Former HG Design Studio owners draw up Libbie-Grove site for new project

A conceptual rendering of a possible design for the Granite Avenue office building. (Thalhimer marketing flyer images)

After selling their landscape architecture business and then the bulk of their real estate in the Libbie-and-Grove area, Dave and Meril Gerstenmaier are looking to unload their last remaining commercial property there via a build-to-suit development project.

The former owners of HG Design Studio, which they sold to VHB in 2022, are offering their design and development know-how to prospective buyers of 122 Granite Ave., a 0.15-acre parcel behind their old office building at the corner of Granite and Grove avenues.

The couple sold that office building and adjoining commercial strip at 5701-07 Grove Ave. last year, but they held onto the Granite Avenue parcel, which had been offered but ultimately wasn’t included in the $6.3 million deal.

Now the Gerstenmaiers are marketing the recently cleared parcel with a plan to build up to 8,400 square feet of developable space that would likely house an office user and on-site parking.

The 0.15-acre site is behind the Gerstenmaiers’ former studio on Grove.

Meril would work with the buyer and guide the project through the development and entitlements process, and Dave would add input in the design, which would be based on the buyer’s needs and neighborhood aesthetic, Meril said.

Meril Gerstenmaier

“Our background is in design, we’ve worked in the architectural and engineering industry our whole careers, and it’s very important to us that something be attractive that goes there, in keeping with the charm of the village atmosphere that’s naturally and organically grown there,” Meril said.

“We had our company there for many years and fell in love with that area. It’s a wonderful place to work,” she said. “It was great for retention of employees; it was great for recruiting.”

The couple has listed the property with Thalhimer broker Reilly Marchant, who represented them in the commercial strip sale and is marketing the Granite site for office use. Marchant and Meril said the location would appeal to such users as wealth management firms, design firms and general office users seeking over 5,000 square feet of space.

Reilly Marchant

“There’s not a lot of 5,000-plus office space availability in the area, so we think that’s probably the highest and best use and the biggest demand,” Marchant said. “Someone who really wants to be in this neighborhood but does not have the time, experience or desire to develop a property, this is their chance to kind of be in the driver’s seat and customize something to their own liking.”

The build-to-suit listing hit the market in recent weeks, about a month after the Gerstenmaiers cleared the site, which had previously included paved parking spaces and a 1920s-era house they previously leased out as office space.

Meril said they were considering different options for the building, including turning it into their residence, but their idea of downsizing from the suburbs didn’t mesh with needs to expand the building to increase resale value. Ultimately, they decided to demolish the century-old structure and position the site for new construction.

The 1920s-era house-turned-office building on the site was recently razed. (Image courtesy Thalhimer)

“It wasn’t in great shape. We talked about renovating, and our contractors would say, ‘Eh, why don’t you just start all over?’” she said.

Now cleared, Meril said of the site: “It’s one of the last pieces of raw land in that area.”

While most land in the neighborhood is built out, there is some infill development on the rise.

In the block across Granite from the Gerstenmaiers’ site, venture capitalist Brock Saunders has been developing a new 11,000-square-foot building to primarily house his Summit Action Fund firm. Farther north, Thalhimer Realty Partners has filled out the available commercial space at its Westhampton Commons development at Libbie and Patterson avenues.

“It’s kind of the one part of the greater Richmond market where you see values of property that are unprecedented and don’t really make sense in any other market,” Marchant said. “As Richmond is growing, there’s more and more people coming to town, and there’s less and less real estate in this neighborhood to grab and accelerate at that value.”

Another design option for the building. (Image courtesy Thalhimer)

The Gerstenmaiers’ listing does not include an asking price, because Marchant said the price would be tied to the size and design of the building that the buyer wants to build. The listing includes renderings of possible designs, but Meril emphasized that the final design would be determined by the buyer.

Having stepped away from VHB since she and Dave joined the firm as part of their sale of HG Design Studio, Meril said she is now essentially retired and able to dedicate herself to the Granite Avenue project.

“It’s a little bit of an oddity in the market, because we’re not in a hurry,” she said. “And it’s build-to-suit: People need to get their heads wrapped around that. That’s kind of unusual, for the area at least.

“Dave and I got to know some of the neighbors there on Granite and have chatted with them and are loosely working with them as well on any feedback,” she said. “We just don’t know what we’re going to do quite yet, but we will put a lot of effort into having it fit in and keeping it in the neighborhood aesthetic.”