The parcel Capital Square is eyeing spans over two acres in Scott’s Addition’s historic district. (Mike Platania photos)
One of the busier developers in Scott’s Addition is looking to take another bite out of the neighborhood.
Henrico-based Capital Square plans to redevelop two adjacent lots at 1600 Roseneath Road and 3406 Moore St.
Until recently 1600 Roseneath Road was home to Biscuits & Gravy, a restaurant that last year replaced longtime diner Dairy Bar. However, a sign posted on the restaurant’s door in recent days states that Biscuits & Gravy has closed permanently.
Meanwhile, 3406 Moore St. is occupied by shuffleboard bar Tang & Biscuit, which looks to still be in business.
Capital Square filed zoning confirmation letters with the city last week proposing to redevelop the two sites together into a five-story multifamily residential project. The two parcels total about 2.25 acres and most recently were assessed by the city at a combined $9.7 million.
Natalie Mason, Capital Square’s executive vice president of development, said in an email that the firm is looking into a “potential development opportunity of the two parcels.”
“While plans are too preliminary to share, we are pleased to be a part of the evolution of the Scott’s Addition neighborhood,” Mason wrote.
It’s unclear whether Capital Square is under contract to buy the two properties.
It’s also unclear whether Biscuits & Gravy’s closure had anything to do with a would-be redevelopment of the building. The restaurant was owned by Dave Gallagher and David Fratkin, who also own Tang & Biscuit and Dominion Payroll. Gallagher and Fratkin weren’t available for comment by press time.
Biscuits & Gravy, which replaced the Dairy Bar last year, has posted that it’s closed permanently.
Fratkin and Gallagher also own Tang & Biscuit’s building, which they bought in 2017 for $1.7 million. The former Biscuits & Gravy building is owned by an entity tied to local development firm Stanley Shield Partnership. It bought the property last year for $7 million. Stanley Shield’s Jimmy Stanley declined to comment.
In addition to the two restaurants, other tenants in the properties include Hack.RVA Makerspace, ObscurO Jewelry and Moving Mountains Tattoo Collective.
Hack.RVA board member John Vann said the group is leaving Roseneath after 11 years and relocating to 2026 Dabney Road in Henrico’s Westwood area.
Moving Mountains moved into 1,500 square feet in the Roseneath building in January and owner Jenna Stephens said she is looking for a spot to move to.
“Our hope is to stay in Scott’s Addition. I never expected to move there originally but we’ve fallen in love with the neighborhood,” Stephens said. “That being said, if we find a space more suitable for us in another neighborhood, we’ll go there.”
Hack.RVA is at least the second local business to leave Scott’s Addition for the Westwood area in recent months. Blue Bee Cider plans to move to Bethlehem Road near Libbie Mill.
A project on the sites would add to Capital Square’s project list in the neighborhood. It is wrapping up work on The Otis, a city-block-wide, mixed-use project across the street at 1601 Roseneath Road. It also recently began demolition work on the former N. Chasen & Son property along West Marshall Street, where it plans a three-building, 352-unit development.
Capital Square also has its sights on the downtown area, where it’s one of the four development teams vying for the City Center project.
The parcel Capital Square is eyeing spans over two acres in Scott’s Addition’s historic district. (Mike Platania photos)
One of the busier developers in Scott’s Addition is looking to take another bite out of the neighborhood.
Henrico-based Capital Square plans to redevelop two adjacent lots at 1600 Roseneath Road and 3406 Moore St.
Until recently 1600 Roseneath Road was home to Biscuits & Gravy, a restaurant that last year replaced longtime diner Dairy Bar. However, a sign posted on the restaurant’s door in recent days states that Biscuits & Gravy has closed permanently.
Meanwhile, 3406 Moore St. is occupied by shuffleboard bar Tang & Biscuit, which looks to still be in business.
Capital Square filed zoning confirmation letters with the city last week proposing to redevelop the two sites together into a five-story multifamily residential project. The two parcels total about 2.25 acres and most recently were assessed by the city at a combined $9.7 million.
Natalie Mason, Capital Square’s executive vice president of development, said in an email that the firm is looking into a “potential development opportunity of the two parcels.”
“While plans are too preliminary to share, we are pleased to be a part of the evolution of the Scott’s Addition neighborhood,” Mason wrote.
It’s unclear whether Capital Square is under contract to buy the two properties.
It’s also unclear whether Biscuits & Gravy’s closure had anything to do with a would-be redevelopment of the building. The restaurant was owned by Dave Gallagher and David Fratkin, who also own Tang & Biscuit and Dominion Payroll. Gallagher and Fratkin weren’t available for comment by press time.
Biscuits & Gravy, which replaced the Dairy Bar last year, has posted that it’s closed permanently.
Fratkin and Gallagher also own Tang & Biscuit’s building, which they bought in 2017 for $1.7 million. The former Biscuits & Gravy building is owned by an entity tied to local development firm Stanley Shield Partnership. It bought the property last year for $7 million. Stanley Shield’s Jimmy Stanley declined to comment.
In addition to the two restaurants, other tenants in the properties include Hack.RVA Makerspace, ObscurO Jewelry and Moving Mountains Tattoo Collective.
Hack.RVA board member John Vann said the group is leaving Roseneath after 11 years and relocating to 2026 Dabney Road in Henrico’s Westwood area.
Moving Mountains moved into 1,500 square feet in the Roseneath building in January and owner Jenna Stephens said she is looking for a spot to move to.
“Our hope is to stay in Scott’s Addition. I never expected to move there originally but we’ve fallen in love with the neighborhood,” Stephens said. “That being said, if we find a space more suitable for us in another neighborhood, we’ll go there.”
Hack.RVA is at least the second local business to leave Scott’s Addition for the Westwood area in recent months. Blue Bee Cider plans to move to Bethlehem Road near Libbie Mill.
A project on the sites would add to Capital Square’s project list in the neighborhood. It is wrapping up work on The Otis, a city-block-wide, mixed-use project across the street at 1601 Roseneath Road. It also recently began demolition work on the former N. Chasen & Son property along West Marshall Street, where it plans a three-building, 352-unit development.
Capital Square also has its sights on the downtown area, where it’s one of the four development teams vying for the City Center project.
A couple of questions: When was the main structure at 1600 Roseneath built and do they want to demolish it? The photo cutline mentions the Scott’s Addition historic district, which I wasn’t aware of. Does it afford protection for that structure?
It’s a National and State Historic District so it’s only really for tax credits. No requirements to save or reuse. i bet they are coming down. Sad that would made the area special is being replaced with plain, boring, and almost all residential spaces.
What about these buildings is worth saving? I agree I want more diversity in building design. However, The Otis shows new construction can be nice/unique if the developer wants it to be.
While there IS a bit of mid-century “charm” to some of these bldgs, I concur with Justin that there doesn’t seem to be a “loss” when things go from small and boring to bigger and boring — trust me, these buldings were considered boring when they were built. I think the most Art Deco-y ones should be saved — generally the ones with curves that break up the rectangles. I certainly agree that I would like to see more money spent on better design, which usually means more EXPENSIVE construction, but Richmond is really not in those leagues yet. Hopefully… Read more »
This is where Scott’s Addition could go wrong if we are unable to retain more of the older structures. There are still plenty of infill opportunities and parking lots in S.A. This has more of a chance to keep rents lower than razing and building new if executed properly.
“go wrong” Who is going to be doing the “executing”? Unless some billionarie or company buys up an entire neighborhood, like the St Joe Co on the Florida Panhandle, or a totalitarian regime takes over, things are MESSY and ORGANIC — just like the historic downtown areas of the USA and Europe were until a bunch of Louis XIV style urban renewal occurs. This is the way it works: People look at what is FOR SALE, then they see what can be bought — THEN, they decide to buy the best value property — the actors are not in the… Read more »
Tang and Biscuit is a cool operation. In my opinion it would be a loss for Scotts Addition.
That bldg looks a bit like my very utilitarian looking 1950s high school, and a bit like George Wythe High school
I love all these downvotes without expressed objections — clearly people just hate reality but can’t even express a plausible delusion to counter it. Maybe another degree in a Humanity would help with that,
We don’t need any more apartments in Scott’s addition. The love and desire of living here is so you can walk to all you’re favorite bars and restaurants… this is ruining what everyone loves here.. tang was one of the GREAT bars here and it would be an utter shame for it to be ruined.
Totally agree with Katherine. We moved to Scott’s Additoon because we loved the vibe and all the great restaurants and activities we could walk to. Now it’s just apartment buildings going up everywhere and parking is getting super difficult now. Apartment managers are charging premium $$ for tenants to park in the garage so tenants are not paying it and parking on the street. The city needs to ensure developers have mandatory parking included in their plan for tenants and limit the amount of apartment buildings being built in the area!
Ah, the urban NIMBY. The “I’ve got mine so stop any more development so I don’t have to share!” mentality. Perhaps this area is so popular because so many people like you moved there.
While I also do not like the average Urban NIMBY, I AM a bit sympathetic to those who bought-in to a neighborhood and then the character changes in a way they don’t like.
The issues, as you suggest, are bigger than the neighborhood, and not just the appeal of Scotts,
To be fair, I think the concern for current SA residents is that the business which make up the majority of the reason said residents moved into SA seem to be closing up. Hell, even this article is out of date just 24 hours after it was written because Tang & Biscuit announced their closure this morning. It doesn’t seem like current residents are against development, just development that doesn’t bring with it the kinds of activities they initially had access to. When you move to a neighborhood because you can walk to a bunch of great restaurants, bars, etc.… Read more »
That may be true, but I also see an opportunity for the first floor area of some of these buildings. There really is no reason Tang and Biscuit could not go into the ground floor of an apartment building.
I don’t disagree in the slightest.
Do you think that most residents that have moved to Scotts moved there mostly to just be close to “[customer facing businesses]”??? I ask because most of the greater fan and Churchhill areas are FULL of neighborhoods that scratch that itch. And, since I have been here since 2003, I can tell yo that Scotts was actually a desert of sorts for a long time, and in some ways has LESS options STILL and is rather hemmed in on ALL sides by barriers — it’s not quite an island, to the south at least, but its not like say the… Read more »
FYI, the city just eliminated mandated minimum parking spaces for new development.
PARKING!
I disagree with Katherine, but I don’t with you — yes, one of many ideals is the urban environment where one can walk to much, if not everything — and the idea that they should be building a bunch of apts willy-nilly without parking will likely hurt the neighborhood instead of actualize the fantasy that there will be legions of responsible, reasonable people without cars taking the monorail to work like we are in energy-poor Japan or something. People seem to want to re-create a place like Manhattan or some other dense urban environment that was built BEFORE the Age… Read more »
Marie – you are spot on. Jungle parking is a huge drag. Developers will not stop building, but they may offer free parking when the occupancy starts dwindling and/or the competition for tenants gets heated.
Tang and biscuit should have never changed the way the dairy bar was
I think the big question is at what point will Scott’s Addition no longer be Scott’s Addition? It developed in such an organic manner with breweries co-existing in that industrial space. Restaurants, bars, businesses infilled and the character became the envy of other cities…this cool vibe area anchored by breweries. When new construction with “meh” aesthetics overtakes the original buildings, it will just look like every overdeveloped area in any other city. Yeah…I get it. It’s the property owners prerogative but at some point, they will kill the golden goose. .
yeah! what she said!
Isn’t this part of the job description for the City’s Urban Planners?
Nope, City Planners help the Council who decides use not necessarily aesthetics. At least the code of Virginia says you can’t do aesthetics. There are some ways to get some of that in there, but there are definitely limits.
You’re giving the City Planners way more power than they actually have. They write the zoning ordinance, which is then adopted by Council, and they then enforce. But it is a really hard balancing act to write a code that is flexible enough to allow things to happen organically without their being things that others will complain about.
Thank you for this information. Not just informative in its own right, but also informs some realities that are clearly visible.
Maybe some of those “ways to get some of that in there” explains why so many new richmond bldgs seem to scream don’t look at me, that somehow the richmonders who can put their thumbs on scales are able to get buildings built that both are “sensitive to what is already there” and also BORING and even sometimes UGLY, but don’t detract from that old venacular brick thing with a porch on it.
Yes on both points, and I am GLAD that you are pointing out one of the things that I keep pointing out about Scotts — that it happened ORGANICALLY and IN SPITE of any third-rate mandarins at city hall or VCU — and, further, that organic thing happened just like it did in SoHo in midcentury or Chinatown in the 90s or DUMBO in the Aughties — IT WAS CHEAP and UN-NIMBYed!!! But, yes, these things are effemeral— that tends to be an urban fact of life — German cities try to freeze things that come up organically in amber,… Read more »