The next phase of the Sauer Center was one the biggest development announcements in the city this year. (BizSense file photos)
As 2023 draws to a close, in its rearview mirror are multiple announcements for massive, consequential developments in the Richmond region.
The biggest announcement in the city was arguably Sauer Properties’ unveiling of the planned second phase of the Sauer Center. The new development would color in 37 acres in the heart of the city with over 2 million square feet of new construction, parks, plazas and more.
Just over the Richmond-Henrico County line, a trio of huge projects within close proximity of one another also came to light during the year. The owners of Willow Lawn revealed long-term plans to redevelop the shopping center into a mixed-use destination with more than 2,000 residential units along with new retail and office space.
Just east of that at West Broad Street and Staples Mill Road, Kinsale Capital Group and Marchetti Development are planning to bring hundreds of apartments plus a hotel and offices to the Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) campus.
Next door to that is the 19-acre Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods site that was also approved for redevelopment this year. The Ukrops are working with Pivot Development to bring 1,000 residential units plus retail, hotel, office and restaurant space to the area in a project they’re calling Westmoreland Crossing.
Perhaps the highest-profile project to begin construction in 2023 was the Richmond Amphitheater, a 7,5000-seat downtown venue that’ll overlook the James River from Tredegar. Behind the project is Red Light Ventures, a Charlottesville firm led by Dave Mathews Band manager Coran Capshaw.
Manchester
A rendering of Avery Hall’s planned project.
Few neighborhoods have seen as much new construction as Manchester in recent years, and its pipeline remained strong in 2023.
Over the summer the city approved a two-building high-rise project from New York developers Avery Hall Investments. The 16- and 17-story buildings would count 550 apartments and rise on a vacant riverfront plot in front of Legend Brewing Co., which itself began positioning its land for possible future redevelopment.
The Hull Street corridor continued to fill out with active construction on multiple apartment buildings and new plans for more apartments, like a second phase of The Box from WVS Cos. and Fountainhead Real Estate Development, and a five-story mid-rise that’d replace three derelict buildings at Hull and East 14th streets. A 116-unit, income-based apartment development at Hull Street and Commerce Road also moved forward with a recent $2.4 million land deal.
Scott’s Addition
Work got underway on an 8-story development on the east side of Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
As it has continuously since the mid-2010s, Scott’s Addition continued to draw plenty of developer interest in 2023.
This year work began on a pair of developments that’ll bring a combined 647 apartments to the former warehouse district and along neighboring Arthur Ashe Boulevard:
A team of D.C. developers razed the old Buz and Ned’s and Car Pool Car Wash buildings on Arthur Ashe Boulevard and began construction of The Ace, which will reach eight stories and include 295 apartments plus 13,000 square feet of commercial space.
Local firm Capital Square demolished a former paint warehouse on West Marshall Street to make way for three connected 7-story buildings with 352 units. Capital Square is also in the early stages of a redevelopment plan for the former Dairy Bar/Tang & Biscuit building off Roseneath Road.
The region’s largest hotelier, Shamin Hotels, also made a move on Arthur Ashe Boulevard by spending nearly $5 million on the vacant Hardee’s restaurant and its 1.3 acres near the intersection of West Broad Street.
Finishing as a runner-up in the city’s Diamond District sweepstakes didn’t seem to cause Hoffman & Associates to sour on Richmond. The D.C. developer is now under contract to buy an entire city block in Scott’s Addition on which it’s planning to build a mixed-use, six-story building with 367 apartments.
And more is on the way to the area outside of Scott’s Addition’s historic district.
The longtime Greyhound bus station across from The Diamond is being eyed for 650 apartments by a New York firm. And while the Brewers Row development surrounding Hardywood Park Craft Brewery on Ownby Lane effectively reached the finish line in 2023, another 248 apartments are now being planned to replace a warehouse down the street.
VCU/The Fan/Museum District
A rendering of a planned apartment development that’s set to rise in the Museum District.
VCU’s real estate division kept busy in 2023.
Throughout the spring and summer, the university’s Real Estate Foundation closed a trio of deals around the Monroe Park campus for a total of $8.4 million.
It bought a two-story house off Shafer Street for $500,000, the BookHolders building at West Grace and North Laurel streets for $3.5 million, and Ipanema Cafe’s building a few blocks down on Grace Street for $4.4 million. This year the university also announced an upcoming $70 million renovation of Johnson Hall, which has been closed since 2021 when high levels of mold were found in the 12-story dormitory.
A bit further west, the otherwise quiet residential neighborhoods of The Fan and Museum District also saw its share of development action.
A shuttered senior living facility in the Museum District was sold for $10 million to a Georgia developer that’s planning a sizable six-story project. The former Saint Gertrude’s campus in the center of the neighborhood was also sold to a Richmond developer that’s now converting it into dozens of apartments.
Busy local firm Spy Rock Real Estate bought a nearly 4-acre plot just north of the Fan near the Sauer Center where it’s already going vertical with a 300-unit apartment building, while on the southern end of the Fan, Dominion Energy sold five acres of land near the Downtown Expressway to a mix of developers who are planning both apartments and townhomes on the sites.
Downtown
Wytestone Plaza is a downtown office tower that’s being planned for an apartment conversion.
While the future of the area around the Richmond Coliseum remains up in the air, other parts of downtown saw some movement in 2023.
A new team was lined up to convert 17-story office tower Wytestone Plaza into around 300 apartments, and plans were filed for a 9-story apartment building that would replace a crumbling parking deck on East Franklin Street.
Non-multifamily developments also came to light downtown this year. The Haxall Canal hydro plant is being eyed for a “racquet sports venue,” and VPM announced plans to relocate its headquarters from Chesterfield County to Monroe Ward, where it’s planning to build a new 5-story building.
Fits and starts
A second phase of Scott’s Edge on Belleville Street was one of a handful of developments to fall through in 2023.
2023 certainly wasn’t all smooth sailing for the development industry.
High interest rates and construction costs have proven to be a formidable headwind for developers in the region, as plans for at least 1,300 apartments across the city were put on hold during the year.
SNP Properties, the same local firm that’s leading the aforementioned Saint Gertrude’s redevelopment, punted on a 12-story, 255-unit building it was planning in Jackson Ward.
A prime site in Manchester also hit the market after initially being planned for a 16-story development, and Bonaventure, a Northern Virginia developer, opted to list for sale nearly two acres it owns in Scott’s Addition on which it was planning a 203-unit building.
Genesis Properties had been planning to renovate a 20-story Dominion Energy office building and build another high-rise on a nearby parking deck in a project that would’ve brought around 600 apartments to downtown, however that project also fell through this year.
After initially re-listing those parcels, along with another entire city block it owns at 701 E. Cary St., Dominion has since taken all of its downtown real estate off the market.
Lastly, the multi-billion-dollar Diamond District project that’s been in the works for years on Arthur Ashe Boulevard, is moving along, albeit slowly, behind the scenes.
The development, which would include a new ballpark for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, among myriad other uses, was initially slated to break ground this past spring in order to make a 2025 opening day deadline set by Major League Baseball, but work has yet to begin.
Some progress has been made, but the city, developer RVA Diamond Partners and the Squirrels are now looking at a 2026 opening for the stadium, and it’s unclear when work on the project will get underway.
The next phase of the Sauer Center was one the biggest development announcements in the city this year. (BizSense file photos)
As 2023 draws to a close, in its rearview mirror are multiple announcements for massive, consequential developments in the Richmond region.
The biggest announcement in the city was arguably Sauer Properties’ unveiling of the planned second phase of the Sauer Center. The new development would color in 37 acres in the heart of the city with over 2 million square feet of new construction, parks, plazas and more.
Just over the Richmond-Henrico County line, a trio of huge projects within close proximity of one another also came to light during the year. The owners of Willow Lawn revealed long-term plans to redevelop the shopping center into a mixed-use destination with more than 2,000 residential units along with new retail and office space.
Just east of that at West Broad Street and Staples Mill Road, Kinsale Capital Group and Marchetti Development are planning to bring hundreds of apartments plus a hotel and offices to the Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) campus.
Next door to that is the 19-acre Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods site that was also approved for redevelopment this year. The Ukrops are working with Pivot Development to bring 1,000 residential units plus retail, hotel, office and restaurant space to the area in a project they’re calling Westmoreland Crossing.
Perhaps the highest-profile project to begin construction in 2023 was the Richmond Amphitheater, a 7,5000-seat downtown venue that’ll overlook the James River from Tredegar. Behind the project is Red Light Ventures, a Charlottesville firm led by Dave Mathews Band manager Coran Capshaw.
Manchester
A rendering of Avery Hall’s planned project.
Few neighborhoods have seen as much new construction as Manchester in recent years, and its pipeline remained strong in 2023.
Over the summer the city approved a two-building high-rise project from New York developers Avery Hall Investments. The 16- and 17-story buildings would count 550 apartments and rise on a vacant riverfront plot in front of Legend Brewing Co., which itself began positioning its land for possible future redevelopment.
The Hull Street corridor continued to fill out with active construction on multiple apartment buildings and new plans for more apartments, like a second phase of The Box from WVS Cos. and Fountainhead Real Estate Development, and a five-story mid-rise that’d replace three derelict buildings at Hull and East 14th streets. A 116-unit, income-based apartment development at Hull Street and Commerce Road also moved forward with a recent $2.4 million land deal.
Scott’s Addition
Work got underway on an 8-story development on the east side of Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
As it has continuously since the mid-2010s, Scott’s Addition continued to draw plenty of developer interest in 2023.
This year work began on a pair of developments that’ll bring a combined 647 apartments to the former warehouse district and along neighboring Arthur Ashe Boulevard:
A team of D.C. developers razed the old Buz and Ned’s and Car Pool Car Wash buildings on Arthur Ashe Boulevard and began construction of The Ace, which will reach eight stories and include 295 apartments plus 13,000 square feet of commercial space.
Local firm Capital Square demolished a former paint warehouse on West Marshall Street to make way for three connected 7-story buildings with 352 units. Capital Square is also in the early stages of a redevelopment plan for the former Dairy Bar/Tang & Biscuit building off Roseneath Road.
The region’s largest hotelier, Shamin Hotels, also made a move on Arthur Ashe Boulevard by spending nearly $5 million on the vacant Hardee’s restaurant and its 1.3 acres near the intersection of West Broad Street.
Finishing as a runner-up in the city’s Diamond District sweepstakes didn’t seem to cause Hoffman & Associates to sour on Richmond. The D.C. developer is now under contract to buy an entire city block in Scott’s Addition on which it’s planning to build a mixed-use, six-story building with 367 apartments.
And more is on the way to the area outside of Scott’s Addition’s historic district.
The longtime Greyhound bus station across from The Diamond is being eyed for 650 apartments by a New York firm. And while the Brewers Row development surrounding Hardywood Park Craft Brewery on Ownby Lane effectively reached the finish line in 2023, another 248 apartments are now being planned to replace a warehouse down the street.
VCU/The Fan/Museum District
A rendering of a planned apartment development that’s set to rise in the Museum District.
VCU’s real estate division kept busy in 2023.
Throughout the spring and summer, the university’s Real Estate Foundation closed a trio of deals around the Monroe Park campus for a total of $8.4 million.
It bought a two-story house off Shafer Street for $500,000, the BookHolders building at West Grace and North Laurel streets for $3.5 million, and Ipanema Cafe’s building a few blocks down on Grace Street for $4.4 million. This year the university also announced an upcoming $70 million renovation of Johnson Hall, which has been closed since 2021 when high levels of mold were found in the 12-story dormitory.
A bit further west, the otherwise quiet residential neighborhoods of The Fan and Museum District also saw its share of development action.
A shuttered senior living facility in the Museum District was sold for $10 million to a Georgia developer that’s planning a sizable six-story project. The former Saint Gertrude’s campus in the center of the neighborhood was also sold to a Richmond developer that’s now converting it into dozens of apartments.
Busy local firm Spy Rock Real Estate bought a nearly 4-acre plot just north of the Fan near the Sauer Center where it’s already going vertical with a 300-unit apartment building, while on the southern end of the Fan, Dominion Energy sold five acres of land near the Downtown Expressway to a mix of developers who are planning both apartments and townhomes on the sites.
Downtown
Wytestone Plaza is a downtown office tower that’s being planned for an apartment conversion.
While the future of the area around the Richmond Coliseum remains up in the air, other parts of downtown saw some movement in 2023.
A new team was lined up to convert 17-story office tower Wytestone Plaza into around 300 apartments, and plans were filed for a 9-story apartment building that would replace a crumbling parking deck on East Franklin Street.
Non-multifamily developments also came to light downtown this year. The Haxall Canal hydro plant is being eyed for a “racquet sports venue,” and VPM announced plans to relocate its headquarters from Chesterfield County to Monroe Ward, where it’s planning to build a new 5-story building.
Fits and starts
A second phase of Scott’s Edge on Belleville Street was one of a handful of developments to fall through in 2023.
2023 certainly wasn’t all smooth sailing for the development industry.
High interest rates and construction costs have proven to be a formidable headwind for developers in the region, as plans for at least 1,300 apartments across the city were put on hold during the year.
SNP Properties, the same local firm that’s leading the aforementioned Saint Gertrude’s redevelopment, punted on a 12-story, 255-unit building it was planning in Jackson Ward.
A prime site in Manchester also hit the market after initially being planned for a 16-story development, and Bonaventure, a Northern Virginia developer, opted to list for sale nearly two acres it owns in Scott’s Addition on which it was planning a 203-unit building.
Genesis Properties had been planning to renovate a 20-story Dominion Energy office building and build another high-rise on a nearby parking deck in a project that would’ve brought around 600 apartments to downtown, however that project also fell through this year.
After initially re-listing those parcels, along with another entire city block it owns at 701 E. Cary St., Dominion has since taken all of its downtown real estate off the market.
Lastly, the multi-billion-dollar Diamond District project that’s been in the works for years on Arthur Ashe Boulevard, is moving along, albeit slowly, behind the scenes.
The development, which would include a new ballpark for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, among myriad other uses, was initially slated to break ground this past spring in order to make a 2025 opening day deadline set by Major League Baseball, but work has yet to begin.
Some progress has been made, but the city, developer RVA Diamond Partners and the Squirrels are now looking at a 2026 opening for the stadium, and it’s unclear when work on the project will get underway.
Albeit slowly is more like none existent. Diamond District’s TIF district and board (with by-laws, initial appointments, nada) have not been completed or even introduced by City Council. THEY have to create the entity to issue the bonds to raise the funds to build the stadium. No construction can or will start before this is done and the fact is it has not be introduced in over a year since the award is not a good sign. It took Broad Street CDA and the failed Navy Hill CDA 3-4 months each just to get to a final vote (Broad passed,… Read more »
There’s a lot to be concerned about regarding the pace of progress for both the Diamond District and the City Center redevelopment. Obviously the Diamond District is more pressing, given deadlines for a new ballpark and retention of the Squirrels in jeopardy. I very much want to see the wheels on both of these initiative turn faster – I’m very concerned that they’ve already bogged down to the point that both are at risk of completely stalling and not happening.
Who is going to live in all these new apartment buildings?
Most likely a lot of young professionals. That been the demographic driver in the hot, booming sections of the city such as Manchester and Scott’s Addition over the past five to eight years that RVA’s construction boom has been seriously underway. That’s why the vast majority of apartments in these new buildings are one-bedroom units. Lots of singletons, which is tamping down RVA’s population growth figures relative to other cities that are growing much faster. Developers are maintaining that the demand for market-rate apartments remains red hot in Richmond — in both the city and across the metro region. Not… Read more »
The new residents are mostly young people moving into expensive one bedroom apartments. Often they come from distant cities and have no friends or relatives in the area. A recent study by Chamber of Commerce ranked Richmond as one of the loneliest cities in America. As someone who has worked in the mental health field, I worry about the potential future of these new occupants.
Interesting. Back around Y2K Richmnd was declared one of the best “hook-up” cities or dating cities, IDRW