The building boasts a cast-iron façade with Corinthian columns. (Mike Platania photo)
The pandemic’s effect on office space is leading one downtown Richmond office building to a date with the auction block.
The Branch Building at 1015 E. Main St. is set to be put up for auction next month by North Carolina-based firm Hem + Spire, which bought the six-story building for nearly $1.5 million in January 2020.
The auction’s starting bid is $450,000.
Upon buying the buildings, Hem + Spire set out to modernize the circa-1866 structure for its tenants, which at the time included a law firm and a nonprofit.
But the firm quickly faced an uphill battle when COVID-19 arrived just two months after it closed on the purchase. The building is now just 50 percent occupied.
Maxwell Joseph
“We were able to execute most of our intended upgrades, including façade repair and redesigning the first floor, but ultimately missed the market on timing,” said Maxwell Joseph, Hem + Spire’s founding partner. “Ultimately, our internal consensus was that it is someone else’s turn to bring their ideas and experience to the project.”
The auction isn’t a product of the building facing foreclosure nor is it court-ordered. Joseph said his firm simply felt it made sense to list the property on Ten-X, an auction site owned by real estate data giant CoStar.
“We bid on a handful of projects through Ten-X over the last few months, on the buyer side, and found that the process was compelling and created a competitive environment to get the best deal done,” Joseph said.
The building dates to 1866 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Commonwealth Commercial Partners)
The auction is scheduled to be held on Ten-X from Feb. 20 to 22. Commonwealth Commercial’s Jamie Galanti and Nash Warren are handling the auction for Hem + Spire.
The 12,000-square-foot Branch Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The parcel was most recently assessed by the city at $1.3 million and is zoned B-4 Central Business District. B-4 allows for many uses, including mixed-use multifamily, and Joseph said it would be eligible for historic tax credits.
“The Branch Building has a fairly efficient floor plate for residential conversion,” Joseph said. “I think multifamily or condominium is certainly a viable path forward for the next owner to consider.”
A major office-to-residential conversion is progressing just a few blocks west along Main Street. Steven Walker of RPC Realty Capital and Nick Patel of Kalyan Hospitality are getting set to turn the 17-story Wytestone Plaza office tower into over 300 apartments.
Building permits were filed this week for that project, which Walker confirmed is still in the works and moving forward.
Hem + Spire followed up the Branch Building deal with acquisitions in Manchester and Scott’s Addition, the latter of which is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit. Joseph said his firm is still a strong believer in the Richmond market and is actively looking for more opportunities in the city.
The building boasts a cast-iron façade with Corinthian columns. (Mike Platania photo)
The pandemic’s effect on office space is leading one downtown Richmond office building to a date with the auction block.
The Branch Building at 1015 E. Main St. is set to be put up for auction next month by North Carolina-based firm Hem + Spire, which bought the six-story building for nearly $1.5 million in January 2020.
The auction’s starting bid is $450,000.
Upon buying the buildings, Hem + Spire set out to modernize the circa-1866 structure for its tenants, which at the time included a law firm and a nonprofit.
But the firm quickly faced an uphill battle when COVID-19 arrived just two months after it closed on the purchase. The building is now just 50 percent occupied.
Maxwell Joseph
“We were able to execute most of our intended upgrades, including façade repair and redesigning the first floor, but ultimately missed the market on timing,” said Maxwell Joseph, Hem + Spire’s founding partner. “Ultimately, our internal consensus was that it is someone else’s turn to bring their ideas and experience to the project.”
The auction isn’t a product of the building facing foreclosure nor is it court-ordered. Joseph said his firm simply felt it made sense to list the property on Ten-X, an auction site owned by real estate data giant CoStar.
“We bid on a handful of projects through Ten-X over the last few months, on the buyer side, and found that the process was compelling and created a competitive environment to get the best deal done,” Joseph said.
The building dates to 1866 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Commonwealth Commercial Partners)
The auction is scheduled to be held on Ten-X from Feb. 20 to 22. Commonwealth Commercial’s Jamie Galanti and Nash Warren are handling the auction for Hem + Spire.
The 12,000-square-foot Branch Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The parcel was most recently assessed by the city at $1.3 million and is zoned B-4 Central Business District. B-4 allows for many uses, including mixed-use multifamily, and Joseph said it would be eligible for historic tax credits.
“The Branch Building has a fairly efficient floor plate for residential conversion,” Joseph said. “I think multifamily or condominium is certainly a viable path forward for the next owner to consider.”
A major office-to-residential conversion is progressing just a few blocks west along Main Street. Steven Walker of RPC Realty Capital and Nick Patel of Kalyan Hospitality are getting set to turn the 17-story Wytestone Plaza office tower into over 300 apartments.
Building permits were filed this week for that project, which Walker confirmed is still in the works and moving forward.
Hem + Spire followed up the Branch Building deal with acquisitions in Manchester and Scott’s Addition, the latter of which is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit. Joseph said his firm is still a strong believer in the Richmond market and is actively looking for more opportunities in the city.
Just a wonderful building. Would be great to see a high-character condo conversion in downtown Richmond. The cast-iron buildings along this stretch are all quite interesting but doesn’t seem to have a lot of energy now. This would help change that.
Yes, I also love those. And yes, Condo would be nice, but it would likely be very challenging for several reasons. The Office Bldg Struggle is Real. I was in Manhattan in December and was shocked that two of my favorite bldgs in the world are distressed. While I was there there was news that Sigma an owner of the Chrysler Bldg was insolvent —- and when they bought the Chrysler bldg it was considered to have gone for a song even back then….. Worse, the Flatiron bldg is dark, unoccupied. This was just in the 5th-avenue area that I… Read more »
I feel I read somewhere that one of the biggest challenges with commercial to condo conversions is the lack of parking for residents. Assume that applies here too?
It certainly IS a big problem in dense urban areas, esp ones without good public transportation. I am no expert, but even big suburban office bldgs with parking galore and rather new construction have the challenges of not enough plumbing and outward facing windows and things. I have read that this can be such a deal-breaking problem that developers say that it would be better to tear the whole thing down and start anew, which I find a little hard to believe. Also, unlike in cool downtown locations, few people want to live in some suburban office tower, but many… Read more »