New apartments are about to come online in Manchester. Photo by Katie Demeria.
Yet another Manchester apartment building is preparing for its debut.
The first phase of Larson Development’s conversion of the Plant 1 building at 403 Stockton St. is nearly completed, bringing 43 new apartments to the Southside neighborhood later this month, followed by an additional 91 units by the end of the year.
The 104,000-square-foot building, once called the Westvaco Carton Factory, takes up an entire city block. It will house a mix of one- and two-bedroom units in both phases, said Jessica Voss, a project manager with Larson. The second phase is set to feature larger loft-style units. The renovations will add an extra 36,000 square feet of space to the building.
The developer purchased the four parcels, totaling nearly 2 acres, through an entity called Plant 1 Development for $2.9 million in 2013. Work began on the project in June of 2014, Voss said.
“It was a really great building with a lot of potential,” Voss said. “This is our first Manchester project, and we’re excited for the area. We’re not the first to be opening down there, but we were at least one of the first to plan a project over there.”
The first-phase units will come in at 600 square feet and up for one-bedroom units, and 900 square feet and up for the two-bedrooms. The second phase units will likely be even larger, with units well over 1,000 square feet.
The building will have a rooftop deck, and many units will have patios with gas grills and fire pits. And each unit will have a unique floorplan.
“I think we will set ourselves apart because of the size of our units, the design of the units, and I don’t think that this project as a whole looks like anything else that’s down there,” Voss said.
The entire development is likely to cost between $18 million and $20 million, Voss said. Virginia Community Capital is financing the first phase, and First Capital is financing the second. The developers are applying for historic tax credits.
KBS is the general contractor, and Walter Parks Architects is designing the project.
Manchester has already experienced significant growth in the past several years as many other developers set their sights south of the river, with apartment projects including the Terraces at Manchester, 1200 Semmes, Miller Lofts, Belle Summit Apartments, Manchester Green and Reynolds South.
And commercial space is filling in Manchester, as well. Urban Farmhouse has leased space at 1200 Semmes, and Brewer’s Cafe is setting up at 12th and Bainbridge streets.
“It’s all about the urbanization; with people moving over there, there are going to be even more commercial spaces,” Voss said. “I wasn’t here nine years ago, but I do know that people didn’t want to live over there, so I think it’s great what’s going on. We’re cleaning up that area of town, people feel safe over there, and it’s exciting to see that go on.”
Larson’s previous Richmond apartment conversion projects include the Stables at Harrison and Hancock in Carver and the Franklin Street Lofts in Shockoe Bottom.
New apartments are about to come online in Manchester. Photo by Katie Demeria.
Yet another Manchester apartment building is preparing for its debut.
The first phase of Larson Development’s conversion of the Plant 1 building at 403 Stockton St. is nearly completed, bringing 43 new apartments to the Southside neighborhood later this month, followed by an additional 91 units by the end of the year.
The 104,000-square-foot building, once called the Westvaco Carton Factory, takes up an entire city block. It will house a mix of one- and two-bedroom units in both phases, said Jessica Voss, a project manager with Larson. The second phase is set to feature larger loft-style units. The renovations will add an extra 36,000 square feet of space to the building.
The developer purchased the four parcels, totaling nearly 2 acres, through an entity called Plant 1 Development for $2.9 million in 2013. Work began on the project in June of 2014, Voss said.
“It was a really great building with a lot of potential,” Voss said. “This is our first Manchester project, and we’re excited for the area. We’re not the first to be opening down there, but we were at least one of the first to plan a project over there.”
The first-phase units will come in at 600 square feet and up for one-bedroom units, and 900 square feet and up for the two-bedrooms. The second phase units will likely be even larger, with units well over 1,000 square feet.
The building will have a rooftop deck, and many units will have patios with gas grills and fire pits. And each unit will have a unique floorplan.
“I think we will set ourselves apart because of the size of our units, the design of the units, and I don’t think that this project as a whole looks like anything else that’s down there,” Voss said.
The entire development is likely to cost between $18 million and $20 million, Voss said. Virginia Community Capital is financing the first phase, and First Capital is financing the second. The developers are applying for historic tax credits.
KBS is the general contractor, and Walter Parks Architects is designing the project.
Manchester has already experienced significant growth in the past several years as many other developers set their sights south of the river, with apartment projects including the Terraces at Manchester, 1200 Semmes, Miller Lofts, Belle Summit Apartments, Manchester Green and Reynolds South.
And commercial space is filling in Manchester, as well. Urban Farmhouse has leased space at 1200 Semmes, and Brewer’s Cafe is setting up at 12th and Bainbridge streets.
“It’s all about the urbanization; with people moving over there, there are going to be even more commercial spaces,” Voss said. “I wasn’t here nine years ago, but I do know that people didn’t want to live over there, so I think it’s great what’s going on. We’re cleaning up that area of town, people feel safe over there, and it’s exciting to see that go on.”
Larson’s previous Richmond apartment conversion projects include the Stables at Harrison and Hancock in Carver and the Franklin Street Lofts in Shockoe Bottom.
Larson’s Manchester project is the first example of a developer taking advantage of the City’s new “2nd real estate tax abatement”. This abatement was a proposal of the HBAR Multifamily Council, providing an acceleration of the 1st tax abatement on a rehabbed property, and the 2nd tax abatement being placed for another repositioning of the property for the market. It is a win-win for the City, and it was embraced by the City Council and staff when proposed. In the last ten years, tax assessments have increased more than $130 Million in the area from Commerce Road to the River… Read more »
Larson development is a wonderful company who has brought a lot of good living space to the Richmond metro area
This apartment building is particularly significant because it is the first example of the use of the “Second Real Estate Tax Abatement” in which a property is repositioned for the THIRD time in the marketplace, once again nearly doubling the assessed value of the property. The first tax abatement schedule is accelerated–an immediate win for the City tax rolls–locked into place for 7 years–a win for the developer–then graduated to an even larger tax by the 10th year–another win for the City. Its a win-win for all. This idea was born by the HBAR Multifamily Council in yet another collaboration… Read more »
My apologies for repeating myself. (If its important, should it be said twice?)