The parcel has housed BookHolders for about 13 years. (Mike Platania photo)
As its health system juggles the fallout from a failed downtown development deal, VCU’s real estate division remains in deal-making mode with a new acquisition around its Monroe Park campus.
The VCU Real Estate Foundation last week purchased 720 W. Grace St. for $3.5 million.
The 0.3-acre lot includes a 6,600-square-foot building that’s been occupied by BookHolders bookstore since 2010, and a roughly 26-spot surface lot facing North Laurel Street.
A university spokesman confirmed the May 17 deal and said that while there are no immediate plans, VCU plans to eventually build an honors and undergraduate dorm on the lot. Adjacent to the parcel to the east is 708 W. Grace St., where VCU recently demolished the former Sally Bell’s Kitchen building to make way for another dormitory project in the future.
The city most recently assessed the BookHolders property at $1.2 million. The seller in the deal was a trust tied to the York family, who, per city records, had owned the property since the 1970s.
VCU now controls three-quarters of the intersection of North Laurel and West Grace streets. It already owned the parking deck and retail building at 805 W. Grace St. and the Honor College dormitory at 701 W. Grace St. The lone corner parcel VCU doesn’t own is the Chipotle-, Panera- and Cava-occupied retail building at 808 W. Grace St., which city records show is owned by an entity tied to local businessman Wasfi Chater.
The deal is the second VCU’s Real Estate Foundation has made this year. In March it bought a house at 310 Shafer St. for $500,000. Its plans for that parcel are unclear.
Other divisions of VCU have had a similarly busy year. It was recently revealed that VCU Health is on the hook for at least $80 million as the result of its failed deal with the city and Capital City Partners to redevelop the Public Safety Building downtown.
VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin also announced at a recent VCU Board of Visitors meeting that his department is preparing to begin construction of its Athletics Village in November. The complex will span 41 acres off Arthur Ashe Boulevard across from the Diamond District.
The parcel has housed BookHolders for about 13 years. (Mike Platania photo)
As its health system juggles the fallout from a failed downtown development deal, VCU’s real estate division remains in deal-making mode with a new acquisition around its Monroe Park campus.
The VCU Real Estate Foundation last week purchased 720 W. Grace St. for $3.5 million.
The 0.3-acre lot includes a 6,600-square-foot building that’s been occupied by BookHolders bookstore since 2010, and a roughly 26-spot surface lot facing North Laurel Street.
A university spokesman confirmed the May 17 deal and said that while there are no immediate plans, VCU plans to eventually build an honors and undergraduate dorm on the lot. Adjacent to the parcel to the east is 708 W. Grace St., where VCU recently demolished the former Sally Bell’s Kitchen building to make way for another dormitory project in the future.
The city most recently assessed the BookHolders property at $1.2 million. The seller in the deal was a trust tied to the York family, who, per city records, had owned the property since the 1970s.
VCU now controls three-quarters of the intersection of North Laurel and West Grace streets. It already owned the parking deck and retail building at 805 W. Grace St. and the Honor College dormitory at 701 W. Grace St. The lone corner parcel VCU doesn’t own is the Chipotle-, Panera- and Cava-occupied retail building at 808 W. Grace St., which city records show is owned by an entity tied to local businessman Wasfi Chater.
The deal is the second VCU’s Real Estate Foundation has made this year. In March it bought a house at 310 Shafer St. for $500,000. Its plans for that parcel are unclear.
Other divisions of VCU have had a similarly busy year. It was recently revealed that VCU Health is on the hook for at least $80 million as the result of its failed deal with the city and Capital City Partners to redevelop the Public Safety Building downtown.
VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin also announced at a recent VCU Board of Visitors meeting that his department is preparing to begin construction of its Athletics Village in November. The complex will span 41 acres off Arthur Ashe Boulevard across from the Diamond District.
How many dorm rooms does VCU actually need? Statistics show a decline in the college age population for the foreseeable future, and VCU has already experienced a decline in enrollment. I understand the need to control real estate inventory in the heart of the campus, but dorm rooms, really!
Some rough numbers – VCU has about 28,000 students. About 21,000 of those are undergraduates. Student housing provides about 5,000 beds right now. Where do those other 16,000 undergraduate students go? Into adjacent neighborhoods or high density apartments nearby. In a city that can’t stay ahead of the demand for housing. That seems like a reasonable argument for providing more student housing on campus. Oh, and then it turns out that students who live on campus graduate in less time and with higher GPAs then those who live off campus, incur less debt, are more likely not to transfer, etc…
More dorms sound like a good alternative to the slumlord options students currently have to select from.