotel construction around the facility. Please plan accordingly."

The Home2 Suites is that construction. Henrico said in May it expected the hotel to open late this year. Hilton now lists it as Home2 Suites by Hilton Glen Allen Richmond, marked "Coming Soon," with reservations starting Dec. 17. That's the first date you can book, not an announced opening day. For the big November weekends, including the craft show and both Thanksgiving-week hoops events, plan on the hotel work still going on around the lots.

A few habits will make those days easier:

1. Get to the craft show at the start of a session. Saturday opens at 9 a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m., and the organizer's single ticket covers both days, so you can go back Sunday if Saturday's lot is full.
2. Carpool when you can. The venue asks visitors to do so.
3. Check each event's page for parking details. The venue sends visitors there for event-specific instructions.
4. Pick your dinner spot before you park. The new restaurants aren't open yet, and Brook Road is a short drive away.

What comes after the holidays

The next big project is farther down I-95. Cooper described the former Best Products headquarters site as the location for Best Products Reimagined, which he called an "arena anchored, mixed-use destination." As of June 2026, VPM reported that the county had released a draft master plan and was reviewing proposals from prospective developers, with no team selected. In that draft plan, the 17,000-seat arena is an envisioned anchor.

Closer to the old mall, the next pieces are smaller and on firmer schedules. The Home2 takes its first bookings Dec. 17, the market building is expected to break ground in early 2027, and the two EAT restaurants are approved but have no dates yet. Henrico Tomorrow, the grant program that helped fund Medallion Park's office renovations, will relaunch in early 2027, according to Tretina.

For this year, the craft show runs Nov. 21 and 22 and the DIII classic tips off Dec. 28 at 5 p.m.

If you own a home near Brook Road or Telegraph Road and want to know how the work around the old mall site affects your home's value today, Josh Harris can give you a straight answer based on local sales. Start with your instant home valuation, and Josh will follow up with the local details.