A Highland Woods banner was placed over the Bellsun Apartments signage after Oliver Properties’ recent purchase of the complex. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
A multimillion-dollar effort to enhance and expand a Highland Springs apartment community is kicking into high gear.
Oliver Properties is about halfway through a $58 million project to upgrade its Highland Woods Apartments and nearby Highlands Townhouses and add to them with an infill development that will double the number of rental units there.
The complex at 509 E. Beal St. is across Oak Avenue from the old Highland Springs High School, which has been replaced with a new campus nearby.
The existing 156 units have undergone a $25 million renovation, and the project is now moving into next phases that include upgrading and rebranding the neighboring Bellsun Apartments, and new construction that collectively will bring Highland Woods’ unit count to 323.
Justin Oliver (BizSense file)
“We decided to double our multi-family investment in East Henrico based on strong market conditions and the investment by others in the immediate area,” company principal Justin Oliver said in an email, citing the new high school as an example.
Oliver Properties, which has owned the existing Highland Woods since 1988, acquired the Bellsun complex and undeveloped land beside it in separate transactions that closed in mid-June.
It paid $7 million for the 1970s-era apartment building, which will undergo a $2 million renovation, and $250,000 for the land, which principal Justin Oliver said was discounted due to the company’s controlling land frontage along Beal Street.
As the 62-unit Bellsun is renovated over the next three years, with six additional units to be added as part of the upgrades, Oliver plans to move forward with the new construction phases that would add 99 townhome-style units on the undeveloped land beside the existing complexes, extending the community along Beal Street toward Kalmia Avenue.
The site is across from the old Highland Springs High School and will be developed in phases. (Image courtesy Oliver Properties)
The new construction is budgeted to total nearly $23 million. Zoning for the project was approved last year, and development plans for the first wave of new construction is under review by Henrico County and could be completed in September, Oliver said.
He said the new townhouses “will be at the higher-end of the rental market and offer a rental product not widely available in the East End.” The new three-story units will range in size from about 1,100 to 1,400 square feet with rents starting at $1,800 a month. The units will include rear- or front-loading garages.
The existing two-bedroom townhouses are 900 square feet and rent for $1,300, Oliver said.
“We got the idea to build larger higher-end townhouses from our existing residents who wanted to upgrade, but not leave the area,” he said. “What makes this a unique rental product in this market are the 2.5 bathrooms, garages and amenities package.”
The overall project will also include two additional playgrounds, a community green, a nature area, an expanded pool area and a new leasing office, he said.
The new three-story townhomes will include rear- and front-loading garages.
Commonwealth Architects is designing the new units, and the development team includes engineering firm Gradient and landscape architect Cite Design. Atlantic Union Bank is providing financing, and Jennifer Mullen at Roth Jackson is providing legal representation. A general contractor for the new units has not been selected.
Renovations to the Bellsun units got underway last month and will include new kitchens, bathrooms and in-unit laundry, as well as new HardiePlank siding, lighting, signage and landscaping.
Oliver bought the Bellsun complex from Bellsun Apartments LLC, which had owned the nearly 5-acre property since 2003. The county had assessed the property at $6.43 million. The LLC also had owned the undeveloped wooded land, consisting of three parcels assessed at $480,000 combined.
The project adds to other infill developments that Oliver Properties has undertaken in the Richmond area. Its local output has included the Carytown Crossing apartments at the crossroads of Thompson Street and Patterson and Kensington avenues in Richmond’s Museum District.
Highland Woods adds to other investments being made in and around the Highland Springs area. Farther east, local developer Dorado Capital is finishing out the Carter’s Green and Meadow Springs Run subdivisions between Meadow Road and Interstate 64.
Also in the pipeline is a Royal Farms convenience store and gas station planned at 301 S. Airport Drive.
A Highland Woods banner was placed over the Bellsun Apartments signage after Oliver Properties’ recent purchase of the complex. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
A multimillion-dollar effort to enhance and expand a Highland Springs apartment community is kicking into high gear.
Oliver Properties is about halfway through a $58 million project to upgrade its Highland Woods Apartments and nearby Highlands Townhouses and add to them with an infill development that will double the number of rental units there.
The complex at 509 E. Beal St. is across Oak Avenue from the old Highland Springs High School, which has been replaced with a new campus nearby.
The existing 156 units have undergone a $25 million renovation, and the project is now moving into next phases that include upgrading and rebranding the neighboring Bellsun Apartments, and new construction that collectively will bring Highland Woods’ unit count to 323.
Justin Oliver (BizSense file)
“We decided to double our multi-family investment in East Henrico based on strong market conditions and the investment by others in the immediate area,” company principal Justin Oliver said in an email, citing the new high school as an example.
Oliver Properties, which has owned the existing Highland Woods since 1988, acquired the Bellsun complex and undeveloped land beside it in separate transactions that closed in mid-June.
It paid $7 million for the 1970s-era apartment building, which will undergo a $2 million renovation, and $250,000 for the land, which principal Justin Oliver said was discounted due to the company’s controlling land frontage along Beal Street.
As the 62-unit Bellsun is renovated over the next three years, with six additional units to be added as part of the upgrades, Oliver plans to move forward with the new construction phases that would add 99 townhome-style units on the undeveloped land beside the existing complexes, extending the community along Beal Street toward Kalmia Avenue.
The site is across from the old Highland Springs High School and will be developed in phases. (Image courtesy Oliver Properties)
The new construction is budgeted to total nearly $23 million. Zoning for the project was approved last year, and development plans for the first wave of new construction is under review by Henrico County and could be completed in September, Oliver said.
He said the new townhouses “will be at the higher-end of the rental market and offer a rental product not widely available in the East End.” The new three-story units will range in size from about 1,100 to 1,400 square feet with rents starting at $1,800 a month. The units will include rear- or front-loading garages.
The existing two-bedroom townhouses are 900 square feet and rent for $1,300, Oliver said.
“We got the idea to build larger higher-end townhouses from our existing residents who wanted to upgrade, but not leave the area,” he said. “What makes this a unique rental product in this market are the 2.5 bathrooms, garages and amenities package.”
The overall project will also include two additional playgrounds, a community green, a nature area, an expanded pool area and a new leasing office, he said.
The new three-story townhomes will include rear- and front-loading garages.
Commonwealth Architects is designing the new units, and the development team includes engineering firm Gradient and landscape architect Cite Design. Atlantic Union Bank is providing financing, and Jennifer Mullen at Roth Jackson is providing legal representation. A general contractor for the new units has not been selected.
Renovations to the Bellsun units got underway last month and will include new kitchens, bathrooms and in-unit laundry, as well as new HardiePlank siding, lighting, signage and landscaping.
Oliver bought the Bellsun complex from Bellsun Apartments LLC, which had owned the nearly 5-acre property since 2003. The county had assessed the property at $6.43 million. The LLC also had owned the undeveloped wooded land, consisting of three parcels assessed at $480,000 combined.
The project adds to other infill developments that Oliver Properties has undertaken in the Richmond area. Its local output has included the Carytown Crossing apartments at the crossroads of Thompson Street and Patterson and Kensington avenues in Richmond’s Museum District.
Highland Woods adds to other investments being made in and around the Highland Springs area. Farther east, local developer Dorado Capital is finishing out the Carter’s Green and Meadow Springs Run subdivisions between Meadow Road and Interstate 64.
Also in the pipeline is a Royal Farms convenience store and gas station planned at 301 S. Airport Drive.