The two buildings at 2925 and 2923 North Ave. formerly had been owned by athletic wear company Savage Apparel Co. (Mike Platania photos)
A downtown tattoo shop is heading to the Brookland Park Boulevard corridor after closing one of the highest priced deals in the Northside neighborhood in recent years.
Unkindness Art is preparing to relocate to 2923 North Ave. from its home of eight years at 220 W. Broad St. in the Arts District.
As part of its move, the tattoo parlor also is planning to open an art gallery and shop dubbed Nevermore next door at 2925 North Ave., at the avenue’s intersection with Brookland Park Boulevard.
Unkindness owner Teresa Sharpe purchased both 2923 and 2925 North Ave. in late August for $999,000.
The two buildings had been owned by Savage Apparel Co., a sportswear brand that became XII Brands following a 2020 merger. Savage had bought the buildings in a pair of deals in 2018 and 2019 for a total of $385,000.
The move allows Unkindness Art to more than double its current footprint. Sharpe said she and Unkindness’ eight full-time artists are in about 1,500 square feet of leased space on Broad Street, and on North Avenue they’ll be in 3,200 square feet.
Teresa Sharpe (Courtesy Unkindness Art)
Since opening the shop in 2015, Sharpe said she’s always wanted to own her own building for Unkindness, and the business has grown to a point where a move was needed.
“When we first started, we were a pretty small operation. We probably had about four artists when we opened,” Sharpe said. “But since then, we’ve grown and it’s gotten to the point where our space, even though it’s a wonderful location, it’s just a bit too small.”
In addition to illustrative- and Art Nouveau-style tattoos, many of Unkindness’ artists also offer art prints and other merchandise that are sold out of the shop.
“Our artists are artists outside of tattooing. A lot of them come from some kind of artistic background where they have experience with painting or watercolors or acrylics or something like that,” Sharpe said. “We’ve always offered artwork outside of tattooing, but now that has really taken off as well.”
Sharpe looked all over town for a new home for Unkindness, but she said she struggled to find something that was both the right size and right price.
She was about to punt on the search and take a few years to save up more money when the two buildings at North Avenue and Brookland Park Boulevard landed on her radar.
“I looked at the specs, and I was like, ‘Dang, these are perfect. They’re the perfect size, they give us the ability to grow, and have the parking that we need for our employees and some of our clients,” Sharpe said.
“It was just like, how can you turn that down, you know? I felt like I had to try for it … 90 days later we got to close on the building.”
The sale was recorded Aug. 30, with Primis Bank as Unkindness’ lender. The two properties were most recently assessed at a combined $470,000. At just shy of $1 million, the deal is the largest sale the Brookland Park Boulevard area’s seen in recent years.
Unkindness’ tattoo shop will take the one-story building at 2923 North Ave., and Sharpe said Nevermore will take the bottom floor of 2925 North Ave. In addition to merchandise from Unkindness’ artists, Sharpe said the plan is for Nevermore to be a venue for other local artists to sell their work. She’s planning for the shop to include a unique type of art gallery.
“Something I’d really like to push forward is a lowbrow art gallery. That’s one thing I feel like Richmond doesn’t have a ton of,” she said. “A lot of (lowbrow) comes from artists who work in illustrative work who’ve done stuff for comic books or magazines or album art … it’s artwork that’s more storytelling in nature and is usually not something that you would expect to see in a gallery.”
The plan for the upstairs of that building is to serve as housing for guest artists that Unkindness brings in from places such as Spain, New Zealand, and elsewhere in the United States.
Sharpe said the two buildings are in good shape and mostly need cosmetic work that’s already underway. She’s looking to have Unkindness moved in by the late fall.
“It’s going to be hard because we’ve spent almost eight years (on Broad Street) now and it definitely feels like home,” Sharpe said. “But we’re so stoked to finally have a space in our name.”
Unkindness’ project is one of a handful in the works along Brookland Park Boulevard.
The two-story building at 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd. is one of two that Cory Weiner is building.
A pair of two-story, mixed-use buildings that will add a dozen apartments and around 7,000 square feet of commercial space are taking shape at 310 and 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd.
Local developer Cory Weiner is behind those two projects. He said both commercial spaces are already spoken for, with ice cream shop Ruby Scoops set to open at 310 W. Brookland Park Blvd. and arts and crafts nonprofit SCRAP RVA taking the commercial space at 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd.
Both buildings are scheduled to be completed in the late winter or early spring of 2024.
Weiner has been investing along Brookland Park for years and added to his holdings in 2022. He bought 2914-2916 North Ave. for $380,000, the Virginia ABC store building at 2924 North Ave. for $495,000, and a historic bank building at 2930 North Ave. for $650,000.
Restaurant Manchu has leased 2914 North Ave., and Weiner said he recently wrapped up a renovation of 2916 North Ave. where bicycle repair nonprofit Rag & Bones signed is taking the ground-floor commercial space. An ABC store is the tenant at 2924 North Ave., thanks to a lease that transferred in the sale.
Weiner said he’s planning to renovate the 6,200-square-foot bank building at 2930 North Ave. He said that the building’s first floor is up for lease and that he’s still finalizing plans for the second floor.
The two buildings at 2925 and 2923 North Ave. formerly had been owned by athletic wear company Savage Apparel Co. (Mike Platania photos)
A downtown tattoo shop is heading to the Brookland Park Boulevard corridor after closing one of the highest priced deals in the Northside neighborhood in recent years.
Unkindness Art is preparing to relocate to 2923 North Ave. from its home of eight years at 220 W. Broad St. in the Arts District.
As part of its move, the tattoo parlor also is planning to open an art gallery and shop dubbed Nevermore next door at 2925 North Ave., at the avenue’s intersection with Brookland Park Boulevard.
Unkindness owner Teresa Sharpe purchased both 2923 and 2925 North Ave. in late August for $999,000.
The two buildings had been owned by Savage Apparel Co., a sportswear brand that became XII Brands following a 2020 merger. Savage had bought the buildings in a pair of deals in 2018 and 2019 for a total of $385,000.
The move allows Unkindness Art to more than double its current footprint. Sharpe said she and Unkindness’ eight full-time artists are in about 1,500 square feet of leased space on Broad Street, and on North Avenue they’ll be in 3,200 square feet.
Teresa Sharpe (Courtesy Unkindness Art)
Since opening the shop in 2015, Sharpe said she’s always wanted to own her own building for Unkindness, and the business has grown to a point where a move was needed.
“When we first started, we were a pretty small operation. We probably had about four artists when we opened,” Sharpe said. “But since then, we’ve grown and it’s gotten to the point where our space, even though it’s a wonderful location, it’s just a bit too small.”
In addition to illustrative- and Art Nouveau-style tattoos, many of Unkindness’ artists also offer art prints and other merchandise that are sold out of the shop.
“Our artists are artists outside of tattooing. A lot of them come from some kind of artistic background where they have experience with painting or watercolors or acrylics or something like that,” Sharpe said. “We’ve always offered artwork outside of tattooing, but now that has really taken off as well.”
Sharpe looked all over town for a new home for Unkindness, but she said she struggled to find something that was both the right size and right price.
She was about to punt on the search and take a few years to save up more money when the two buildings at North Avenue and Brookland Park Boulevard landed on her radar.
“I looked at the specs, and I was like, ‘Dang, these are perfect. They’re the perfect size, they give us the ability to grow, and have the parking that we need for our employees and some of our clients,” Sharpe said.
“It was just like, how can you turn that down, you know? I felt like I had to try for it … 90 days later we got to close on the building.”
The sale was recorded Aug. 30, with Primis Bank as Unkindness’ lender. The two properties were most recently assessed at a combined $470,000. At just shy of $1 million, the deal is the largest sale the Brookland Park Boulevard area’s seen in recent years.
Unkindness’ tattoo shop will take the one-story building at 2923 North Ave., and Sharpe said Nevermore will take the bottom floor of 2925 North Ave. In addition to merchandise from Unkindness’ artists, Sharpe said the plan is for Nevermore to be a venue for other local artists to sell their work. She’s planning for the shop to include a unique type of art gallery.
“Something I’d really like to push forward is a lowbrow art gallery. That’s one thing I feel like Richmond doesn’t have a ton of,” she said. “A lot of (lowbrow) comes from artists who work in illustrative work who’ve done stuff for comic books or magazines or album art … it’s artwork that’s more storytelling in nature and is usually not something that you would expect to see in a gallery.”
The plan for the upstairs of that building is to serve as housing for guest artists that Unkindness brings in from places such as Spain, New Zealand, and elsewhere in the United States.
Sharpe said the two buildings are in good shape and mostly need cosmetic work that’s already underway. She’s looking to have Unkindness moved in by the late fall.
“It’s going to be hard because we’ve spent almost eight years (on Broad Street) now and it definitely feels like home,” Sharpe said. “But we’re so stoked to finally have a space in our name.”
Unkindness’ project is one of a handful in the works along Brookland Park Boulevard.
The two-story building at 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd. is one of two that Cory Weiner is building.
A pair of two-story, mixed-use buildings that will add a dozen apartments and around 7,000 square feet of commercial space are taking shape at 310 and 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd.
Local developer Cory Weiner is behind those two projects. He said both commercial spaces are already spoken for, with ice cream shop Ruby Scoops set to open at 310 W. Brookland Park Blvd. and arts and crafts nonprofit SCRAP RVA taking the commercial space at 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd.
Both buildings are scheduled to be completed in the late winter or early spring of 2024.
Weiner has been investing along Brookland Park for years and added to his holdings in 2022. He bought 2914-2916 North Ave. for $380,000, the Virginia ABC store building at 2924 North Ave. for $495,000, and a historic bank building at 2930 North Ave. for $650,000.
Restaurant Manchu has leased 2914 North Ave., and Weiner said he recently wrapped up a renovation of 2916 North Ave. where bicycle repair nonprofit Rag & Bones signed is taking the ground-floor commercial space. An ABC store is the tenant at 2924 North Ave., thanks to a lease that transferred in the sale.
Weiner said he’s planning to renovate the 6,200-square-foot bank building at 2930 North Ave. He said that the building’s first floor is up for lease and that he’s still finalizing plans for the second floor.
What is the markup these days on bagels and tattoos? Recently there was a bagel place in the Fan that paid $975K for their building. Now a tattoo parlor is paying a million. Truly unbelievable.