The 1.1-acre parcel is just east of the Expressway in the Museum District. (Mike Platania photos)
The buyer of a sizable property across from Scott’s Addition has been revealed.
Thalhimer Realty Partners last week paid $4.1 million for the former Wells Fargo branch building and 1-acre parcel at 3501 W. Broad St.
The property became available last summer when Wells Fargo closed the branch after the banking giant and its predecessors had operated there for decades. The site went under contract earlier this year, but the identity of the buyer had remained a mystery.
The sale closed Nov. 1, city records show. The land and vacant 9,900-square-foot building were most recently assessed by the city at $5.3 million.
TRP is one of the more prolific developers in town, most notably for leading the Diamond District development that’ll surround the Flying Squirrels’ new ballpark. The company also has holdings in the immediate vicinity of the Wells Fargo property, including the dialysis center it developed across the street at 3407 W. Broad St.
TRP principal Matt Raggi didn’t say what’s in store for the Wells Fargo property, but it “checked a lot of boxes” for the firm.
“We continue to be big believers in Scott’s Addition in the long term and the size of the parcel was particularly attractive as it provides more flexible development options, which are becoming less available,” Raggi said. “We also like the Broad Street frontage and easy access to the neighborhood and Museum District.”
Long term, TRP could build up to 12 stories and include a mix of uses on the site, thanks to its existing TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal district zoning, but Raggi said TRP will be looking to lease the existing building on a short-term basis.
“While we have a few conceptual designs done, we don’t have any immediate plans right now (to redevelop the lot),” Raggi said.
In recent weeks TRP finished work on the seven-story Novel Scott’s Addition apartment building across from The Diamond, and sold the nearby Pet Dairy facility to VCU Health for $9.5 million.
It also recently resumed work on the former Sampson Coatings site in Manchester. Raggi said last week construction has begun on the podium and garage that’ll be the base of a 250-unit apartment building at 301 Hull St.
I’m hoping they build a signature building on that plot, it’s a bit of a gateway to the city
The Sampson Paint building on Hull Street has been an eyesore development problem for a decade. I’m glad to learn that Thalhimer is the one taking it forward. It also ends a short period of development stall-outs there. Perhaps others like Beach and Avery Hall will join the construction pipeline soon.