Mayo Island totals 15 acres and sits between Shockoe and Manchester. (BizSense file photos)
The last piece of Mayo Island not owned by the City of Richmond is officially up for grabs.
Louis Heindl has listed his sliver of the island at 510 S. 14th St. for sale with an asking price of $1.65 million. The quarter-acre parcel sits in the heart of Mayo Island, the 15-acre expanse that the city bought earlier this year.
Heindl bought his parcel from a boat club in the 1970s for $13,000 and has held onto it ever since. A recycling plant operated on the land for decades, and in recent years a food truck court has operated there.
In January, the City of Richmond bought the rest of Mayo Island for $15 million with plans to incorporate it into the James River Park System. Heindl’s plot wasn’t included in that deal.
When reached this week, Heindl said he still hasn’t heard from the city regarding his parcel and now it’s on the open market.
Louis Heindl and Cindy Garrett on their family’s piece of Mayo Island. (Mike Platania photo)
The listing went up over the weekend, with Joyner Commercial’s Susan Haas as the agent.
Though the city-owned portion of Mayo Island is planned to be placed under a conservation easement that would preclude it from future development, Heindl’s parcel is being marketed as a mixed-use development opportunity.
“It could go in a lot of different directions,” Haas said of the property’s potential. “It’s a location that would be suitable for a high-rise apartment building, possibly for seniors or for professionals who want to take advantage of a park there. It would have nice views of the river.”
“I’ve had people already contacting me with some really interesting concepts that I hadn’t thought of before – like a visitor center-type of business that would have a restaurant.”
The city most recently assessed the property at $78,000. It is currently zoned for light industrial uses and houses a roughly 1,300-square-foot building. The entirety of Mayo Island sits in a floodplain, a condition Haas said a would-be buyer would have to work around.
“They’re going to have to engineer some type of design that would address that,” she said. “They had flooding there many years ago, but it’s not something that happens often.”
Another major change is in store for the namesake bridge that passes over the island and connects Shockoe Slip to Manchester.
The 111-year-old Mayo Bridge was found in 2022 to be structurally insufficient and since then the city and the Virginia Department of Transportation have been planning to replace it.
VDOT spokesperson Lorraine Blackwell said they’re currently evaluating whether the existing vertical piers on which the bridge sits (called the substructure) are suitable for reuse, and that the next step in the process is to host a public meeting regarding the project later this year.
Construction of the new bridge is planned to begin by 2027 and last three years. Blackwell said the island would be publicly accessible during construction.
The bridge replacement has received $90 million in funding, and Blackwell said they’re assessing the total cost with the substructure evaluation.
Mayo Island totals 15 acres and sits between Shockoe and Manchester. (BizSense file photos)
The last piece of Mayo Island not owned by the City of Richmond is officially up for grabs.
Louis Heindl has listed his sliver of the island at 510 S. 14th St. for sale with an asking price of $1.65 million. The quarter-acre parcel sits in the heart of Mayo Island, the 15-acre expanse that the city bought earlier this year.
Heindl bought his parcel from a boat club in the 1970s for $13,000 and has held onto it ever since. A recycling plant operated on the land for decades, and in recent years a food truck court has operated there.
In January, the City of Richmond bought the rest of Mayo Island for $15 million with plans to incorporate it into the James River Park System. Heindl’s plot wasn’t included in that deal.
When reached this week, Heindl said he still hasn’t heard from the city regarding his parcel and now it’s on the open market.
Louis Heindl and Cindy Garrett on their family’s piece of Mayo Island. (Mike Platania photo)
The listing went up over the weekend, with Joyner Commercial’s Susan Haas as the agent.
Though the city-owned portion of Mayo Island is planned to be placed under a conservation easement that would preclude it from future development, Heindl’s parcel is being marketed as a mixed-use development opportunity.
“It could go in a lot of different directions,” Haas said of the property’s potential. “It’s a location that would be suitable for a high-rise apartment building, possibly for seniors or for professionals who want to take advantage of a park there. It would have nice views of the river.”
“I’ve had people already contacting me with some really interesting concepts that I hadn’t thought of before – like a visitor center-type of business that would have a restaurant.”
The city most recently assessed the property at $78,000. It is currently zoned for light industrial uses and houses a roughly 1,300-square-foot building. The entirety of Mayo Island sits in a floodplain, a condition Haas said a would-be buyer would have to work around.
“They’re going to have to engineer some type of design that would address that,” she said. “They had flooding there many years ago, but it’s not something that happens often.”
Another major change is in store for the namesake bridge that passes over the island and connects Shockoe Slip to Manchester.
The 111-year-old Mayo Bridge was found in 2022 to be structurally insufficient and since then the city and the Virginia Department of Transportation have been planning to replace it.
VDOT spokesperson Lorraine Blackwell said they’re currently evaluating whether the existing vertical piers on which the bridge sits (called the substructure) are suitable for reuse, and that the next step in the process is to host a public meeting regarding the project later this year.
Construction of the new bridge is planned to begin by 2027 and last three years. Blackwell said the island would be publicly accessible during construction.
The bridge replacement has received $90 million in funding, and Blackwell said they’re assessing the total cost with the substructure evaluation.
Any residential use of the parcel would require a different means of access that would be above the floodplain, which is next to impossible in expense. The funded new bridge is planned to be “beneath” the floodplain limit and the whole project is ridiculous in its concept during a future which is likely to bring us bigger storms and rising waters. If the City would close the bridge for all but pedestrian access and mass transit, it could preserve the existing bridge for decades to come. There are three more bridges within one-half mile that have 18 lanes of above… Read more »
I agree with Bruce’s comments and I also wonder if this isn’t a play on the part of the owner to inspire the city to make a real offer.
I disagree, the bridge is a vital link between Manchester and the Bottom. it’s closure would stifle development between the river and Commerce. For me the solution is to shrink it to one vehicle lane, provide protected pedestrian and bicycle access across and to the island. I’m not concerned what happens to this lot, but It would make sense for the city or conservancy to purchase and incorporate it into the island.
Most of the Shockoe Bottom area has undergone conversion already yet pedestrian access is stifled by the traffic mess at the bridge and railroad crossings. It’s dangerous! Worse is the traffic on the south side where crossing Hull Street has become a new Olympic sport. Drivers are so frustrated by the time they emerge on Hull that they race to beat the Commerce stoplight. I don’t thinks it’s prudent to spend nearly $100 million on a two lane bridge in the floodplain anymore than on a four lane one. Just spend some on traffic diversion methods, and the neighborhoods will… Read more »
Bruce “during a future which is likely to bring us bigger storms and rising waters” Milam – You have reached your virtue signaling quota for the week. Please wait until next week to call for “rent control,” emote of a “housing crisis” or warn of impending doom of “climate change.” I do, however, endorse your call for limiting Mayo’s Bridge to pedestrian traffic.
as soon as someone uses the terms “virtue signalling” or “woke” you can pretty much guarantee that they’re not serious and have just checked in to make political jabs.
Bruce, I get where you’re coming from and absolutely appreciate your vision. However, I must respectfully push back regarding your assertion about the viability/reasonableness of the other three river crossings. The 14th Street (Mayo) Bridge is the only direct connection between Manchester and Shockoe Bottom. Of the other three crossings, only the Manchester Bridge could be considered a viable and reasonable alternative. Neither the Lee Bridge nor I-95 are reasonable for the motorist attempting to go from Manchester to, say, 14th and Cary or vice versa. Particularly on the downtown side, I-95’s entrance and exit points are far out of… Read more »
I understand the reluctance to divert traffic via the Expressway but there will be a three year period where traffic will be diverted to it during construction. Why not make it permanent instead and spend some of that fed money on better solutions instead of temporary fixes?
The resulting parkland island will be so nice without the highway traffic and noise, and the Bottom and Manchester will be so much safer without the added confusion of the vehicles.
Bruce – I honestly do understand where you’re coming from. However, in answer to your question, there are several very obvious reasons as to why diverting/detouring traffic should not be made permanent: 1.) The short-term (as in three-year) inconvenience of detouring will be challenging enough for most motorists on either side of the river trying to make what has been, for well more than a century, a straight-line, short-hop between Manchester and Shockoe. Challenging as it will be, that it will be for “only” three years – and that there is a specific purpose behind it — that is, rebuilding… Read more »
Mayo Bridge carries US Hwy 360 so it’s more complicated than the city unilaterally shutting down car traffic. I assume the feds would be involved in a plan to reroute it, which, I guess less likely things have happened. Re: its height relative to the floodplain, be careful what you wish for because DOT engineers may agree and decide it should actually be much higher and bigger.
To accomplish building above the RR Crossing and the flood wall, it would cause that bridge to tie in back near Main Street or further north, and then there’s the elevated RR track to contend with. That’s why it’s designed to be in the floodplain. It’s an engineering nightmare and the only good decision is not to build it at all.
Expensive and interesting engineering feet too as it would have to tie back into something AND go over the flood wall too. Can you imagine an elevated driveway/bridge with a circular ramp back down on either side of the island and it would have to do so over now a city owned property with a easement preventing development.
The whole island will be underwater soon or at least flooded more often than not. Anybody know how often it has flooded decade by decade over the last 100 years?
I know Camille (1969) and Agnes (1972) put it entirely underwater but it does not go under as often as it has high levels along its edges of nuisance flooding. Even Gaston did not overtop the island completely. It does not take much to get some of the island’s edges under water but it does take a major storm with James at 21-22ft above sea level at City Locks to cause the island to be entirely flooded.
Gaston was a local interior flooding event over the Shockoe watershed which would not cause flooding at Mayo. Mayo Island floods from the James River, where upstream rainfall in the mountains/ upper reaches of the watershed drive the local James River based flooding. It looks like even in a 50-YR river flood event Mayo would be underwater. To be clear, that does not mean floods of that magnitude only happen every fifty years. It is the probably in a given year for flood of that magnitude to occur. A 100-YR flood means in a given year there is a 1%… Read more »
Where are people going to go when they want to turn downspouts into $15 after this?
Wise left that location years ago. There’s still Pocket Money at 7th and Hull St though.
https://beegreenrecycling.com/
Just so I can still fish.
Here is an Idea: Is the city ready for a Brooklyn Brg type bridge high over the banks and building and connects several blocks into both banks of the river? I would say no as we need much larger buildings and more density on both sides of the river. But I Brooklyn Brg type bridge in RVA would be Iconic and cool eventually.
William – conceptually, I absolutely LOVE it and can so easily visualize what it would look like.
However, as you correctly pointed out, we’d need significantly (and I do mean significantly) more population and population density on both sides of the river to ever have something like this. That’s not happening in my lifetime for certain (and probably not in the lifetimes of any of us on this thread).
It’s nice to dream about though. 🙂
The island falls in delineated FEMA regulatory floodway which puts considerable limitations on what can be built including provisions for how elevated the first floor is required to be as well ensuring no increase in base flood elevations. Also by law, if residential units were to be built it would require emergency vehicular access at all times before, during and after a flood event. Could you image if something like this was actually built, the evacuation alerts go out, but you don’t hear it/can’t get out in time and are trapped in this building after the floodwall gates are closed?… Read more »