Wells Fargo branch to relocate to Cooper Center in Woodlawn

The Wells Fargo branch located in the Colonial Revival-style building at 8770 Richmond Highway in Woodlawn will relocate to the opposite side of the highway later this spring as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Richmond Highway Corridor Improvements project.

According to a Wells Fargo spokesperson, the bank branch will move May 15 to Cooper Center in a space once occupied by Il Paradiso Italian Trattoria and later a TitleMax. The reason for the relocation, said the bank spokesperson, is because Wells Fargo was asked to do so by VDOT due to the future Richmond Highway road widening.

The new future location of Wells Fargo at 8723-A Cooper Road

VDOT senior communications specialist Michael Murphy confirmed VDOT is in negotiations to purchase the entire parcel at 8770 Richmond Highway. The building, which was constructed in 1941, will not be demolished, said Murphy, but its drive-through loop will be removed, and the parking lot will be impacted by the project, making the bank less viable.

Besides widening Richmond Highway, VDOT plans to align Sacramento Drive with Cooper Road by rerouting Sacramento through part of Woodlawn Center. Once the realignment is complete, the former Wells Fargo building will be south of Sacramento instead of just north of it.

Slide showing planned realignment of Sacramento Drive with Cooper Road (Credit: FCDOT)

According to the final report from a VDOT Cultural Resources Survey published in October 2016, the two-story Colonial Revival building — which some say resembles the Mansion at George Washington’s Mount Vernon — may initially have been built as a residence but was later converted for commercial use. The report’s author, Commonwealth Heritage Group, determined that the building shouldn’t be recommended for the Virginia Landmarks Register or National Register of Historic Places because it was “not a significant example of the Colonial Revival style and has lost integrity of design through modifications for its current commercial use.”

Built in 1941, the building at 8770 Richmond Highway is a two-story-tall Colonial Revival building with a central octagonal cupola.

The new address for the Wells Fargo as of mid-May will be 8723-A Cooper Road.