An earlier rendering of the planned building, which would rise on a roughly 2-acre plot in the Museum District. (City documents)
A dense development planned for the Museum District took one step closer toward becoming reality yesterday.
The Richmond Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend a special-use permit for a six-story apartment building at 3600 Grove Ave. Georgia-based Flournoy Development Group is the developer behind the project.
The new development would replace a vacant, three-story senior living facility that’s been out of operation since 2021.
Last month the Planning Commission delayed voting on Flournoy’s request amid concerns from the Museum District Association and other locals regarding the building’s height and traffic impacts.
A newer rendering of the planned building.
In the time since, Flournoy tweaked the design to increase the setbacks on the building’s higher floors, decreasing what is visible from the street. The changes had a ripple effect on the design of the rest of the building, particularly reducing the number of apartments from 260 to 253, and the number of parking spaces from 335 to 330.
A number of design changes have also been made since first being unveiled last fall, including changing much of the façade to include more red brick in an effort to fit in more with the neighborhood.
“We appreciate the Museum District’s time and their comments through the process, it’s improved the product all over,” said Jennifer Mullen of Roth Jackson, who’s representing Flournoy in the special-use request.
Flournoy also plans to widen the sidewalks facing Grove Avenue and Thompson Street, where the developer will also add around 20 new trees and a pair of traffic bump-outs.
The City Council is expected to make its final vote on the special-use permit at its May 8 meeting.
An earlier rendering of the planned building, which would rise on a roughly 2-acre plot in the Museum District. (City documents)
A dense development planned for the Museum District took one step closer toward becoming reality yesterday.
The Richmond Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend a special-use permit for a six-story apartment building at 3600 Grove Ave. Georgia-based Flournoy Development Group is the developer behind the project.
The new development would replace a vacant, three-story senior living facility that’s been out of operation since 2021.
Last month the Planning Commission delayed voting on Flournoy’s request amid concerns from the Museum District Association and other locals regarding the building’s height and traffic impacts.
A newer rendering of the planned building.
In the time since, Flournoy tweaked the design to increase the setbacks on the building’s higher floors, decreasing what is visible from the street. The changes had a ripple effect on the design of the rest of the building, particularly reducing the number of apartments from 260 to 253, and the number of parking spaces from 335 to 330.
A number of design changes have also been made since first being unveiled last fall, including changing much of the façade to include more red brick in an effort to fit in more with the neighborhood.
“We appreciate the Museum District’s time and their comments through the process, it’s improved the product all over,” said Jennifer Mullen of Roth Jackson, who’s representing Flournoy in the special-use request.
Flournoy also plans to widen the sidewalks facing Grove Avenue and Thompson Street, where the developer will also add around 20 new trees and a pair of traffic bump-outs.
The City Council is expected to make its final vote on the special-use permit at its May 8 meeting.
I’m one of very few among my Museum District neighbors that thinks this is a good addition to the neighborhood and is attractive. I assure you that Councilman Addison will find a lot of opposition come election time for his support of this massive building. I also think it’s a precursor to other redevelopment that will take place between Floyd and Grove along Thompson Street. I’ve been here 27 years and now I can see it coming. Is that hotel proposal for the next block north dead in the water or smoldering on the sidelines?
Development next door to the highway should be a welcome improvement by all. Not only will it revitalize the current “dead zone” between the Museum District and the Malvern area (could this development energize the City to repair those tennis courts a block north?), but it will provide a great buffer for the awful highway noise reverberating off 195. I get the parking issue, but the developer of this project is clearly prioritizing resident parking to the extent it is feasible. Museum District residents in opposition of this project and others like it need to look at the bigger picture.… Read more »
Gosh I bet the subtraction of those seven units made a HUGE difference! I’d rather live in the 9th circle of hell than be near this intersection at 5 p.m.
funny. I go through it all the time around then, and live not far away, and I don’t expect this will affect my life at all.
This is an utter shame. Going to be an absolute nightmare for traffic too.
How? It’s in the most walkable area of the city!
To everyone concerned about the traffic:
Being that it will be abutting I-195, I’m sure most of its residents will use the expressway system, not clog up the local surface streets. Some may not even drive at all (the bus). I think this is a great project at a great location. I say build up the I-195 corridor, it has great potential.
Everyone seems to forget that nearly half of their daily trips are walkable/bikeable since they’re in this neighborhood. The grocery stores are so close too. And yeah, being by the expressway helps with local traffic.
Do we have any confirmation of what infrastructure updates will accompany this project? Our councilman indicated he would be asking for our long standing list of updates for Thompson to be implemented during this construction. I think that’s a critical part of the story.
The article mentions concessions for: wider sidewalks along Grove and Thompson, a bump out to help with Ped. Safety at the intersection, using red brick to blend with the area better, and setting back the top floor so it doesn’t appear as tall. Were there more concessions?
Yes, our councilman had discussed a number of things. Speed tables or lighted pedestrian crossings, perhaps a pedestrian bridge going over the expressway entrance that would provide access to the park, sidewalks to be installed the entire length of Thompson to Monument, enhanced crossings for Albert Hill students to access their play fields and the community center. The area is not safe for pedestrians or bikers and while construction will be very disruptive it would be the opportune time to make our city park amenities easier and safer to access once this build is complete.
Traffic goes through there too fast. Ironically this building will help with that a bit by existing, but the road will still feel like a highway.
Sidewalks are key, speed tables are interesting
I agree those projects sound nice. Adding sidewalks, better lighting, and traffic calming devices (bump outs and better crosswalks) would go a long way without much funding needed. However the pedestrian bridge over the ramp sounds cost prohibitive given how few people would use it. Ultimately we need better pedestrian infrastructure all over the city and region.
I’ve always wanted a roundabout at Thompson/Patterson/Kensington, since it’s an awkward intersection. It would probably still need a stoplight for pedestrians though.
If they want to pedestrianize Carytown, this project needs to happen. Museum district desperately needs higher density to successfully increase its walkability.