HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — His life's journey has taken him from the cradle of Western civilization to the West End. Along the way, John Vithoulkas has become one of the most powerful men in Central Virginia. But he still has to answer to Mama V.
"She watches me like a hawk," said Vithoulkas about his 84-year-old mother, a Three Chopt district resident. "She's still keeping watch, and if she doesn't like something I have to come home and explain it."
Vithoulkas was born in Athens, Greece, but grew up in Henrico, where he is now in his 14th year as county manager.
He has received numerous accolades for the county's financial success, and says it helps to work alongside like-minded people.
"Henrico's secret sauce has always been fiscal. Our DNA is fiscal," said Vithoulkas. "When elected officials come into these positions, I think initially they may not have an understanding of just how vast and meaningful and impactful a local government can be for the folks that live there. Everyone that I've ever worked with has always said, 'John, let's make it better.' And every year we try to."
But during a recent appearance on "Untold: A WTVR Podcast," Vithoulkas says 2026 could be his most challenging year yet.
"We've got the General Assembly in town and [there are] a lot of bills down there that could ultimately prove harmful, not just to Henrico, but also every other locality in the Commonwealth," said Vithoulkas.
Vithoulkas talked to "Untold" host Catie Beck about current legislation that concerns him.
One bill in particular would allow builders to redevelop underperforming strip malls and put apartments on the properties, something Vithoulkas says is being done under the guise of affordable housing, but he says it will have the opposite effect.
"The folks that are going to invest in these apartments and facilities are not local," said Vithoulkas. "They're not from your community. They're basically real estate investment trusts (REITs) and investment funds. And so housing affordability will go out the window."
Beck and Vithoulkas also discussed his thoughts on the drinking water situation in the Richmond metro area, one year after the water crisis that impacted residents and businesses across the region.
"The takeaway from this was, yes, the city needs to improve the resiliency of the water treatment plant, but we also in Henrico can do more to increase the resiliency of the system itself," he said.
Vithoulkas talked about the recent completion of a massive county-owned reservoir in Cumberland County. And he said the county has embarked upon a four-year project to connect a massive water pipe from central Henrico to the East End, about a 13-mile-long stretch, which he said will not only help Henrico and Richmond if a water crisis were to ever reemerge, but could also benefit Hanover and New Kent.
The conversation also steered into one of the most talked-about issues in Virginia right now, data centers. Vithoulkas said he understands the concerns of residents and said the county doesn't have room for any more of those facilities. He also said the data centers they have now are located in an area that is substantially distanced from nearby neighborhoods.
"You'll drive down Technology Boulevard, it's really hard to see where the data centers are," said Vithoulkas. "I mean, there's that much buffer, and we have the power, we have the water, the infrastructure is there, and it's a technology park."
Vithoulkas also said the revenue generated from data centers is being used to help people buy homes in the county.
"We're using the Partnership for Housing Affordability and the Maggie Walker Land Trust," said Vithoulkas. "Basically what we're doing is as these developments, as single family developments get approved, they'll come and some of them will say 'Hey, I want to participate in this program.' And the county will basically send money to the Partnership for Housing Affordability to buy down the cost of lots if you will....Ultimately, what we're finding is townhomes in Tuckahoe that were in the $450,000s are in the $320,000s. We've got properties in Varina that are in the $190,000s, new, single family."
"So on any given year we have about 800 new homes that are built in Henrico. We're now hitting 150 a year through this mechanism. So I think this could be one of those life-changing things for a number of people."
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