Located just north of Legend Brewing Co., the site approved for a twin-tower residential development sits on nearly 3 acres of riverfront land. (Courtesy of Bruce Commercial Realty)
A year and a half after securing the land and getting the city’s stamp of approval, the developers behind a riverfront twin-tower apartment project in Manchester are looking to pass the project off to the next buyer.
The 2-acre site slated for River’s Edge II at 301 W. Sixth St. in Manchester is back on the market in a listing that includes an approved plan of development and other entitlements.
Developers Mark Purcell, Guy Blundon, Keith Woodard and Ludwig Kuttner began planning the 344-unit sequel to the original River’s Edge in late 2019. The project was drafted to feature two 11-story towers connected by a skybridge.
In 2020, the city approved the project and the developers acquired the 2.2-acre parcel for $8.7 million, a deal that set a new high mark for land on a per-acre basis in Manchester that still stands. The developers have since acquired a small 0.7-acre roadway from Norfolk Southern Railroad to bring the total plot up to 2.9 acres.
However, work on River’s Edge II did not get underway in 2021 as planned, and now the group has enlisted Bruce Milam of Bruce Commercial Realty to market the site.
Blundon deferred comment to Milam, who said personal reasons, along with a red-hot market, drove the developers’ decision to list the property.
A rendering of the River’s Edge II apartment project facing the James River. (BizSense file)
“The market is reaching an incredible crescendo here, and these guys are also reaching a point in their age where they looked around and said, ‘Maybe we should just sell the whole deal and let somebody else build it,’” Milam said.
With proper zoning and permitting in place, Milam said he thinks the parcel is a unique offering on the riverfront.
“This thing is 100 percent ready for building permits. It’s going to be delivered with a building permit in hand,” Milam said “It’s never happened right on the James River. There’s no other site like this.”
An asking price was not disclosed. The land was most recently assessed by the city at $5.2 million.
Blundon and Purcell already have offloaded the original 213-unit River’s Edge tower to Denver-based Four Mile Capital for $47.5 million earlier this year. Last year the duo, along with Woodard, also bought a 2.2-acre parcel at 700 Cowardin Ave. No plans have been filed for that site.
Two blocks inland from the River’s Edge II site is another sizable offering Milam is handling: the Thurston Spring Service property at 701 Perry St. The property spans an entire block in Manchester, and Milam said they’ve received a handful of offers that’ll go under review in early 2022.
Located just north of Legend Brewing Co., the site approved for a twin-tower residential development sits on nearly 3 acres of riverfront land. (Courtesy of Bruce Commercial Realty)
A year and a half after securing the land and getting the city’s stamp of approval, the developers behind a riverfront twin-tower apartment project in Manchester are looking to pass the project off to the next buyer.
The 2-acre site slated for River’s Edge II at 301 W. Sixth St. in Manchester is back on the market in a listing that includes an approved plan of development and other entitlements.
Developers Mark Purcell, Guy Blundon, Keith Woodard and Ludwig Kuttner began planning the 344-unit sequel to the original River’s Edge in late 2019. The project was drafted to feature two 11-story towers connected by a skybridge.
In 2020, the city approved the project and the developers acquired the 2.2-acre parcel for $8.7 million, a deal that set a new high mark for land on a per-acre basis in Manchester that still stands. The developers have since acquired a small 0.7-acre roadway from Norfolk Southern Railroad to bring the total plot up to 2.9 acres.
However, work on River’s Edge II did not get underway in 2021 as planned, and now the group has enlisted Bruce Milam of Bruce Commercial Realty to market the site.
Blundon deferred comment to Milam, who said personal reasons, along with a red-hot market, drove the developers’ decision to list the property.
A rendering of the River’s Edge II apartment project facing the James River. (BizSense file)
“The market is reaching an incredible crescendo here, and these guys are also reaching a point in their age where they looked around and said, ‘Maybe we should just sell the whole deal and let somebody else build it,’” Milam said.
With proper zoning and permitting in place, Milam said he thinks the parcel is a unique offering on the riverfront.
“This thing is 100 percent ready for building permits. It’s going to be delivered with a building permit in hand,” Milam said “It’s never happened right on the James River. There’s no other site like this.”
An asking price was not disclosed. The land was most recently assessed by the city at $5.2 million.
Blundon and Purcell already have offloaded the original 213-unit River’s Edge tower to Denver-based Four Mile Capital for $47.5 million earlier this year. Last year the duo, along with Woodard, also bought a 2.2-acre parcel at 700 Cowardin Ave. No plans have been filed for that site.
Two blocks inland from the River’s Edge II site is another sizable offering Milam is handling: the Thurston Spring Service property at 701 Perry St. The property spans an entire block in Manchester, and Milam said they’ve received a handful of offers that’ll go under review in early 2022.
Perhaps you could it something other than “twin-tower”?
Does another multi-story apartment complex really need to be built? That view from Legends Brewery of the City of Richmond is so nice – and building another apartment complex there would block that view completely. It’d be nice to build something that would be single-story/two story and unique instead of another apartment complex.
I concur, this does seem like a great opportunity for a walkable neighborhood with townhome style units.
The rail yard is an issue for expensive townhouses and the flood wall blocks views from two to three story buildings.