Dave McCormack and Emily Sanfratella. (Courtesy Waukeshaw Development)
Dave McCormack continues to bet big on Petersburg.
His longtime firm, Waukeshaw Development, is working on a slate of new projects that’ll bring nearly 400 apartments and new commercial space to the city’s Olde Towne area.
At 600 W. Wythe St. and 221 Bollingbrook St., Waukeshaw is planning conversion projects that’ll see the two warehouses turned into 295 and 82 apartments, respectively.
The company also is renovating a long-vacant building at 416 Third St. into 10,000 square feet of commercial space that will face Trapezium Brewing Co., which Waukeshaw also owns and operates.
Over at 530 E. Washington St., just off Interstate 95, the firm is under contract to purchase the blighted former Travel Inn hotel, McCormack said.
Waukeshaw is one of Petersburg’s most prolific developers with a portfolio that includes an ongoing riverfront harbor development, Trapezium and more. The company is led by McCormack and longtime Chief Operating Officer Emily Sanfratella, who joined the firm after she was a tenant at one of McCormack’s buildings and the two hit it off.
McCormack got his start in Petersburg real estate in the early 2000s, thanks to an alt-country band.
“I used to play in a band and we were getting kicked out of our practice spaces by the developers on Broad Street (in Richmond),” he said. “I came down here because it was so cheap. We had a warehouse that we practiced in down here. Back in those days, the warehouses down here were less than $1 per square foot.”
McCormack’s first big project in the city was the Mayton Transfer Lofts, a 223-unit phased development he sold to Capital Square in 2018 for $21 million.
To date McCormack and Waukeshaw have developed about 500 apartments in Petersburg and 1,500 throughout the state. Other than the Mayton sale, he’s held on to all of his Petersburg holdings.
Over the years the Petersburg market has had its ups and downs, he said, but lately there’s been a jump that’s reflected in low apartment vacancy rates and a lack of older buildings available for conversion. That momentum has prompted Waukeshaw to kickstart the projects on the Wythe, Bollingbrook and Washington properties, which the company has owned for years.
“That’s the exciting part: all these disparate parts and pieces that we’ve worked on are all starting to coalesce into a bigger vision down here,” McCormack said.
At 295 units, the Wythe Street redevelopment will be among Waukeshaw’s larger projects. (Mike Platania photos)
The largest of these newest projects is at the Wythe Street site, where Waukeshaw is planning to convert a 227,000-square-foot former luggage factory into 295 apartments. Waukeshaw bought the property for $3 million in 2021, and McCormack said the hope is to begin construction on the $45 million project early next year.
Work is already underway at the Bollingbrook property, where a four-story warehouse is being turned into 82 units in a $12 million project. Local architecture firm 3North designed the apartments, which McCormack said has been dubbed “Fringe” and hopes will set a new high standard for apartments in Petersburg.
“We’re going to re-skin that thing and do some really cool stuff to it. It’ll all look absolutely beautiful at the end,” he said.
A rendering of the Bollingbrook Street development. (Courtesy 3North)
Waukeshaw bought that property about a year ago for $1 million. McCormack said completion in expected in the summer of 2025.
At the Third Street site, Waukeshaw is converting a 170-year-old building into commercial space that’ll be divided into around five 2,000-square-foot suites set to be completed in the coming weeks. That project’s budget is $1.5 million.
The building is located right across from Trapezium, the Fringe project and Demolition Coffee, a coffee shop McCormack started around 15 years ago but recently sold to Laura Boehmer and Ben Cronk of the nearby Buttermilk Bake Shop. He said he’s hoping that the proximity of the new commercial space to other established businesses will be a draw.
“We’re going to be looking for five really high-quality, creative businesses – a bike shop, bread place, whatever,” he said, “(so) we can keep enhancing the multiuse nature of this neighborhood.”
Waukeshaw is financing each of the three developments with the help of historic tax credits. C&F Bank is the lender on the Wythe Street project, Virginia Credit Union is financing the Bollingbrook Street deal, and First Community Bank is the lender on Third Street.
Waukeshaw’s plans for the old Travel Inn at 530 E. Washington St. are less clear, but McCormack did confirm that the company has it under contract. The vacant, six-story building had been slated to go up for auction earlier this year before Waukeshaw swooped in.
Waukeshaw’s also set to purchase a vacant, six-story hotel near Interstate 95.
Waukeshaw isn’t the only developer bullish on Petersburg. Local development firm Sycamore Street Properties is working on two hotel renovations in the city, one of which will be a mixed-use conversion.
Petersburg also is set to vote this fall on a casino proposal from Baltimore’s Cordish Cos., the same firm that once vied to build a casino near the Scott’s Addition area in Richmond. McCormack said the prospect of a major economic development project such as a casino has added to Petersburg’s momentum.
“No one really knows what’s going to become of (the casino), but the excitement’s here,” he said. “I don’t see the casino necessarily touching what we’re doing, but I think psychologically, it’s a very big deal. It just creates a lot of conversation.”
McCormack said development in Petersburg is a lot different since his early days there, back when he said he had mentors call him an idiot for investing there and banks weren’t eager to finance his deals. But as the cost of living rises in Richmond, he said he thinks the comparatively affordable Petersburg will continue to gain traction.
“Investing in Petersburg has not always been the most easy story to tell. It takes a long time to get this momentum,” McCormack said. “In Richmond, it did not happen overnight. … I think Petersburg is on a very similar trajectory and a lot of good things are happening right now.”
Dave McCormack and Emily Sanfratella. (Courtesy Waukeshaw Development)
Dave McCormack continues to bet big on Petersburg.
His longtime firm, Waukeshaw Development, is working on a slate of new projects that’ll bring nearly 400 apartments and new commercial space to the city’s Olde Towne area.
At 600 W. Wythe St. and 221 Bollingbrook St., Waukeshaw is planning conversion projects that’ll see the two warehouses turned into 295 and 82 apartments, respectively.
The company also is renovating a long-vacant building at 416 Third St. into 10,000 square feet of commercial space that will face Trapezium Brewing Co., which Waukeshaw also owns and operates.
Over at 530 E. Washington St., just off Interstate 95, the firm is under contract to purchase the blighted former Travel Inn hotel, McCormack said.
Waukeshaw is one of Petersburg’s most prolific developers with a portfolio that includes an ongoing riverfront harbor development, Trapezium and more. The company is led by McCormack and longtime Chief Operating Officer Emily Sanfratella, who joined the firm after she was a tenant at one of McCormack’s buildings and the two hit it off.
McCormack got his start in Petersburg real estate in the early 2000s, thanks to an alt-country band.
“I used to play in a band and we were getting kicked out of our practice spaces by the developers on Broad Street (in Richmond),” he said. “I came down here because it was so cheap. We had a warehouse that we practiced in down here. Back in those days, the warehouses down here were less than $1 per square foot.”
McCormack’s first big project in the city was the Mayton Transfer Lofts, a 223-unit phased development he sold to Capital Square in 2018 for $21 million.
To date McCormack and Waukeshaw have developed about 500 apartments in Petersburg and 1,500 throughout the state. Other than the Mayton sale, he’s held on to all of his Petersburg holdings.
Over the years the Petersburg market has had its ups and downs, he said, but lately there’s been a jump that’s reflected in low apartment vacancy rates and a lack of older buildings available for conversion. That momentum has prompted Waukeshaw to kickstart the projects on the Wythe, Bollingbrook and Washington properties, which the company has owned for years.
“That’s the exciting part: all these disparate parts and pieces that we’ve worked on are all starting to coalesce into a bigger vision down here,” McCormack said.
At 295 units, the Wythe Street redevelopment will be among Waukeshaw’s larger projects. (Mike Platania photos)
The largest of these newest projects is at the Wythe Street site, where Waukeshaw is planning to convert a 227,000-square-foot former luggage factory into 295 apartments. Waukeshaw bought the property for $3 million in 2021, and McCormack said the hope is to begin construction on the $45 million project early next year.
Work is already underway at the Bollingbrook property, where a four-story warehouse is being turned into 82 units in a $12 million project. Local architecture firm 3North designed the apartments, which McCormack said has been dubbed “Fringe” and hopes will set a new high standard for apartments in Petersburg.
“We’re going to re-skin that thing and do some really cool stuff to it. It’ll all look absolutely beautiful at the end,” he said.
A rendering of the Bollingbrook Street development. (Courtesy 3North)
Waukeshaw bought that property about a year ago for $1 million. McCormack said completion in expected in the summer of 2025.
At the Third Street site, Waukeshaw is converting a 170-year-old building into commercial space that’ll be divided into around five 2,000-square-foot suites set to be completed in the coming weeks. That project’s budget is $1.5 million.
The building is located right across from Trapezium, the Fringe project and Demolition Coffee, a coffee shop McCormack started around 15 years ago but recently sold to Laura Boehmer and Ben Cronk of the nearby Buttermilk Bake Shop. He said he’s hoping that the proximity of the new commercial space to other established businesses will be a draw.
“We’re going to be looking for five really high-quality, creative businesses – a bike shop, bread place, whatever,” he said, “(so) we can keep enhancing the multiuse nature of this neighborhood.”
Waukeshaw is financing each of the three developments with the help of historic tax credits. C&F Bank is the lender on the Wythe Street project, Virginia Credit Union is financing the Bollingbrook Street deal, and First Community Bank is the lender on Third Street.
Waukeshaw’s plans for the old Travel Inn at 530 E. Washington St. are less clear, but McCormack did confirm that the company has it under contract. The vacant, six-story building had been slated to go up for auction earlier this year before Waukeshaw swooped in.
Waukeshaw’s also set to purchase a vacant, six-story hotel near Interstate 95.
Waukeshaw isn’t the only developer bullish on Petersburg. Local development firm Sycamore Street Properties is working on two hotel renovations in the city, one of which will be a mixed-use conversion.
Petersburg also is set to vote this fall on a casino proposal from Baltimore’s Cordish Cos., the same firm that once vied to build a casino near the Scott’s Addition area in Richmond. McCormack said the prospect of a major economic development project such as a casino has added to Petersburg’s momentum.
“No one really knows what’s going to become of (the casino), but the excitement’s here,” he said. “I don’t see the casino necessarily touching what we’re doing, but I think psychologically, it’s a very big deal. It just creates a lot of conversation.”
McCormack said development in Petersburg is a lot different since his early days there, back when he said he had mentors call him an idiot for investing there and banks weren’t eager to finance his deals. But as the cost of living rises in Richmond, he said he thinks the comparatively affordable Petersburg will continue to gain traction.
“Investing in Petersburg has not always been the most easy story to tell. It takes a long time to get this momentum,” McCormack said. “In Richmond, it did not happen overnight. … I think Petersburg is on a very similar trajectory and a lot of good things are happening right now.”
Dave is every brokers dream client. He makes quick decisions and is sincere on his intent. There’s no BS in his contract negotiation. I was pleased to represent him on the sale of 600 Wythe Street working with CBRE’s Susan Jones who repped the seller. That building was once one of the largest trunk factories in the world.
Yeah, that sure is a big parcel — not merely the factory bldgs but it is almost a whole campus!
I agree that Petersburg is one of the last affordable housing markets considering the cost of living and housing prices here in Richmond have caused buyers and renters alike to seek out other options.
Yes Patricia, I think that is a big part of why there is so much energy rising in Petersburg even without the Casino. For decades people have looked at the math and seen that a residence in Petersburg was often tangibly a better bargain than most other places in the Richmond metro — but now it is really coming down to “I can afford to buy in Petersburg or…… rent somewhere else. Small builders are able to buy up vacant city lots, build a 1200sf house, and sell it for $250k — Petersburg is probably the only place where this… Read more »
Interesting situation on the old Travel Inn (once HoJos 1980s I think – the old restaurant looks like one of theirs) but it did get a refresh in 2013 after a lot of issues as a Travelodge. I think it was all cosmetic so maybe the older systems came back but it looked nice in summer 2014 when it was Rodeway Inn and hosted some Ft Lee/Ft Gregg-Adam overflow students. Lost Rodeway affiliation rather fast though and stopped being GSA approved. Across the street someone has opened a new Bistro.
Yeah that new Bistro is an interesting addition to the neighborhood.
… some folks also thought Bill Abeloff was a bit nuts when he did one building after another in Tobacco Row 30+ years ago, questioning how deep the market was for apartments in RVA! (insert the ironic “wha wha wha!”). Dave is crazy like a fox and Virginia is fortunate to have him working in so many communities!
Crazy like a fox was one of my father’s favorite phrases. 🙂 Yeah, McCormick has stated elsewhere in print that he was also told not to invest in some marginal part Richmond (in this case on a fringe of the Fan, I think) and that of course worked out for him as well. Sure, VA is fortunate to have McCormick, but Petersburg really has a lot more to thank him for. People have gotten annoyed with me for saying that he has clearly done more for Petersburg than any other person, (part of that is likely that he is not… Read more »
spot on Shawn, Bedford for sure, now Clarksville as well … and I have a deep well of bad Dad jokes and phrases when needed 😉
So he finished that bldg in Clarksville, eh? I walked by it once years ago and it was still a shell. I wonder if he has any designs on other places in Rocky Mount — when I was there it seemed like it needed someone like him to buy up the entire strip, but he may be out there cursing me for either suggesting it or tipping people off about it (Only One Hour to Raleigh!)
Yeah, I think my father grew up fantasizing he was a cowboy or something….
Based off of google streetview Petersburg has seas of empty dead over grown parking lots waiting to grow tens of thousands of new apartment buildings. Now will Petersburg up zone these empty parking lots to allow 5 to 15 story apartment buildings on them.
Glad you noticed!!! I bet you they would be happy to do that in what is known as Blandford. It is already heavily commercial and in serious serious need of new things over there. The area has long been frankly a nuisance. Question is demand. Tens of Thousands? Fifteen Stories? I don’t know that anyone wants to do make such a big investment over there right now, but there are a LOT of little lots there too that could bought if the commercial areas got all filled up. Indeed, that area is precisely the best place to do any large… Read more »