Indoor kids entertainment venue to open in old Bed Bath & Beyond in Henrico - Richmond BizSense | Chongqing PeakSustained Ventures Group Co.,Ltd

Jack Jacobs August 23, 2024 3

Urban Air Adventure Park features obstacle courses, trampolines and other physical activities for kids. The franchised chain is planning a location in western Henrico. (Courtesy Urban Air Adventure Park)

A new entertainment venue for kids has lined up an empty big-box retail store to play in.

Urban Air Adventure Park is planning to open a location at 10050 W. Broad St., formerly home to a Bed Bath and Beyond store in western Henrico.

The indoor play park is planned to feature trampolines, laser tag, rock climbing, a bumper car-like ride and other attractions in a 42,000-square-foot space. The business also will feature a cafe with seating for 52 people and a kid-friendly menu with items such as pizza, chicken wings and Icees.

The franchised concept is aimed at ages 5 to 18 years old, but also hosts corporate-team building events. The chain’s locations also host birthday parties for children.

The upcoming Urban Air near the intersection of Broad Street and Gaskins Road is planned to open in the first quarter of 2025, franchisee Sachin Gupta said.

It is expected to be the chain’s first location in the region, and the third to open in Virginia, following locations in Fredericksburg and Woodbridge.

The Henrico location is anticipated to cost $5 million to build out and equip, Gupta said. The venue is expected to have 70 to 80 employees.

Louisiana-based Planet Construction has been tapped to be the project’s general contractor. The project’s architecture firm is Wisconsin-based Logic Design & Architecture.

The former Bed Bath & Beyond store on West Broad Street, as seen before its closure last year. (BizSense file)

David Andrews of The Shopping Center Group handled the lease on behalf of the Urban Air franchise.

Gupta will run the local Urban Air outpost alongside fellow franchisee and friend Chandan Suri. They are based in North Carolina and New Hampshire, respectively. Also involved in the local franchise is Suri’s brother Pawan, who lives in the Richmond area. It’s the group’s first Urban Air location.

Gupta said they zeroed in on western Henrico because of the families and income levels in that part of town.

“The market has solid demographics in terms of the population. This kind of business requires a younger population. It’s wholesome entertainment for the entire family, but our target audience is the kids,” Gupta said.

In addition to promising demographics, the team also felt there was space in the region for a concept such as Urban Air.

“The Richmond area really doesn’t have a lot of competition in this industry,” Chandan Suri said. Other nearby indoor play venues for kids include Surge Adventure Park at Regency and Defy trampoline park in Short Pump.

Gupta said they were still working on admission and membership rates, which franchisees are able to set for their locations.

The Fredericksburg location offers passes that range in price from $26 to $36, according to the company website. That location offers a $21 pass for access to “basic” trampolines only and membership rates from $13 to $18 per month.

The local franchise group also is looking to open an Urban Air in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield, and is still on the hunt for an appropriately sized commercial space. He said there wasn’t an anticipated opening date for the Midlothian location.

“It all depends upon when we can find the right location. Finding real estate in the Richmond area is not easy,” Gupta said. “It took us almost two years (to secure the Henrico location).”

Urban Air is in expansion mode elsewhere in the state, with locations in Newport News and Gainesville listed as “coming soon” on its website.

The Texas-based chain was founded in 2011. Urban Air describes itself as the largest kids entertainment park operator in the world, and says it has more than 350 locations either open or in development.

Gupta said he got first-hand experience of Urban Air while on a trip to Florida with his kids a few years ago. He was impressed with how busy the venue was, and started to think about franchising the concept himself.

“We visited a park and the park was full of kids, and I’m talking about there was hardly any capacity left,” he said. “That place was buzzing. My kids enjoyed being in that park themselves. They enjoyed every single attraction.”

Urban Air’s initial franchise fee is $100,000. The corporate office takes a 7% royalty fee, and franchisees are required to have $750,000 in liquid assets, the company website states.