Once a medical uniform supply store, 402 E. Grace St. has sat vacant in recent years. (Mike Platania photos)
After more than a decade of steadily acquiring properties in Richmond, Washington, D.C.-based Douglas Development recently found itself on the selling side of the negotiating table for one of its downtown buildings.
The firm last month sold the two-story building at 402 E. Grace St. for $435,000.
Located next to the to-be-renovated Grace Place Apartments, the 3,400-square-foot building was once home to a medical supply store but has sat vacant for years.
Cindy King, Douglas’ Richmond asset manager, said the developer decided to offload the property because it was a bit of an outlier in its local portfolio and wasn’t in line with its usual square footage.
The buyer was an entity tied to Mark Bare, who said in an email that he’s planning a mixed-use renovation of the building, with three apartments above one commercial space downstairs.
“We’re restoring the historic elements and helping to improve that portion of Grace, particularly given how long the building has been vacant,” Bare said. He wasn’t available for further comment.
The building is on a stretch of Grace Street that’s a bit of a restaurant row with such eateries as Lillie Pearl, Wong Gonzalez, Julep’s and Rappahannock just a few doors away.
Bare’s deal closed Sept. 28. Douglas Tice III and Nathan Shor of S.L. Nusbaum represented Douglas Development in the deal. The city most recently assessed the property at $336,000.
Douglas bought the building in 2008 for $250,000.
The sale marked a rare instance of Douglas selling a Richmond property. About a decade ago it offloaded the 11-story former Signet Bank of Richmond building at 7 N. 8th St. and the Interbake cookie factory off Arthur Ashe Boulevard, but for the most part Douglas has mainly been a buyer in the city. It has gathered more than a dozen buildings downtown since the mid-2000s.
Last year Douglas bought both the Massad House Hotel and Tiffanie’s Manor buildings in Monroe Ward for nearly $8 million combined. King said the firm is still planning on converting the three-story Tiffanie’s Manor building into around 40 apartments, and that Douglas is still working through ideas on what to do with the Massad House.
Harper’s Flats, a two-building project from Douglas at East Broad and North Second Streets, is nearing completion.
King said Douglas has been busy wrapping up work and leasing apartments on a trio of other buildings downtown.
It recently completed the 200-unit Residences at Richmond Trust, the redevelopment of the 12-story building that had once been offices for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. King said it’s also working on leases for Harper’s Flats, a two-building renovation project at 200 and 201 E. Broad St.
That project, named for the former Liniado Harper’s Department Store that once operated at 201 E. Broad St., totals about 19 apartments and nearly 11,000 square feet of commercial space, the latter of which King said the company is working on getting leased out. Divaris Real Estate’s Loretta Cataldi and Chris Messersmith have the listing on Harper’s Flats commercial space.
Once a medical uniform supply store, 402 E. Grace St. has sat vacant in recent years. (Mike Platania photos)
After more than a decade of steadily acquiring properties in Richmond, Washington, D.C.-based Douglas Development recently found itself on the selling side of the negotiating table for one of its downtown buildings.
The firm last month sold the two-story building at 402 E. Grace St. for $435,000.
Located next to the to-be-renovated Grace Place Apartments, the 3,400-square-foot building was once home to a medical supply store but has sat vacant for years.
Cindy King, Douglas’ Richmond asset manager, said the developer decided to offload the property because it was a bit of an outlier in its local portfolio and wasn’t in line with its usual square footage.
The buyer was an entity tied to Mark Bare, who said in an email that he’s planning a mixed-use renovation of the building, with three apartments above one commercial space downstairs.
“We’re restoring the historic elements and helping to improve that portion of Grace, particularly given how long the building has been vacant,” Bare said. He wasn’t available for further comment.
The building is on a stretch of Grace Street that’s a bit of a restaurant row with such eateries as Lillie Pearl, Wong Gonzalez, Julep’s and Rappahannock just a few doors away.
Bare’s deal closed Sept. 28. Douglas Tice III and Nathan Shor of S.L. Nusbaum represented Douglas Development in the deal. The city most recently assessed the property at $336,000.
Douglas bought the building in 2008 for $250,000.
The sale marked a rare instance of Douglas selling a Richmond property. About a decade ago it offloaded the 11-story former Signet Bank of Richmond building at 7 N. 8th St. and the Interbake cookie factory off Arthur Ashe Boulevard, but for the most part Douglas has mainly been a buyer in the city. It has gathered more than a dozen buildings downtown since the mid-2000s.
Last year Douglas bought both the Massad House Hotel and Tiffanie’s Manor buildings in Monroe Ward for nearly $8 million combined. King said the firm is still planning on converting the three-story Tiffanie’s Manor building into around 40 apartments, and that Douglas is still working through ideas on what to do with the Massad House.
Harper’s Flats, a two-building project from Douglas at East Broad and North Second Streets, is nearing completion.
King said Douglas has been busy wrapping up work and leasing apartments on a trio of other buildings downtown.
It recently completed the 200-unit Residences at Richmond Trust, the redevelopment of the 12-story building that had once been offices for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. King said it’s also working on leases for Harper’s Flats, a two-building renovation project at 200 and 201 E. Broad St.
That project, named for the former Liniado Harper’s Department Store that once operated at 201 E. Broad St., totals about 19 apartments and nearly 11,000 square feet of commercial space, the latter of which King said the company is working on getting leased out. Divaris Real Estate’s Loretta Cataldi and Chris Messersmith have the listing on Harper’s Flats commercial space.
I’m glad Douglas Development is unloading this vacant property to someone who won’t sit on it. The city needs to start treating vacant and blighted property owners differently and Douglas Development would be a great place to start. Yes, they’ve renovated a good number of buildings, but they sit on properties way too long (similar to people who sit on surface parking lots around the city).
You beat me to it. Douglas Development owns a lot of properties that’s been basically sitting stagnant for too long now. I don’t know if they bit off more than they can chew, but something has to give. I agree that the city needs to apply pressure and force them to do something.
Why didn’t you buy these so called vacant and blighted properties and restore them . I think at one time they were for sale?
Michael, I’m not a real estate developer and yet somehow I managed to renovate my 100 year old home. I expect the same of other property owners. It’s not like Douglas Development does a little renovation work at a time—they actually keep buildings unused and they neglect them until they renovate, so their buildings end up being a dead zone, which hurts downtown. Douglas Development did the same thing in DC where they sat on large swaths of property for ages before rehabbing the buildings.
If a property is going to be renovated the property is not blighted,it may be vacant.The property/building has still got a value to it.
Michael, Douglas Development has owned properties downtown for 10+ years with no renovation activity and no tenants before starting renovations. I’m not sure why you’re carrying water for a developer who has been negligent in their care of dozens of downtown properties—they allow old buildings with missing upper floor windows to sit there and decay. When they first bought here I was excited because I knew what they did for DC. However as time has passed I’ve realized the bad outweighs the good. I try to be positive here and I can’t say much positive about this developer’s history.
I know nothing about Douglas,but that’s a beautiful old historic commercial bldg right there on 2nd/Broad St. that’s been renovated.
I guess the city could start the process by condemning the properties but what scares me is the thinking that the City of Richmond , which is a government start (in your words)treat different,apply pressure, force owners to renovate or make improvements.Why start with Douglas?Are the properties unsafe to the public? Sounds to me you have a beef with Douglas Development.