Daniel Call House in Monroe Ward slated for demolition

The Daniel Call House, stripped of its siding, is a block east of the recently built Parc View at Commonwealth apartments, visible at right. (Jonathan Spiers photos)

A house on West Grace Street that was originally built blocks away more than 200 years ago is facing the wrecking ball.

The Daniel Call House at 211 W. Grace St. is slated for demolition after being deemed unsafe by the city. The building’s siding has been stripped in preparation for the demolition, which could occur in coming weeks.

A demo permit for the site is “under review,” according to city documents. As of Thursday, that review was shown to be nearly halfway complete.

Shown in 2022, the building is across Grace Street from the Richmond Police headquarters. (BizSense file photo)

The two-story building and half-acre property are owned by Henrico-based development firm Bank Street Advisors, which purchased the site two years ago for $3.3 million.

Bank Street principal Christian Kiniry confirmed that the building is being demolished. He said the firm does not have specific plans for the property at this point.

The property is in the heart of Monroe Ward, two blocks west of the 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth apartment building that Chicago-based Pinecrest recently completed. Zoning changes approved in 2019 allowed for taller buildings in more parts of Monroe Ward and encouraged development of the ward’s abundance of surface parking lots.

City documents show an asphalt lot on the Grace Street property will remain after the house is demolished.

The house as it appeared in its current location in 1933, three years before it was disassembled and rebuilt. (Image courtesy Library of Congress)

Dating to the late 1700s, the house was originally built on the southeast corner of Broad and Ninth streets, where the new General Assembly Building is today. It was sold to Daniel Call, an attorney, in 1798, then was sold in 1849 to Mann Valentine, who had it moved on rollers the following year to its current location.

The house was disassembled and rebuilt in 1936 by the former Frank A. Bliley Funeral Home, which used the building as a mortuary until 1981, according to an R-Home Magazine article about the house. The rebuild included concrete walls for fireproofing and altered the look of the house with a new porch and an addition off the building’s west side. The house has since been used as a school and for offices.

The 8,000-square-foot structure is not listed on state or national historic registers, and Kiniry said it is not protected from demolition, such as by an easement.

The rebuild included a single-story addition on the west side of the house.

Bank Street applied for the demo permit in September, after site inspections conducted over the summer. S.B. Cox will be handling the demolition.

Bank Street bought the property in September 2022, the same month it purchased the former Richmond Camera building at 215 W. Broad St., a block north. Both properties were owned by entities tied to Richmond Camera President Ted Bullard.

The Grace Street property is assessed by the city at $1.28 million.

Bank Street has been active in Monroe Ward for years. The firm helped develop Quirk Hotel and Common House, and it developed the seven-story One Canal apartment building at Canal and First streets and converted a pair of office buildings at Cary and Foushee streets into 17 apartments.

On the same block as Quirk and the Richmond Camera building, Bank Street is planning an eight-story residential building at the corner of Broad and Madison streets.