The developers recently bought the two buildings for a combined $3.5 million. (Mike Platania photo)
Local developers George Emerson and Phil Roper just picked up more land to continue their transformation of the area around the downtown YMCA.
The longtime collaborators, whose firm recently rebranded from Plus Management to Real Estate Services Co., last month paid a combined $3.5 million for the buildings and land at 9 and 11 W. Grace St.
The sellers were the buildings’ current, respective occupants: recording studio Red Amp Audio and nonprofit shelter operator HomeAgain.
The two parcels will be combined with neighboring parking lots the developers have owned for several years to make way for a $100 million, 11-story tower that will span 1-17 W. Grace St. and house student apartments totaling 680 beds.
The April 16 sales give Emerson and Roper control of nearly the entire block and allow them to go bigger than they had initially planned along Grace Street.
In 2023, they bought the adjacent YMCA building for $3 million and kicked off a project to renovate the Y and convert the offices above it into 36 apartments.
They had also previously bought the two parking lots on each side of the Red Amp and HomeAgain properties for a combined $3.9 million, and were initially planning to build around those buildings. They had envisioned a six-story building at Grace and Adams and an 11-story, 160-unit building at Grace and Foushee.
But Roper said the recent addition of the Red Amp and HomeAgain properties allowed them to reconfigure the development and add some density.
“It’s a big building. We’re in the process of finishing up the design now,” Roper said. “It took about three years to get (the Red Amp and HomeAgain) parcels worked out.”
A conceptual massing of the planned building. (Courtesy Real Estate Services Co.)
With 680 beds spread across 250 units, the new building would be targeted toward college students. Roper said they’ll be furnished and each individual bed would be available for lease.
“We’ve never done (rentals) by the bed before. We’ve been looking for it for years because it saves the parents from having to bring furniture in and doesn’t wear the building out as quick. And you can make a little bit more money if everything works right,” he said.
Also planned is about 6,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that would front Grace and Foushee streets, and a 288-space parking deck that would be partially below-grade. Planned amenities include a pool, courtyard and club room.
A site plan for the development.
The development is estimated to cost around $105 million. It’s being designed by WPA Studios, the local architecture firm formerly known as Walter Parks Architects, and MA Design, a firm out of Columbus, Ohio. Roper said they’ll also have an equity partner in the project: Uptown Rental Properties, a Cincinnati-based student housing developer.
Roper said he anticipates construction to begin in spring 2026 and last about two years. A general contractor has not yet been selected.
In the meantime, Red Amp has leased back its space and continues to operate on Grace Street. It’s unclear what will become of HomeAgain’s eight-bed shelter next door.
The properties’ B-4 Central Business District zoning allows for a mix of uses and has no height restriction, but Roper said he expects they may need additional city approvals due to inclined plane penetration restrictions. The 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth tower, which wrapped up construction a few blocks down last year, had to get a special-use permit for a similar reason.
Emerson and Roper’s portfolio includes a number of developments in Chesterfield County, such as The Jane at Moore’s Lake apartments in Chester and The Vue at Westchester Commons. Roper said they’ve got a handful more developments in the pipeline they hope to announce this year.
BizSense reporter Jonathan Spiers contributed to this report.
The developers recently bought the two buildings for a combined $3.5 million. (Mike Platania photo)
Local developers George Emerson and Phil Roper just picked up more land to continue their transformation of the area around the downtown YMCA.
The longtime collaborators, whose firm recently rebranded from Plus Management to Real Estate Services Co., last month paid a combined $3.5 million for the buildings and land at 9 and 11 W. Grace St.
The sellers were the buildings’ current, respective occupants: recording studio Red Amp Audio and nonprofit shelter operator HomeAgain.
The two parcels will be combined with neighboring parking lots the developers have owned for several years to make way for a $100 million, 11-story tower that will span 1-17 W. Grace St. and house student apartments totaling 680 beds.
The April 16 sales give Emerson and Roper control of nearly the entire block and allow them to go bigger than they had initially planned along Grace Street.
In 2023, they bought the adjacent YMCA building for $3 million and kicked off a project to renovate the Y and convert the offices above it into 36 apartments.
They had also previously bought the two parking lots on each side of the Red Amp and HomeAgain properties for a combined $3.9 million, and were initially planning to build around those buildings. They had envisioned a six-story building at Grace and Adams and an 11-story, 160-unit building at Grace and Foushee.
But Roper said the recent addition of the Red Amp and HomeAgain properties allowed them to reconfigure the development and add some density.
“It’s a big building. We’re in the process of finishing up the design now,” Roper said. “It took about three years to get (the Red Amp and HomeAgain) parcels worked out.”
A conceptual massing of the planned building. (Courtesy Real Estate Services Co.)
With 680 beds spread across 250 units, the new building would be targeted toward college students. Roper said they’ll be furnished and each individual bed would be available for lease.
“We’ve never done (rentals) by the bed before. We’ve been looking for it for years because it saves the parents from having to bring furniture in and doesn’t wear the building out as quick. And you can make a little bit more money if everything works right,” he said.
Also planned is about 6,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that would front Grace and Foushee streets, and a 288-space parking deck that would be partially below-grade. Planned amenities include a pool, courtyard and club room.
A site plan for the development.
The development is estimated to cost around $105 million. It’s being designed by WPA Studios, the local architecture firm formerly known as Walter Parks Architects, and MA Design, a firm out of Columbus, Ohio. Roper said they’ll also have an equity partner in the project: Uptown Rental Properties, a Cincinnati-based student housing developer.
Roper said he anticipates construction to begin in spring 2026 and last about two years. A general contractor has not yet been selected.
In the meantime, Red Amp has leased back its space and continues to operate on Grace Street. It’s unclear what will become of HomeAgain’s eight-bed shelter next door.
The properties’ B-4 Central Business District zoning allows for a mix of uses and has no height restriction, but Roper said he expects they may need additional city approvals due to inclined plane penetration restrictions. The 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth tower, which wrapped up construction a few blocks down last year, had to get a special-use permit for a similar reason.
Emerson and Roper’s portfolio includes a number of developments in Chesterfield County, such as The Jane at Moore’s Lake apartments in Chester and The Vue at Westchester Commons. Roper said they’ve got a handful more developments in the pipeline they hope to announce this year.
BizSense reporter Jonathan Spiers contributed to this report.
I am excited to see redevelopment of underutilized parcels moving east from VCU. While I wish it was market rate to infuse some additional life into the area I will definitely take student housing. I just hope the architecture does not end up being too plain as is often associated with student housing.
I wish the city would get rid of that stupid incline plane penetration restriction, especially downtown. It’s really holding developers back on getting some real height at the edge of the street.
💯 % It’s an unnecessary provision in the zoning regs that needs to be done away with. No one in their right mind is EVER going to confuse downtown RVA with Midtown Manhattan in any of our lifetimes, our children’s lifetimes, our grandchildren’s lifetimes or our great-grandchildren’s lifetimes.
Hopefully the new overhaul of the city zoning laws will get rid of this provision.
Glad to see some surface parking lots converted to residential/mixed use, but I am concerned about the potential loss of Home Again’s location. I’m often in the area and that shelter/resource center sees a lot of use by those in need. It’s a great location since its near other homeless/unhoused resources.
Hopefully the developers won’t follow suit and make the building look like a step up from a prison design, like all the other apartment structures around
I heard it will be tilt up concrete panels like “The Locks Tower” (E Byrd X S 10th). Richmond is looking more and more like an eastern block state everyday (utilitarian, minimalist aesthetic)
Oh dear God – I hope not. I shudder to think about having another version of the Locks Tower downtown. I’d much rather have something designed similar to Parc View Commonwealth – at least that has some brickwork & some interesting features (relatively speaking).
You and me both
It’s really great to see projects going into downtown there, I hope it gets built.
This is going to be a really good thing and help locate more people in this part of the city just as the larger area adapts to the post pandemic changes in office space usage. Hopefully it will inspire the owners of other parking lots within view of what is possible! There aren’t that many chances left to put up such a large structure in the heart of the city that visitors to the many surrounding (three blocks or less) hotels might walk by, admire during their stay in RVA and share with people where they live. This legacy opportunity… Read more »
I am puzzled by the headline “grab extra land”. The phrase is pejorative and inaccurate. The developers bought the land. What am I missing?
Which part do you not like, “grab” or “extra?” I’m fine with it. “Grab” is less boring than “bought.” And “extra” refers to the fact that they are adding it to their nearby holdings.