by Doug Childers, RTD Homes Correspondent
Dec 18, 2021
Lawrence Liesfeld has developed more than 800 home sites in Greater Richmond. So, when he considered developing a 30-acre tract of land in western Henrico County 10 years ago, it should have been a straightforward process. This time, though, was different. Liesfeld’s father, Charles Liesfeld, had purchased the land in 1960 and moved his family there in 1965. The Liesfelds ran it as a working farm until 2006, a year before the senior Liesfeld died. “We kept the cows on the farm until 2013,” Liesfeld said.
By then, Liesfeld had made the hard decision to have the land rezoned and subdivided for an infill development. “I hated to see my home place gone,” he said. “But the land near the farm was rapidly developing into a suburban area, and it didn’t make sense to have a farm in the suburbs. So it was time to move on and develop the land.”
At the same time as Liesfeld was beginning the process of developing the site, another developer was assembling parcels in the area with big plans.
Robert Babcock had relocated from Dallas in 1988 to work for HHHunt as the development manager of the company’s Wyndham community in western Henrico. After serving as the president of HHHunt Homes for several years, he decided to form his own development company in 2007.
And Babcock believed the land around Liesfeld’s farm, which sits near the intersection of Liesfeld Farm Drive and Charles Phillip Drive, would be perfect for a medium-sized, master-planned community that offered homes at a variety of price points, as well as having extensive amenities.
“You can’t beat that location,” Babcock said. “It’s less than a quarter-mile as the crow flies to Short Pump Town Center, and the schools are tremendous, which is a major appeal.”
Babcock had earlier approached Liesfeld about obtaining a right-of-way for a road that would run through the farm site. Now, after meeting with Babcock, Liesfeld decided to forgo his infill plans. Instead, he would develop his land as a part of Babcock’s larger community, which Babcock agreed to call Bacova to honor Liesfeld’s family heritage.
“‘Bacova’ stands for Bath County, Virginia, my mother’s birthplace,” Liesfeld said.
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