The Arthur Ashe Boulevard bridge connects Scott’s Addition’s historic district to The Diamond. (Mike Platania photo)
It was a busy night for the city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday, as it gave the thumbs-up to everything from a boutique hotel in the Fan, to a new Manchester apartment building, to a bridge replacement project near The Diamond.
The commission voted to recommend approval of special-use permits for a four-story boutique hotel from the owners of Shyndigz that would rise next to the bakery’s new shop at 1904-1912 W. Cary St., as well as a 60-unit mixed-use building at 1401-1407 Hull St. in Manchester
It also heard a pair of rezoning cases for developments in their early stages. Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ request to rezone a 2-acre site at 809 Oliver Hill Way was approved, as was one from local developer WVS Cos. for a 3-acre riverfront site at 4400 E. Main and 4500 Old Main streets. Both CCC and WVS are seeking the TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal District, which allows for up to 12 stories and a mix of uses.
Also on the agenda was a vote to authorize the city to accept $4 million from CSX Transportation to help replace the bridge along North Arthur Ashe Boulevard that crosses the train tracks near The Diamond.
Most of the items were on the commission’s consent agenda and passed unanimously. The special-use permit application for the Hull Street mixed-use development was moved to the regular agenda after some residents spoke against the development, but the commission ultimately voted to support it.
The items now head to City Council for final consideration.
A conceptual drawing of the planned hotel next to Shyndigz’s new location. (BizSense file photo)
Shyndigz owners Nicole and Bryon Jessee recently opened a new bakery and shop at 1912 W. Cary St. in the Fan, and are now looking to build a four-story boutique hotel on a quarter-acre site next door.
The Jessees bought the site in 2021 and used it for parking and staging while the new shop was under construction. The hotel is planned to include 19 rooms and would be connected to the new shop via an outdoor courtyard and patio.
Over in Manchester, a group led by the owners of Walter Parks Architecture, RJ Smith Cos. and SRC Construction are looking to raze three contiguous buildings to make way for a five-story building.
The group first filed plans for the development at the corner of West 14th and Hull streets last year. The building’s first floor is planned to house 1,900 square feet of Hull Street-facing retail space, and above that would be four floors of 60 one-bedroom apartments. Plans also call for a 25-space parking deck at the building’s rear. The developers are pursuing low-income housing tax credits to help finance the development.
A rendering of the proposed building at 14th and Hull streets.
Commonwealth Catholic Charities is also eyeing a mixed-use redevelopment, though details are more scant. The nonprofit currently operates an outreach center at 809 Oliver Hill Way near Shockoe Bottom and the group is seeking a rezoning to tee the land up for future redevelopment.
WVS Cos.’ rezoning request is for about 3 acres it owns along the riverfront between Main Street and the Virginia Capital Trail. The land is just south of the Intermediate Terminal Building and north of where Rocketts Landing proper begins.
A few small buildings and a volleyball court are currently on the land. In its rezoning application, WVS writes that it “wishes to construct (a) new mixed-use development on the properties,” but does not lay out specifics.
WVS was part of the original development team for Rocketts Landing and is also considering a 12-plus-story apartment building on a parcel on the other side of Main Street.
WVS is looking to develop a 3-acre parcel near Rocketts Landing that currently houses storage of the University of Richmond’s crew team and a volleyball court. (City documents)
Lastly, the commission voted to approve a procedural step for a highly visible infrastructure project on Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
The city has been working to replace the Arthur Ashe Boulevard bridge that crosses the CSX railroad and connects historic Scott’s Addition to the Northside, interstates 64 and 65, and the planned Diamond District.
The bridge has been deemed structurally deficient and its replacement is estimated to cost $23 million. In 2022 the city applied for and received a $18.4 million grant from the federal government, and CSX committed to chipping in an additional $4 million.
The commission voted Tuesday night to authorize Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders to accept the money on the city’s behalf.
The Arthur Ashe Boulevard bridge connects Scott’s Addition’s historic district to The Diamond. (Mike Platania photo)
It was a busy night for the city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday, as it gave the thumbs-up to everything from a boutique hotel in the Fan, to a new Manchester apartment building, to a bridge replacement project near The Diamond.
The commission voted to recommend approval of special-use permits for a four-story boutique hotel from the owners of Shyndigz that would rise next to the bakery’s new shop at 1904-1912 W. Cary St., as well as a 60-unit mixed-use building at 1401-1407 Hull St. in Manchester
It also heard a pair of rezoning cases for developments in their early stages. Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ request to rezone a 2-acre site at 809 Oliver Hill Way was approved, as was one from local developer WVS Cos. for a 3-acre riverfront site at 4400 E. Main and 4500 Old Main streets. Both CCC and WVS are seeking the TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal District, which allows for up to 12 stories and a mix of uses.
Also on the agenda was a vote to authorize the city to accept $4 million from CSX Transportation to help replace the bridge along North Arthur Ashe Boulevard that crosses the train tracks near The Diamond.
Most of the items were on the commission’s consent agenda and passed unanimously. The special-use permit application for the Hull Street mixed-use development was moved to the regular agenda after some residents spoke against the development, but the commission ultimately voted to support it.
The items now head to City Council for final consideration.
A conceptual drawing of the planned hotel next to Shyndigz’s new location. (BizSense file photo)
Shyndigz owners Nicole and Bryon Jessee recently opened a new bakery and shop at 1912 W. Cary St. in the Fan, and are now looking to build a four-story boutique hotel on a quarter-acre site next door.
The Jessees bought the site in 2021 and used it for parking and staging while the new shop was under construction. The hotel is planned to include 19 rooms and would be connected to the new shop via an outdoor courtyard and patio.
Over in Manchester, a group led by the owners of Walter Parks Architecture, RJ Smith Cos. and SRC Construction are looking to raze three contiguous buildings to make way for a five-story building.
The group first filed plans for the development at the corner of West 14th and Hull streets last year. The building’s first floor is planned to house 1,900 square feet of Hull Street-facing retail space, and above that would be four floors of 60 one-bedroom apartments. Plans also call for a 25-space parking deck at the building’s rear. The developers are pursuing low-income housing tax credits to help finance the development.
A rendering of the proposed building at 14th and Hull streets.
Commonwealth Catholic Charities is also eyeing a mixed-use redevelopment, though details are more scant. The nonprofit currently operates an outreach center at 809 Oliver Hill Way near Shockoe Bottom and the group is seeking a rezoning to tee the land up for future redevelopment.
WVS Cos.’ rezoning request is for about 3 acres it owns along the riverfront between Main Street and the Virginia Capital Trail. The land is just south of the Intermediate Terminal Building and north of where Rocketts Landing proper begins.
A few small buildings and a volleyball court are currently on the land. In its rezoning application, WVS writes that it “wishes to construct (a) new mixed-use development on the properties,” but does not lay out specifics.
WVS was part of the original development team for Rocketts Landing and is also considering a 12-plus-story apartment building on a parcel on the other side of Main Street.
WVS is looking to develop a 3-acre parcel near Rocketts Landing that currently houses storage of the University of Richmond’s crew team and a volleyball court. (City documents)
Lastly, the commission voted to approve a procedural step for a highly visible infrastructure project on Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
The city has been working to replace the Arthur Ashe Boulevard bridge that crosses the CSX railroad and connects historic Scott’s Addition to the Northside, interstates 64 and 65, and the planned Diamond District.
The bridge has been deemed structurally deficient and its replacement is estimated to cost $23 million. In 2022 the city applied for and received a $18.4 million grant from the federal government, and CSX committed to chipping in an additional $4 million.
The commission voted Tuesday night to authorize Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders to accept the money on the city’s behalf.
The hull project is major for the area – much needed!
Yasmine Hamad and I sold that corner to RJSmith upteen years ago with two other properties together the three were deemed to be the worst conditioned buildings along Hull Street. The roofs had caved in and trees were growing thru various floors. We showed them to nearly 30 developers before Richard peeped into the front doors (but never entered) and said, “I’ll take them.” He did a marvelous job of refitting the other two, and finally might rebuild this site, if he is awarded low income tax credits. The redevelopment of the Hull Street business corridor moves another block south.
On the Hull Street development, it’s good to see development starting again on the west side of Commerce in a post Hild era. Unfortunate, the need to rely on low income tax credits. This area already has a significant number of these units, leading toward an overconcentration, similar to the scenario created in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. With limited nearby employment opportunities I fear we are repeating the history of subsidized housing in the US. We need more of these units, but at locations where employment and other opportunities abound. These aeas should be considered first, Sadly those area… Read more »
Not sure 25 parking spaces for 60 apartments is very forward thinking, some of these units may even have more than one vehicle. Parking in that area is already somewhat of a mess. It would have been great to have had a nice master plan for that area to include retail, office, multifamily, low income, parking, walkways, landscape, etc.
While I’m not a “parking warrior” by ANY stretch (as our venerable fellow reader/commenter Shawn (?) likes to reference), I do agree with you, Renita, that it’s a bit surprising that a 60-unit apartment building would include only 25 parking spaces. My layman’s guess is that it’s a cost-related issue for the developer, which is concerning. And before folks start jumping up and down and screaming “the city shouldn’t have stripped out parking minimums, yada yada” – I think it’s important to note, as Bruce has pointed out several times previously, that generally speaking, LENDERS (not the developers) usually impose… Read more »
It’s on a bus line that comes every 15 minutes. Seems like a good spot for someone that can’t afford/ doesn’t want a car.
Guests of the hotel will have unparalleled views of one of Richmond’s liveliest gas stations. Also, please name the hotel using weird spellings – lots of ys and zs.
Did the Hull Street developers reserve a spot through program for an application. Seems odd PC approving spot after the locality deadline passed on 2/1 for 2024 applications. Or are they hoping for the leftovers??