The nearly 6-acre parcel sits primarily in Henrico County, with about 0.75 acres in the city. (Courtesy Bruce Commercial Realty)
A piece of West Broad Street is back up for grabs after two previous deals with developers fell through.
The 6-acre plot at 4400 W. Broad St. that’s twice been eyed for large apartment projects by out-of-town developers was once again listed for sale last week.
In 2022, Phoenix-based developer Alliance Residential Co. put the land under contract with plans to build a pair of four-story apartment buildings totaling 340 units on the site, which sits on the Richmond-Henrico County line just east of Willow Lawn.
When Alliance’s deal fell through following a snafu regarding utility service to the site, another developer came in and picked up where Alliance left off. But that deal, too, is off, according to Bruce Milam of Bruce Commercial Realty, who is handling the list for longtime property owner Motleys Asset Disposition Group.
Milam said the second would-be developer was South Florida-based developer Mill Creek Residential and that changing capital markets and interest rates led to Mill Creek walking away from the deal.
“They could not get the equity together and declined going hard on the contract,” Milam said. “So we’re going to see who’s out there.”
The latest asking price is $13 million and the listing includes the already-approved special-use permit and plans for the proposed apartment complex, which Alliance secured in 2022. Milam described the site as nearly shovel-ready.
“All the architectural and engineering is good and the (special-use permit) is transferable with the land,” he said. “If someone were to come in, they could jump right in. It would probably take about three to four months to get through the county now.”
If a buyer comes in and builds the planned 340 units, they’d become the owner of one of the most dense apartment complexes on that stretch of Broad Street. A bit farther west, a Maryland developer is planning a six-story, 163-unit apartment building at 4605-4625 W. Broad St. The owners of nearby Willow Lawn are planning to redevelop the shopping center to include over 2,200 units, but that project could take up to 30 years to complete.
A local investment firm bought a nearby car rental facility. (Mike Platania photo)
Around the same time 4400 W. Broad St. hit the market, a local firm closed a smaller deal a block east.
General Land Co. recently bought the 0.4-acre Budget and Avis car rental facility at 4204 W. Broad St. for $850,000.
The deal gives General Land control of nearly four contiguous acres along West Broad, as the Henrico-based firm also owns the Caliber Collision facility behind Avis, as well as the ABC store’s building at 4118 W. Broad St.
General Land co-founder Mike Carroll wouldn’t say much about the company’s future plans for the properties, stating only that, “Everything’s always on the table at any given time.”
Carroll expressed a similar sentiment last year when General Land bought a 1-acre assemblage at the southeast intersection of West Broad Street and Roseneath Road across from Scott’s Addition.
The nearly 6-acre parcel sits primarily in Henrico County, with about 0.75 acres in the city. (Courtesy Bruce Commercial Realty)
A piece of West Broad Street is back up for grabs after two previous deals with developers fell through.
The 6-acre plot at 4400 W. Broad St. that’s twice been eyed for large apartment projects by out-of-town developers was once again listed for sale last week.
In 2022, Phoenix-based developer Alliance Residential Co. put the land under contract with plans to build a pair of four-story apartment buildings totaling 340 units on the site, which sits on the Richmond-Henrico County line just east of Willow Lawn.
When Alliance’s deal fell through following a snafu regarding utility service to the site, another developer came in and picked up where Alliance left off. But that deal, too, is off, according to Bruce Milam of Bruce Commercial Realty, who is handling the list for longtime property owner Motleys Asset Disposition Group.
Milam said the second would-be developer was South Florida-based developer Mill Creek Residential and that changing capital markets and interest rates led to Mill Creek walking away from the deal.
“They could not get the equity together and declined going hard on the contract,” Milam said. “So we’re going to see who’s out there.”
The latest asking price is $13 million and the listing includes the already-approved special-use permit and plans for the proposed apartment complex, which Alliance secured in 2022. Milam described the site as nearly shovel-ready.
“All the architectural and engineering is good and the (special-use permit) is transferable with the land,” he said. “If someone were to come in, they could jump right in. It would probably take about three to four months to get through the county now.”
If a buyer comes in and builds the planned 340 units, they’d become the owner of one of the most dense apartment complexes on that stretch of Broad Street. A bit farther west, a Maryland developer is planning a six-story, 163-unit apartment building at 4605-4625 W. Broad St. The owners of nearby Willow Lawn are planning to redevelop the shopping center to include over 2,200 units, but that project could take up to 30 years to complete.
A local investment firm bought a nearby car rental facility. (Mike Platania photo)
Around the same time 4400 W. Broad St. hit the market, a local firm closed a smaller deal a block east.
General Land Co. recently bought the 0.4-acre Budget and Avis car rental facility at 4204 W. Broad St. for $850,000.
The deal gives General Land control of nearly four contiguous acres along West Broad, as the Henrico-based firm also owns the Caliber Collision facility behind Avis, as well as the ABC store’s building at 4118 W. Broad St.
General Land co-founder Mike Carroll wouldn’t say much about the company’s future plans for the properties, stating only that, “Everything’s always on the table at any given time.”
Carroll expressed a similar sentiment last year when General Land bought a 1-acre assemblage at the southeast intersection of West Broad Street and Roseneath Road across from Scott’s Addition.
This entire strip along Broad Street from Scotts Addition to I-64 will evolve into a corridor of high density mixed use over the next ten years as the car dealerships and old retail is replaced. I watched it happen on Leesburg Pike in Tysons Corner and it’ll happen here on a smaller scale.
The dealerships can actually stay if they use some of the property to convert to a more modern urban car dealership. Think service area with car stock located above. They could then sell off the rest of their property for other development. The localities don’t want to see the larger ones go because they actually provide a really good tax revenue, but right now their land is not being used that efficiently.
That’s some interesting color. I bet you are correct to the degree that other retail sites would go first, but it is likely that there will be incentive enough eventually to move to another location eventually.
I hope by modern you don’t mean anything like Carvana…
I have no issues with Carvana. I think it is kind of fun and not an issue. Especially because it is located in an area of the city where it doesn’t really impact anyone other than curmudgeons driving by on the highway.
But I was talking more about a parking deck type structure for more modern dealerships. They have done it in Tysons.
That’s an interesting observation. Way back in the day, Richmond Ford was located on the site of what is now the VCU art school on Broad. They had a multi story building with the shop located above the showroom. There was also another car repair shop across Broad that was similar. It’s now apartments.
That’s definitely an old idea coming back around. Back when most folks custom ordered their new cars, dealers didn’t need to keep acres of stock, so dealerships in/near downtown areas were often 2+ stories on much smaller parcels. Then the manufacturers decided it was better for their bottom line to crank out cars with bundled options and make the dealers sell what the factory wanted to push, not the other way around. And the mega dealer lot was born. Hopefully the winds are starting to change there?
This would seem to be a no-brainer buy for those who have the scratch to make it happen — I’ve seen a lot more questionable locations go through.
I of course cannot predict the near future, and I assume some people’s crystal ball is better than my own. But I really think that any potential caution about this general location is short-sighted, though I see that the people associated with this site says that it is purely a based-on-today math problem and I believe it.