A conflict is brewing over a proposed $35 million student housing project that, if approved, would bring major changes to the historic Carver neighborhood.
Those changes are for better or for worse, depending on whom you ask.
On one side are some Carver residents, many of whom want to preserve the neighborhood’s layout of mostly single-family homes. On the other end is the developer, Rhode Island-based Gilbane, which is looking to capitalize on the ever-expanding world that is Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Carver Area Civic Improvement League voted 13 to 10 against the five-story, 163-unit apartment complex planned on industrially zoned land at 1200 W. Marshall St.
In response to community input, Gilbane has adjusted its plans and reduced the size of the project from its original scope.
But the sides are still at odds, and now the project’s future comes down to a planning commission meeting Monday and a city council vote next week.
Margaret Rush, president of the Carver civic group, said the biggest concerns the neighbors have are density and parking.
“The prevailing opinion of concern is that it would be entirely student-based housing,” Rush said.
Carver lies north of Broad Street along the northern boundary of VCU and west of Belvidere.
If approved, the project would add 498 residents and would result in a 25 percent population increase for the neighborhood when fully occupied.
Gilbane has also submitted another plan for a similar-size project at 1300 W. Marshall St. If that project comes to fruition, it would make multifamily the predominant property type in the neighborhood.
That is the primary concern cited in 70 letters sent by members of the Moore Street Church to the city voicing their disapproval.
Those church members take exception to the developer’s plan to allow up to four unrelated persons to share a unit and assign separate leases for each bedroom rather than the unit as a whole.
“We are asking that you do not let this neighborhood be destroyed. Would this density be allowed in other neighborhoods?” the church pleaded in a letter. “We feel that this is the beginning of the end for this historic neighborhood.”
Aside from her duties on the civil league, Rush has a different personal opinion as a private resident of the Carver neighborhood.
“At the moment, it is a big, ugly, semi-vacant lot with chain link fence and broken glass,” Rush said.
“There will be something on those lots at some point. I would prefer to have this, which has someone like Gilbane behind it who has been open and responsive, versus someone we don’t know.”
Indeed, Andy Condlin, an attorney with Williams Mullen who represents Gilbane, said the company has greatly reduced the number of units that was originally planned to address community concerns.
“We reduced the number of four-bedroom units from 102 to 69. The total number of beds got reduced,” Condlin said.
That is about the biggest reduction the developer could make and still have the numbers work, Condlin said.
Gilbane also adjusted height levels for the project.
“The height of the building along Clay Street has been substantially reduced such that from an architectural standpoint they reflect the row houses along Clay Street,” Condlin said.
An existing historic structure at the corner of Norton Street will be incorporated into the new building. The five-story Marshall Street side of the proposed building faces the rear of the VCU Siegel Center.
Condlin added that the project will add more parking than city code requires, which is one spot for each unit. Gilbane will be developing 1.4 parking spots per unit. Most of the parking will be underground.
The project also includes 1,200 square feet of commercial space along Harrison Street.
John Keegan, vice president at Gilbane, said he firmly believes that the project will benefit the neighborhood rather than threaten it.
“We have addressed every concern to the greatest extent possible,” said Keegan.
Although many residents might prefer to see single-family homes there, Keegan said there is no market for such homes facing the backside of VCU’s basketball arena.
“We think our multi-family use is an appropriate use and is a buffer between the Siegel Center and the community,” Keegan said.
“We are not displacing anyone and are not forcing anyone out of the community.”
Keegan said Gilbane’s project would draw renters out of single-family homes in the area and allow for them to transition back to being owner-occupied residences.
“We think our project provides an opportunity to draw students out of the residential core,” Keegan said.
Gilbane has a contract to buy the three parcels that make up the 1.8-acre site from Frank Wood, who currently runs a small manufacturing company on the property. The deal is set to close upon final approval of Gilbane’s plan by city council.
Wood said he has had many offers for development during the 20 years he has owned the property but that Gilbane’s proposal has been the best of them all. Most proposals only looked to redevelop the historic brick building on the property.
“I never had a proposal like this for the whole block,” Wood said. “It is never going to get any better than this.”
Wood said he personally reached out to Gilbane after learning of their nearly completed apartment building at 8 1/2 Canal St.
“I called them and invited them to look around. They came and liked what they saw,” Wood said.
Now it all hinges on whether the planning committee, and more importantly city council, likes what they see.
A report obtained by BizSense indicates that the city planning staff, which will present their findings to the committee, do not recommend approval of the project because it is not in line with the city master plan and is still too large of a project for the neighborhood.
The city planning commission will vote and hold a public hearing Monday on a special use permit authorizing Gilbane to proceed with the project.
City Council is scheduled to make the final decision on the project at its regular meeting July 25.
As for the second plan for the next block over, Condlin said it has been sidelined indefinitely.
“Quite frankly, there is a lot of work to be done on that. I am not sure if and when that will come up again,” Condlin said.
A conflict is brewing over a proposed $35 million student housing project that, if approved, would bring major changes to the historic Carver neighborhood.
Those changes are for better or for worse, depending on whom you ask.
On one side are some Carver residents, many of whom want to preserve the neighborhood’s layout of mostly single-family homes. On the other end is the developer, Rhode Island-based Gilbane, which is looking to capitalize on the ever-expanding world that is Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Carver Area Civic Improvement League voted 13 to 10 against the five-story, 163-unit apartment complex planned on industrially zoned land at 1200 W. Marshall St.
In response to community input, Gilbane has adjusted its plans and reduced the size of the project from its original scope.
But the sides are still at odds, and now the project’s future comes down to a planning commission meeting Monday and a city council vote next week.
Margaret Rush, president of the Carver civic group, said the biggest concerns the neighbors have are density and parking.
“The prevailing opinion of concern is that it would be entirely student-based housing,” Rush said.
Carver lies north of Broad Street along the northern boundary of VCU and west of Belvidere.
If approved, the project would add 498 residents and would result in a 25 percent population increase for the neighborhood when fully occupied.
Gilbane has also submitted another plan for a similar-size project at 1300 W. Marshall St. If that project comes to fruition, it would make multifamily the predominant property type in the neighborhood.
That is the primary concern cited in 70 letters sent by members of the Moore Street Church to the city voicing their disapproval.
Those church members take exception to the developer’s plan to allow up to four unrelated persons to share a unit and assign separate leases for each bedroom rather than the unit as a whole.
“We are asking that you do not let this neighborhood be destroyed. Would this density be allowed in other neighborhoods?” the church pleaded in a letter. “We feel that this is the beginning of the end for this historic neighborhood.”
Aside from her duties on the civil league, Rush has a different personal opinion as a private resident of the Carver neighborhood.
“At the moment, it is a big, ugly, semi-vacant lot with chain link fence and broken glass,” Rush said.
“There will be something on those lots at some point. I would prefer to have this, which has someone like Gilbane behind it who has been open and responsive, versus someone we don’t know.”
Indeed, Andy Condlin, an attorney with Williams Mullen who represents Gilbane, said the company has greatly reduced the number of units that was originally planned to address community concerns.
“We reduced the number of four-bedroom units from 102 to 69. The total number of beds got reduced,” Condlin said.
That is about the biggest reduction the developer could make and still have the numbers work, Condlin said.
Gilbane also adjusted height levels for the project.
“The height of the building along Clay Street has been substantially reduced such that from an architectural standpoint they reflect the row houses along Clay Street,” Condlin said.
An existing historic structure at the corner of Norton Street will be incorporated into the new building. The five-story Marshall Street side of the proposed building faces the rear of the VCU Siegel Center.
Condlin added that the project will add more parking than city code requires, which is one spot for each unit. Gilbane will be developing 1.4 parking spots per unit. Most of the parking will be underground.
The project also includes 1,200 square feet of commercial space along Harrison Street.
John Keegan, vice president at Gilbane, said he firmly believes that the project will benefit the neighborhood rather than threaten it.
“We have addressed every concern to the greatest extent possible,” said Keegan.
Although many residents might prefer to see single-family homes there, Keegan said there is no market for such homes facing the backside of VCU’s basketball arena.
“We think our multi-family use is an appropriate use and is a buffer between the Siegel Center and the community,” Keegan said.
“We are not displacing anyone and are not forcing anyone out of the community.”
Keegan said Gilbane’s project would draw renters out of single-family homes in the area and allow for them to transition back to being owner-occupied residences.
“We think our project provides an opportunity to draw students out of the residential core,” Keegan said.
Gilbane has a contract to buy the three parcels that make up the 1.8-acre site from Frank Wood, who currently runs a small manufacturing company on the property. The deal is set to close upon final approval of Gilbane’s plan by city council.
Wood said he has had many offers for development during the 20 years he has owned the property but that Gilbane’s proposal has been the best of them all. Most proposals only looked to redevelop the historic brick building on the property.
“I never had a proposal like this for the whole block,” Wood said. “It is never going to get any better than this.”
Wood said he personally reached out to Gilbane after learning of their nearly completed apartment building at 8 1/2 Canal St.
“I called them and invited them to look around. They came and liked what they saw,” Wood said.
Now it all hinges on whether the planning committee, and more importantly city council, likes what they see.
A report obtained by BizSense indicates that the city planning staff, which will present their findings to the committee, do not recommend approval of the project because it is not in line with the city master plan and is still too large of a project for the neighborhood.
The city planning commission will vote and hold a public hearing Monday on a special use permit authorizing Gilbane to proceed with the project.
City Council is scheduled to make the final decision on the project at its regular meeting July 25.
As for the second plan for the next block over, Condlin said it has been sidelined indefinitely.
“Quite frankly, there is a lot of work to be done on that. I am not sure if and when that will come up again,” Condlin said.
Bottom line, people don’t like change. Density is the way cities should be built. Enough with vacant lots, surface parking and dilapidated single family housing. It is time to start looking towards the future. I don’t advocate tearing down historic structures, but if the acreage is currently a fenced gravel lot accumulating trash, then why not create an anchor for the community. You have a developer willing to spend money and listen to the wants of the community, take advantage of this opportunity. Perhaps it will spark other projects. There needs to be properly planned infill. You want to see… Read more »
If Carver residents were serious about containing the spiraling needs of VCU’s student body, they’d ask for greater density, and not less. With a student body of 32,000 and housing for 5,000, it’s inevitable that surrounding neighborhoods will become magnets for student housing. Residents say they’d like to see single family housing (which would likely be dominated by students any way). Personally, I’d love to see a Cheesecake Factory. But neither may be economically realistic. The plan from Gilbane seems like a giant step forward for the neighborhood. Yes, it’s not single family. But neither is a big sports area,… Read more »
Density in a city is great – that’s what make cities thrive. Not empty lots.
And VCU students are great. They stop Richmond from becoming Petersburg.
And yep, I don’t live far away. That’s why I think its a great project
I agree with the previous comments. This sort of thing will increase property value, to boot!
I agree with you all. DENSITY, DENSITY, DENSITY. Activity on the street makes streets safer as well. You need to speak up Charles and dont let the nimbys hurt your neighborhood.
GO RAMS!!!!!!!!!!!
I am confused. What vacant lots are they talking about? If I remember correctly, West Marshall between Lombardy and Belvidere is littered with industrially-zoned property mixed with loft-style apartment buildings. There are also some homes in the neighborhood that are far from “historic” and look like they could benefit from a bulldozing.
Having lived in Richmond and New York (possibly the country’s most dense city), I am with the density crew. An increased population means increased services. Yes, I hear the concerns about Marshall Street becoming crowded, but if the housing is focused on students, the traffic will mostly be pedestrian and in the opposite direction from the single family dwellings. Plus, I hear that this building will have 24 hour on site security. Doesn’t anyone think that this is a benefit in their neighborhood? You pay BIG money for that up in NYC!
Yep–density is the single most outstanding characteristic of successful cities. Failed cities feature surface parking and vacant lots–and ultimately vacant buildings. Cities which choose density can reach a critical mass where downtown (or midtown, as the case may be) becomes the place to go. And land values and quality of life increase accordingly.