A smaller and shorter apartment building is now planned beside the old Richmond Community Hospital building, which would be fully preserved and repurposed. (Images courtesy VUU)
Responding to pushback to proposals that would have razed all or part of the old Richmond Community Hospital building, Virginia Union University released what it says is its final plan for hundreds of new apartments that now calls for preserving the entire century-old structure that once housed the first black hospital in the city.
VUU announced Tuesday that developer Steinbridge Group has scaled back its plans for two new apartment buildings along Overbrook Road based on input received from the community since August, when a previous plan was released that called for preserving only part of the 1930s-era hospital building that’s stood vacant along Overbrook for decades.
An earlier plan released in February indicated the entire building would be razed to make way for the apartments, which initially totaled 200 units across two six-story buildings.
The new plan scales down those buildings to four stories with 31 fewer units between them, a reduction of 15 percent. The apartments planned beside the hospital building at 1209 Overbrook would total 96 units (down from 125), while the building at the corner of Overbrook and Brook Road would now total 73 units, two fewer than previously planned.
The apartment building at Brook and Overbrook has also been scaled down from six stories to four.
Unit sizes in both buildings have also been reduced, and the announcement said the lesser number of units would result in fewer parking spaces needed. Size ranges for the apartments were not specified in the announcement.
Renderings show the 1209 Overbrook building would reach five stories right beside the hospital building, while the rest of the new structure would be four stories. The hospital building would be restored and repurposed with a fitness center and health education facility, which VUU described as an homage to the hospital’s roots. Renderings also show a rooftop deck atop the hospital building.
The 1930s-era Richmond Community Hospital building along Overbrook Road. (BizSense file photo)
According to the announcement, VUU plans to seek grants and public funding to cover the cost of renovating the building. A university spokesman said the cost to renovate the building has not been finalized.
The spokesman said VUU expects to file requests for special-use permits for the project to the city in coming days.
The two new apartment buildings have been estimated to cost $40 million overall, and Philadelphia-based Steinbridge has previously pledged an additional $5 million toward commemorative work related to the hospital.
Tuesday’s announcement also mentioned two infill developments in the works at 1831 Thomas St. and 1801 Rear Bath St. The university-owned lots between the campus and the interstate are planned to be redeveloped with duplexes. Details on those projects were not covered in the announcement.
The projects are part of a larger plan to add housing on VUU property for both students and the general public. Also in the works is “Gateway North,” a five-story building at the former motel site at Brook and Lombardy Street that’s planned to include 100 apartments above 10,000 square feet of commercial space. Local developer The Hanson Co. is leading that project, which is underway.
The mixed-use building at Brook and Lombardy is planned to rise five stories and include 100 apartments.
Designers on the projects include Richmond-based KEI Architects and Martin Architectural Group in Philadelphia. Hanson Co. is working with local contracting firm Emerge Construction Group on Gateway North.
VUU has presented the projects as intending to help address Richmond’s declared housing crisis by adding hundreds of new units in the city’s Northside with a mix of market-rate and income-restricted rents. The projects are the first step of a multi-phased campus development plan that VUU unveiled in January.
The new housing would create a new revenue stream for the university, with profit from rents for the Overbrook units shared between VUU and Steinbridge through their joint venture.
The Steinbridge development was planned to start construction by the end of this year and be completed by the end of 2025. Officials have said the Gateway North building is also scheduled for completion next year.