The two buildings on the site would be razed to make way for the new development. (Mike Platania photo)
Two dilapidated buildings along Manchester’s main drag could soon make way for a new-construction apartment project that would rise five stories.
Walter Parks, Richard Smith and Malcome Sargent have filed plans for a 112-unit building at 1501-1511 Hull St.
Parks, Smith and Sargent all have backgrounds in the real estate industry: Parks leads his namesake architecture firm; Smith runs demolition and construction business RJ Smith Cos.; and Sargent is president of Lakeside-based general contractor SRC Construction.
The trio are also behind a separate five-story, 60-unit apartment building that’s in the works on the next block at 1401-1407 Hull St.
The project site for this latest proposal includes a grassy area at the corner of Hull and East 15th streets as well as a pair of boarded-up buildings that Parks said weren’t worth trying to renovate.
“We do a lot of historic tax credit work and generally like to rehab old buildings,” Parks said. “But with these, there really wasn’t enough fabric left to make it worthwhile.”
A drawing of the planned building. (City documents)
An entity tied to Smith has owned the roughly 0.6-acre since 2015 when it bought the property for $50,000, city records show.
The 112 units would stand above a 67-space parking deck and a 2,200-square-foot ground-floor commercial space.
The apartments are planned to be income-based units, as Parks said they’re planning to pursue low-income housing tax credits to help finance the development. While the 1401 Hull St. apartments needed a special-use permit to be built, Parks said they can build the 1501 Hull development by-right.
Parks’ firm is project’s designer and Brockenbrough is the engineer. Parks said they’re planning to begin demolition in spring 2025.
Parks said he and his group are hoping to help reignite more redevelopment activity in that stretch of Manchester after some momentum was lost due to the legal troubles of Michael Hild, a local businessman who became a major landlord in the neighborhood.
Hild and his wife rehabbed a handful of buildings along Hull Street between Cowardin Avenue and Commerce Road in the late 2010s, only to let the buildings fall into dormancy due to the collapse of Hild’s company Live Well Financial and his subsequent criminal charges. Many of those buildings, including those that once housed Dogtown Brewing Co. and The Butterbean cafe, are now in court-ordered receivership and likely headed for a sale.
“Hull Street has kind of been ignored a little bit,” Parks said. “I think, when (the Hild legal saga) happened, that took the wind out of the sails of Hull Street for a little while. But we’re trying to put that wind back.”
Across the river in the Arts District, Parks is also part of a group that’s renovating a 17,000-square-foot building at 2-4 E. Broad St. into 14 apartments.
Income-based units at what AMI?
my assumption is it will depend on which program they qualify for. But 60-80 at a guess if they get them
Another promising step towards the revitalization of Hull Street. Fresh progress along this dilapidated corridor is great to see after the false start of the Hild Era.
With the continued revitalization of Hull Street, the replacement of the Mayo Bridge, and the development of the Fall Line Trail, it feels like the sky is the limit in Manchester.
The growth south of the James shows no signs of slowing down. The next decade will be an exciting one for Southside residents.
Yeah! Now a grocery store please!
let’s talk about “the new red lining”
Richard bought the buildings on three blocks from Dwight Jones, the Mayor. They were in serious disrepair, unusable by any measure, without roofs and trees growing throughout. He converted the ones on the 1300 block years ago. As for the Hild era, I hope that all new construction is as solid as the work by Hild. Those who have taken over the structures from the lenders tell me that they are surprised by the quality of the work. Indeed, Manchester is flourishing and it’s great news that the Pulse north.-south route will travel down Commerce to Hull Street and pass… Read more »
Good luck, the tax credit applications have a 15%-20% chance each year of getting approved by Virginia Housing. If they did not apply this year it will be 2026 at the earliest before an allocation is ready to be finalized in a funding package and more like 2027 (apps are due in Jan/March finalized in the fall and allocated just before new year starts) And wow first level, minus 2000 sq ft, is going to a parking garage ONLY??? Wow 2/3s to 3/4s of the first floor space will be parking.
Excited for this development! I’m always cheering for new housing projects in Manchester, especially when affordability is a priority. Fingers crossed that a new grocery store is next! With all the new/upcoming housing and the bridge closure on the horizon, convenient access to groceries will be more crucial for us than ever.