Business could bloom along Lakeside Avenue in Henrico County if the commercial stretch goes "green," according to a recent study by students at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Lakeside Avenue Revitalization Plan outlines dozens of recommendations for the 1.5-mile commercial corridor, including improved landscaping, incentives for environmentally friendly development and strong associations with nearby Bryan Park and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

The plan cites market potential for new businesses to capitalize on Lakeside Avenue's bookends -- the park to the south and the garden to the north. Together, they draw an estimated 700,000 visitors annually.

"The business district really isn't tapped into either of these," said Mike Porter, a student who worked on the report. "That's a lot of potential customers."

The graduate-level urban commercial revitalization class studied Lakeside as part of its fall coursework and presented it to the Lakeside Business Association and community this month.

"Those kids did one heck of a job," said Dick McClure, president of the Lakeside Business Association. "What they had to say is so true. They touched on things the county's going to have to help [business and properties owners] with."

Lakeside Avenue, which flourished in the 1950s, has several dozen businesses and is positioned for revitalization as part of a county and state enterprise zone. The area was picked after professor John J. Accordino discussed the academic-service project with Henrico officials.

"It's a very nice project they did," said Peter Francisco, co-owner of Lakeside Towne Center and other properties along Lakeside Avenue. "If everything got implemented, we'd all be very lucky."

He developed Lakeside Towne Center in a building occupied during the past few decades by a series of supermarkets until the last one closed

Francisco said that while some recommendations would be difficult and expensive to implement, others could be addressed easily -- like reducing the speed limit on Lakeside Avenue from 35 to 25 mph.

"It just makes it much safer for pedestrians," he said. "You have to understand when you say 35, it means [drivers go] 45."

The plan recommends improving pedestrian access and promoting the district's small, independent retailers as alternatives to big-box chains. Lakeside is like many older commercial areas that have lost their edge with the rise of large retail centers.

"Lakeside was never built to be that way," Accordino said. "The market has shifted."

The VCU students found market potential in Lakeside for a 1950s-style diner and other sit-down restaurants, as well as a coffee and ice-cream shop, a small grocery store, a garden center and other retailers.

For years, Accordino's classes have taken similar looks at other commercial districts in parts of Richmond, Hopewell, Chesterfield County and Petersburg.

He said the Lakeside plan echoes many of the earlier ideas, but it also offers new ones, such as marketing the district to local Internet blogs and establishing it as a "green" business zone. The students suggested expanding Henrico's enterprise-zone incentives to encourage such practices as rain gardens, green roofs, permeable paving and energy-efficient lighting.

"It's almost like Lakeside Avenue is a natural, with parks on each end," Accordino said of a strong "green" theme.

The study comes as Henrico is wrapping up a $4.2 million project to build sidewalks, curb and gutter and a new median along Lakeside Avenue.

Area property owners also have been making good use of the enterprise-zone incentives. Since 2004, Henrico has awarded about 20 grants for design assistance and facade improvements there, said Mary Reynolds, a community revitalization planner. County officials are considering expanding their enterprise-zone incentives to offer grants for landscaping, paving, renovation and demolition projects.

Reynolds said it's too early to say whether any of the plan's recommendations will be embraced by the county, but she applauded the class's efforts and insights.

One of the ideas has already taken root. The Board of Supervisors approved Francisco's plan to establish an outdoor farmers market at the Lakeside Towne Center. Opening is expected this spring.

McClure expects the small farmers market to provide a significant boost. "There's not even a grocery store in Lakeside," he said.

Porter said he's bullish about the area, in part because of the commitment of its business association. "I think they want to make it work. It's up to them to decide what works."
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.