The 1780s-era Woodward House on Williamsburg Avenue is the last structure remaining from the neighborhood that surrounded Rocketts Landing when it was an active port. (Jonathan Spiers photo)
One of the oldest homes in Richmond has been put up for sale as part of a 2-acre listing near Libby Hill Park that’s being marketed as a development opportunity.
The 18th-century Woodward House property, across Williamsburg Avenue from Libby Hill, hit the market this fall with an asking price of $2.9 million.
The largely wooded parcel extends eastward along the road from its intersection with Main Street. The property, at 3017 Williamsburg Ave., is beside the old Fulton Gas Works site and across the train tracks from the roundabout at Main and Dock Street.
The listing includes the 2½-story house, which dates to the early 1780s and is under a preservation easement. Believed to be one of the oldest wood-framed dwellings still standing in Richmond, the house is the last remaining structure from the neighborhood that surrounded Rocketts Landing when it was an active port.
While the house is off-limits, the rest of the property is able to be developed for residential or commercial use, said owner Graham Aston, who purchased it in 2012 with its development potential in mind.
Graham Aston
“It’s a great location, and I’m hoping someone can see the location as a great development spot,” Aston said.
“I’ve had renters in (the house) ever since I bought it. The point for me always was: it’s 2 acres in downtown Richmond, and it’s a gorgeous house that needs preserving.”
Aston said he’s selling the property in light of the market as he eases into retirement from Saunders Roofing, the local company he has led that was founded by his father-in-law, Paul Saunders. Aston is in turn handing over the family business to his own son-in-law, Jarrod Frakes.
“I’m retiring and easing things up, and it seems like the market is still holding good,” said Aston, who listed the property with Ryan Fanelli and Ben Bruni of Commonwealth Commercial.
They said the listing has drawn interest from local and regional residential developers, as well as some retail developers. Townhomes are considered a viable option for the site, which is zoned for manufacturing but recommended in the city’s Richmond 300 master plan for “neighborhood mixed-use.”
Aston said he was approached by one group a few years ago that envisioned the site as an urban winery, but determined the site wouldn’t work for them.
“We’ve always understood it’s kind of a unique parcel,” Aston said. “It’s 2 acres downtown, it does have the house, and that area is just growing so fast, it’s going to take someone with a little imagination to look at the site and figure out how they would develop that.”
The largely wooded site is between Williamsburg Avenue and the railroad tracks downhill from Libby Terrace. (Image courtesy Commonwealth Commercial)
Located between Shockoe Bottom, Fulton and Rocketts Landing, the site is up the street from the Stone Brewing facility and in an area that is poised for growth.
The city in recent years has been positioning the Fulton Gas Works properties for potential development, and across the street, the Armitage building at 3200 Williamsburg Ave. is in line for eventual redevelopment, following The Wilton Cos.’ purchase of that property and others around it in 2016.
Enlarged from a two-room cottage built in the early 1780s, the original house was built by John Woodward, a captain of a sloop and other ships operating out of Rocketts Landing, according to its listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register. The larger house was built off it in 1829.
Threatened with demolition when Williamsburg Avenue was to be widened, the house was spared the wrecking ball in 1974 by a group that included the Historic Richmond Foundation (now Historic Richmond), which acquired it and established the preservation easement.
Other houses in the area were torn down as part of the urban renewal effort at nearby Fulton, said Cyane Crump, executive director of Historic Richmond.
“It’s the last survivor of its neighborhood,” Crump said, adding that the house is one of only a few that date to Richmond’s beginnings and before its establishment as the state capital.
After it was saved, the house was sold and restored as a private residence, and went through several owners before Aston bought it in 2012 for $270,000. The city assessed the property this year at $539,000.
An undated photo of the house from a previous listing. (Image courtesy Redfin)
In addition to the easement, Historic Richmond also holds a first right of refusal on the property, which Crump said requires that the group be consulted on any contract received and given the chance to exercise or waive its refusal right.
Crump said the easement covers any improvements on the parcel and gives Historic Richmond approval rights over all development on it. She noted the property also is in the city’s Woodward House/Rocketts Old and Historic District, so approval would also be needed from Richmond’s Commission of Architectural Review.
“We are aware the property is for sale, and we have reminded the seller and their broker of the terms of our legal arrangements,” Crump said. “We look forward to hearing from them when they have more information of their plans to share with us.”
Aston said they’ve had several groups look at the property. He said some continue to and he’s hopeful that one will come through with an offer at some point.
The Woodward House property is the second notable residence that Aston has put up for sale in recent years.
Last year, he listed his Barnstone residence, a Tudor-style house in Charles City County that he built off the bones of an 1800s-era barn. The riverside estate was listed at $2.3 million and sold in an auction this February.
Real estate websites list the Barnstone sale at $1.8 million. Charles City County’s online property records do not yet reflect the sale or list the buyer. Aston now resides in Richmond’s Northside.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Woodward House as the oldest wood-framed dwelling in the city. The 1750s-era Patteson-Schutte House in Forest Hill is recognized as the oldest.
The 1780s-era Woodward House on Williamsburg Avenue is the last structure remaining from the neighborhood that surrounded Rocketts Landing when it was an active port. (Jonathan Spiers photo)
One of the oldest homes in Richmond has been put up for sale as part of a 2-acre listing near Libby Hill Park that’s being marketed as a development opportunity.
The 18th-century Woodward House property, across Williamsburg Avenue from Libby Hill, hit the market this fall with an asking price of $2.9 million.
The largely wooded parcel extends eastward along the road from its intersection with Main Street. The property, at 3017 Williamsburg Ave., is beside the old Fulton Gas Works site and across the train tracks from the roundabout at Main and Dock Street.
The listing includes the 2½-story house, which dates to the early 1780s and is under a preservation easement. Believed to be one of the oldest wood-framed dwellings still standing in Richmond, the house is the last remaining structure from the neighborhood that surrounded Rocketts Landing when it was an active port.
While the house is off-limits, the rest of the property is able to be developed for residential or commercial use, said owner Graham Aston, who purchased it in 2012 with its development potential in mind.
Graham Aston
“It’s a great location, and I’m hoping someone can see the location as a great development spot,” Aston said.
“I’ve had renters in (the house) ever since I bought it. The point for me always was: it’s 2 acres in downtown Richmond, and it’s a gorgeous house that needs preserving.”
Aston said he’s selling the property in light of the market as he eases into retirement from Saunders Roofing, the local company he has led that was founded by his father-in-law, Paul Saunders. Aston is in turn handing over the family business to his own son-in-law, Jarrod Frakes.
“I’m retiring and easing things up, and it seems like the market is still holding good,” said Aston, who listed the property with Ryan Fanelli and Ben Bruni of Commonwealth Commercial.
They said the listing has drawn interest from local and regional residential developers, as well as some retail developers. Townhomes are considered a viable option for the site, which is zoned for manufacturing but recommended in the city’s Richmond 300 master plan for “neighborhood mixed-use.”
Aston said he was approached by one group a few years ago that envisioned the site as an urban winery, but determined the site wouldn’t work for them.
“We’ve always understood it’s kind of a unique parcel,” Aston said. “It’s 2 acres downtown, it does have the house, and that area is just growing so fast, it’s going to take someone with a little imagination to look at the site and figure out how they would develop that.”
The largely wooded site is between Williamsburg Avenue and the railroad tracks downhill from Libby Terrace. (Image courtesy Commonwealth Commercial)
Located between Shockoe Bottom, Fulton and Rocketts Landing, the site is up the street from the Stone Brewing facility and in an area that is poised for growth.
The city in recent years has been positioning the Fulton Gas Works properties for potential development, and across the street, the Armitage building at 3200 Williamsburg Ave. is in line for eventual redevelopment, following The Wilton Cos.’ purchase of that property and others around it in 2016.
Enlarged from a two-room cottage built in the early 1780s, the original house was built by John Woodward, a captain of a sloop and other ships operating out of Rocketts Landing, according to its listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register. The larger house was built off it in 1829.
Threatened with demolition when Williamsburg Avenue was to be widened, the house was spared the wrecking ball in 1974 by a group that included the Historic Richmond Foundation (now Historic Richmond), which acquired it and established the preservation easement.
Other houses in the area were torn down as part of the urban renewal effort at nearby Fulton, said Cyane Crump, executive director of Historic Richmond.
“It’s the last survivor of its neighborhood,” Crump said, adding that the house is one of only a few that date to Richmond’s beginnings and before its establishment as the state capital.
After it was saved, the house was sold and restored as a private residence, and went through several owners before Aston bought it in 2012 for $270,000. The city assessed the property this year at $539,000.
An undated photo of the house from a previous listing. (Image courtesy Redfin)
In addition to the easement, Historic Richmond also holds a first right of refusal on the property, which Crump said requires that the group be consulted on any contract received and given the chance to exercise or waive its refusal right.
Crump said the easement covers any improvements on the parcel and gives Historic Richmond approval rights over all development on it. She noted the property also is in the city’s Woodward House/Rocketts Old and Historic District, so approval would also be needed from Richmond’s Commission of Architectural Review.
“We are aware the property is for sale, and we have reminded the seller and their broker of the terms of our legal arrangements,” Crump said. “We look forward to hearing from them when they have more information of their plans to share with us.”
Aston said they’ve had several groups look at the property. He said some continue to and he’s hopeful that one will come through with an offer at some point.
The Woodward House property is the second notable residence that Aston has put up for sale in recent years.
Last year, he listed his Barnstone residence, a Tudor-style house in Charles City County that he built off the bones of an 1800s-era barn. The riverside estate was listed at $2.3 million and sold in an auction this February.
Real estate websites list the Barnstone sale at $1.8 million. Charles City County’s online property records do not yet reflect the sale or list the buyer. Aston now resides in Richmond’s Northside.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Woodward House as the oldest wood-framed dwelling in the city. The 1750s-era Patteson-Schutte House in Forest Hill is recognized as the oldest.
The Patteson-Schutte House off Westower Drive near Forest Hill Avenue is older https://historicrichmond.com/property/patteson-schutte-house/
The Weisiger-Carroll house on Bainbridge is also older.
Yet another glaring discrepancy between fair market value and how the City of Richmond assesses and taxes its citizens. There are numerous homes in Church Hill that are assessed at over $500,000 that could not sell for anything close to the value that they are being taxed on. So here you have a property assessed at $539,000 that is being placed on the market at $2.9 million. Not so long ago BizSense ran a similar article on aChurch Hill home on Broad Street near St John’s Church. It appears that the City of Richmond is using a random number generator… Read more »