A rendering of the apartment building planned at Thalbro and Westmoreland streets, where a plaza would front the intersection. (Courtesy of Henrico County documents)
Note: This story has been updated with comments from UTurn CEO Adrienne Wright received after publication.
The lure of Henrico’s Westwood area has drawn a downtown developer out of the city for her first foray into the suburbs.
Fulton Hill Properties, led by developer Margaret Freund, is planning a seven-story building with 253 apartments at the intersection of Thalbro and Westmoreland streets, on land that until recently was part of the adjacent UTurn sports complex.
Margaret Freund
The 1.8-acre site, currently a parking lot and greenspace, is across Thalbro from Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods’ corporate office and the recently completed Tapestry West apartments.
The site was subdivided in February from UTurn’s larger property and sold to Fulton Hill in April for $1.8 million. Online property records do not list a county assessment for the subdivided parcel. UTurn’s 6.3-acre property, which is now 4.5 acres, was assessed in January at $5.4 million.
Plans submitted to the county call for a seven-story structure with five levels of apartments above a two-level parking podium. Elevations show the seven-story building would reach about 74 feet in height, taller than the five-story Tapestry West apartments but comparable to the next-door Kinsale headquarters building.
Tapestry West, from Tennessee-based Bristol Development Group, is one of several apartment projects introducing residential development to the so-called Westwood area, the industrial corridor on the north side of West Broad Street between Westwood Avenue and Staples Mill Road.
Other apartments in the works include Spy Rock Real Estate Group’s 254-unit building near Topgolf, and the 340 apartments that Alliance Residential Co. is planning at the former Motleys auction site on Broad, a few blocks south of the Fulton Hill site.
Those buildings are planned to rise five and four stories, respectively. Another project planned near Westwood’s northern end – a 240-unit tower by a group led by Joe Marchetti Jr. – has been approved to reach 10 stories in height.
The parking lot and greenspace where the building would rise is beside the white-colored UTurn building and across the street from the Tapestry West and Kinsale parking deck. (Jonathan Spiers photo)
Fulton Hill’s building would include 2,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 10,000 square feet of space for amenities, including an interior courtyard and pool, green space, and a plaza. The parking deck would total 299 spaces, one for each bedroom in the building.
The apartments would consist of primarily one-bedroom floorplans, with 18 studios and 46 two-bedroom units. The plans do not include sizes or rents for the units.
Reached Wednesday, Freund declined to comment on the project ahead of a scheduled presentation to Henrico’s Planning Commission next week. The project requires a provisional-use permit, which Freund is requesting from the county with representation from Andy Condlin, a local attorney with Roth Jackson Gibbons Condlin.
In a staff report, county planners recommend deferring the request at next Thursday’s meeting to give the company time to provide additional details required by Henrico’s fire division. The report says the county could support the request once those details are provided.
A conceptual site plan shows the disputed fire access and planned amenities. (Courtesy of Henrico County documents)
According to the report, the fire division doesn’t support the project’s conceptual layout as presented. Because the size and height of the building requires a 24-foot-wide access road on all sides that do not face a public road, the division says a turnaround for firetrucks is needed where the access roads would result in a dead-end fire lane.
Fulton Hill is working on the project with civil engineering firm VHB. Poole & Poole Architecture designed the building and apartments.
The staff report states that UTurn previously used the site for parking and would continue operations on its remaining property, which includes a 160,000-square-foot building that also houses its Collaboratory of Virginia coworking space for nonprofits.
Adrienne Wright
CEO Adrienne Wright said UTurn and the Collaboratory are working with Fulton Hill on opportunities for providing amenities and services for the apartments’ residents.
“We’re excited about the project,” Wright said Thursday, adding that UTurn had been approached by multiple developers since it bought the building in 2005.
“I’ve known about the work that Margaret’s been doing in Richmond. I think that she’s going to be really great in this market for Westwood’s development because she brings a sensitivity to mixed-use housing,” Wright said. “I’m excited that she’s a part of the overall development of this area.”
The development would be Fulton Hill’s first outside the city, according to its website. The company’s other developments include Artisan Hill, the Lady Byrd Hat building and the Canal Crossing complex, where it recently started an apartments addition that will add 44 units above the Buffalo Wild Wings.
Corrections: Tapestry West was developed by Bristol Development Group. An earlier version of this story listed a different developer.
VHB is the civil engineer on the project. Another firm previously mentioned is not involved in the project.
A rendering of the apartment building planned at Thalbro and Westmoreland streets, where a plaza would front the intersection. (Courtesy of Henrico County documents)
Note: This story has been updated with comments from UTurn CEO Adrienne Wright received after publication.
The lure of Henrico’s Westwood area has drawn a downtown developer out of the city for her first foray into the suburbs.
Fulton Hill Properties, led by developer Margaret Freund, is planning a seven-story building with 253 apartments at the intersection of Thalbro and Westmoreland streets, on land that until recently was part of the adjacent UTurn sports complex.
Margaret Freund
The 1.8-acre site, currently a parking lot and greenspace, is across Thalbro from Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods’ corporate office and the recently completed Tapestry West apartments.
The site was subdivided in February from UTurn’s larger property and sold to Fulton Hill in April for $1.8 million. Online property records do not list a county assessment for the subdivided parcel. UTurn’s 6.3-acre property, which is now 4.5 acres, was assessed in January at $5.4 million.
Plans submitted to the county call for a seven-story structure with five levels of apartments above a two-level parking podium. Elevations show the seven-story building would reach about 74 feet in height, taller than the five-story Tapestry West apartments but comparable to the next-door Kinsale headquarters building.
Tapestry West, from Tennessee-based Bristol Development Group, is one of several apartment projects introducing residential development to the so-called Westwood area, the industrial corridor on the north side of West Broad Street between Westwood Avenue and Staples Mill Road.
Other apartments in the works include Spy Rock Real Estate Group’s 254-unit building near Topgolf, and the 340 apartments that Alliance Residential Co. is planning at the former Motleys auction site on Broad, a few blocks south of the Fulton Hill site.
Those buildings are planned to rise five and four stories, respectively. Another project planned near Westwood’s northern end – a 240-unit tower by a group led by Joe Marchetti Jr. – has been approved to reach 10 stories in height.
The parking lot and greenspace where the building would rise is beside the white-colored UTurn building and across the street from the Tapestry West and Kinsale parking deck. (Jonathan Spiers photo)
Fulton Hill’s building would include 2,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 10,000 square feet of space for amenities, including an interior courtyard and pool, green space, and a plaza. The parking deck would total 299 spaces, one for each bedroom in the building.
The apartments would consist of primarily one-bedroom floorplans, with 18 studios and 46 two-bedroom units. The plans do not include sizes or rents for the units.
Reached Wednesday, Freund declined to comment on the project ahead of a scheduled presentation to Henrico’s Planning Commission next week. The project requires a provisional-use permit, which Freund is requesting from the county with representation from Andy Condlin, a local attorney with Roth Jackson Gibbons Condlin.
In a staff report, county planners recommend deferring the request at next Thursday’s meeting to give the company time to provide additional details required by Henrico’s fire division. The report says the county could support the request once those details are provided.
A conceptual site plan shows the disputed fire access and planned amenities. (Courtesy of Henrico County documents)
According to the report, the fire division doesn’t support the project’s conceptual layout as presented. Because the size and height of the building requires a 24-foot-wide access road on all sides that do not face a public road, the division says a turnaround for firetrucks is needed where the access roads would result in a dead-end fire lane.
Fulton Hill is working on the project with civil engineering firm VHB. Poole & Poole Architecture designed the building and apartments.
The staff report states that UTurn previously used the site for parking and would continue operations on its remaining property, which includes a 160,000-square-foot building that also houses its Collaboratory of Virginia coworking space for nonprofits.
Adrienne Wright
CEO Adrienne Wright said UTurn and the Collaboratory are working with Fulton Hill on opportunities for providing amenities and services for the apartments’ residents.
“We’re excited about the project,” Wright said Thursday, adding that UTurn had been approached by multiple developers since it bought the building in 2005.
“I’ve known about the work that Margaret’s been doing in Richmond. I think that she’s going to be really great in this market for Westwood’s development because she brings a sensitivity to mixed-use housing,” Wright said. “I’m excited that she’s a part of the overall development of this area.”
The development would be Fulton Hill’s first outside the city, according to its website. The company’s other developments include Artisan Hill, the Lady Byrd Hat building and the Canal Crossing complex, where it recently started an apartments addition that will add 44 units above the Buffalo Wild Wings.
Corrections: Tapestry West was developed by Bristol Development Group. An earlier version of this story listed a different developer.
VHB is the civil engineer on the project. Another firm previously mentioned is not involved in the project.
I’m glad to see more investment in this area. Will Henrico improve the traffic flow and add sidewalks at the odd intersection right in front of this development (Westmoreland and Thalboro)? It would be a good spot for a roundabout and to have sidewalks going down Westmoreland to Broad. As someone who works in the area, you regularly see people walking along the side of the road and people go well over the posted 35mph limit to the point police setup in this area often.
A roundabout would definitely slow the flow of traffic down, maybe a few light speed humps would work as well.
The bots definitely have something against me. Why do you always downvote my input?
Zach, I didn’t downvote you, but think about it. Roundabouts are designed to keep vehicles moving, not stop them. Stop signs or lights allow crossing pedestrian traffic while merging traffic of a roundabout doesn’t.
And speed bumps don’t “improve” traffic flow. They hinder it.
You must not have studied roads in the Netherlands. Carmel Indiana, is also a good city to look at for my ideas. Think about it, keeping that traffic flowing will allow the cars to spread out and not get so bunched together. Keeping traffic tightened up at lights causes traffic jams.
Henrico County requires sidewalks with new developments so it should be a given that sidewalks will be included with Margaret Freund’s project.
Brian, the question I posed is: Will Henrico add sidewalks and improve the traffic/safety of this area (not the developer)? Sidewalks are needed for people to be able to walk from this new building to W Broad St. As of now vehicles go flying around the curve right by the Ukrop’s facility.
They are in the conceptual site plan. Sidewalks to plaza at Westmoreland Street where the property goes back off the road. Fire comments are really interesting.
Fire codes require a method for apparatus to turn around. They also include maximum hose-lay distances (to remote hydrants). Both are issues on this layout. The Chief can waive some of these requirements but are very reluctant given the residential use (as opposed to office or commercial).
These issues are magnified as building heights increase.
Thanks for your concern. The team is working with the county on building compliance.
Mike, I have always found the Chief great to work with. (I was just explaining possible issues with the previous poster). I have no doubt you will get it worked out. Good luck on the project.
The requirement must be minimal, at best. The sidewalks around the new developments at Regency, and lack thereof, are a joke. So many people walk on Quiocassin, Starling and East Ridge. It’s not safe or pedestrian friendly.
Lee, the hurdle is the access to build offsite sidewalks. Either easements must be acquired or right-of-way must be bought. That’s more of a public project. It’s also difficult to require a developer to make offsite improvements such as turn-lanes, utilities etc., unless the site needs them to operate. Their must be a valid reason, such as traffic impact.
So glad to see new development and opportunities coming to this area!