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1 minute ago, Icetera said:

Oh wow!  I pretty much ignored that article as "business as usual."  I did not catch that Bruce was involved.  He is really having a great start in Manchester!

Curious if this sale might invigorate cash flow for the original developer, since they're still planning to get things going for River's Edge II - and if so, might hasten ground breaking? That project has sat dormant for quite a while - I always worry when that happens. I'd like to see some work get underway.

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Hope they make this look vey attractive and that it maxes out the height cap. You have to replace this with something as tall as the silos are now...and with a design that’s more attractive.  If Walter Parks ends up designing this,  going to be pretty upset. 

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3 hours ago, eandslee said:

Hope they make this look vey attractive and that it maxes out the height cap. You have to replace this with something as tall as the silos are now...and with a design that’s more attractive.  If Walter Parks ends up designing this,  going to be pretty upset. 

Yes - PLEASE no Walter Parks design for this... 

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I really like how this one is turning out... but I’m a fan of tower blocks (modern and brutalism are the best!) :) 

It is really attractive and clean and won’t get dated too quickly (I’m looking at you, building at the foot of the Manchester  Bridge, the one with the swooped awnings at the top).
 

I wish they would talk about the large cube to the west of the apartment tower.  What is that space?  I’d like to see something like Legend Brewing move into that space (so they can keep their skyline view and redevelop their current location and the lots between it and the river).

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Eh, it looks just OK from afar, but I think looks horrendous up close.  I realize its still under construction, but the proportions are all off and the prefab slabs still look like prefab slabs.  A few of my friends jokingly call it the "hospital".  I dread them turning the other portion into residential as well.  That being said its still 100x better than the buildings going up in front of Legends.

I know I'm in the minority here, but the highrises in Manchester are really turning out ugly and will be a scar on the skyline in 10+ years.  Yes it's people on the ground, but these will not age well.

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I agree that the other two mid-rises won’t age well (the one I mentioned is getting uglier by the day) but this one will look the best 10-20 years from now.  Right now the 1960’s (could be early 70’s I guess?) mid-rise on Riverside Drive is the most attractive in all of Manchester, IMO. This building is closer to that classic style that hasn’t been awkward in any of its 60+ years.   Landscaping will make the base of this mid-rise more attractive.  I’m not a fan of the brown metal cladding but I suspect that it gets buried behind trees. 
 

 

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Caravati's is re-locating from Manchester to Ashland. What does this mean for Manchester? From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/business/watch-now-after-82-years-in-manchester-architectural-salvage-firm-caravatis-is-moving-to-ashland/article_8a114656-33fd-5405-afa5-4bace1b39640.html#tracking-source=home-trending

Edited by I miss RVA
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I thought I had read that someone already bought the Caravati’s property in Manchester already, but I could be wrong. Either way, this is PRIME real estate and I expect something good to go there.  Let’s hope the developers meet or exceed my expectations!

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I went to high school with Jim Kastelberg. I think grade school too. I can't remember back that far! 

My concern from the article is that the old building apparently will be retained and renovated for living space - okay... fine - but if they're applying for upzoning to B  ? (B-6, B-4? I don't recall) - does this mean they would merely integrate the existing building into any new development or will that kibosh anything large-scale being developed there?

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17 hours ago, blake_p said:

 

IMG_0313.thumb.jpg.b9e49fe5af48008afeb8a773ff5644fa.jpg

Thanks for posting,  I haven't been able to get to Manchester for almost a year,  things have really changed. 

I zoomed in on the image above, there's a bird flying over,  looks like an eagle, probably an osprey, it's pixelated, but has what appears to be a white head.

 

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Is this the site of Rivers Edge II - the twin 11-story apartment buildings that's been long-announced (and, whw53, correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't there been at least SOME movement on this on the paperwork side with the city?) - but as of yet no ground has been broken... ??  Based on the empty lot, the location relative to the rail line (and the angle of the rail line, and the buildings in the background, this very much looks like the site for that project.

I know we've all kvetched about the architecture of that project - but honestly, I've personally moved this project (and the 512 Hull Street - PortRVA2 11 or 12-story building) to the top of my personal "must get underway and the sooner the better" list. Having three high rise residential buildings begin rising in Manchester would be fantastic to see - and from all indications the market is plenty hot enough to support these two projects rising at the same time.

EDIT: I forgot to add the photo...

IMG_0313.jpg.48560f754a88b302d8c511b275c97ef1.jpg

Edited by I miss RVA
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6 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

I know we've all kvetched about the architecture of that project - but honestly, I've personally moved this project (and the 512 Hull Street - PortRVA2 11 or 12-story building) to the top of my personal "must get underway and the sooner the better" list. Having three high rise residential buildings begin rising in Manchester would be fantastic to see - and from all indications the market is plenty hot enough to support these two projects rising at the same time.

Personally, I actually don't mind the design of Rivers Edge II.  The only thing that might make it better for me would be to make it taller, but I like the sky bridge and the red, gray, and white color.  It's something a bit different and better than the normal designs you see around here.  And yes, they need to break ground on this ASAP!

Edited by eandslee
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1 minute ago, eandslee said:

Personally, I actually don't mind the design of Rivers Edge II.  The only thing that might make it better for me would be to make it taller, but I like the sky bridge and the red, gray, and white color.  It's something a bit different and better than the normal designs you see around here.  And yes, they need to break ground on this ASAP!

I totally agree on height - it would be nice if the buildings were taller - I'm thinking though that a taller building would limit this project to one tower. Which would be just fine - I don't know from a cost perspective what the developers calculus is though in going for two 11-story buildings as opposed to one 22-story building (which would be beautiful to see, no question!)

Honestly, I'll just be happy to see ground broken here.

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1 minute ago, I miss RVA said:

I totally agree on height - it would be nice if the buildings were taller - I'm thinking though that a taller building would limit this project to one tower. Which would be just fine - I don't know from a cost perspective what the developers calculus is though in going for two 11-story buildings as opposed to one 22-story building (which would be beautiful to see, no question!)

Honestly, I'll just be happy to see ground broken here.

I agree, but I think the area has the ability to go for more units in one project (instead of a lot of smaller projects that only produce 150 - 250 or so units at once).  The housing shortage is so severe that developers could build like this for years...to just catch up with demand.  It would be nice if a developer took a chance and built a massive housing project on the order of 1,000+ units (be it apartments, condos, or a combination of the two) - we know the market can support it.  Perhaps with condos, you could build taller since they might be able to fetch higher prices, making a taller structure more affordable for developers (well, so that they can make a good profit).  The condos that are next to the Manchester/Mayo Bridge are fetching $1M per unit (or there abouts).  Add some luxury condos to a taller structure and you might be able to get at least $1M/unit to maybe $1.5M/$2M per unit - making it more palatable for developers to build tall.  Not 100% sure if the current market can support that price point, but I don't think Richmond is far off (if it can't right now).  Just a thought.

Anyway, I think the 11-story towers for the Rivers Edge development is probably based on the fact that these units will be apartments...might not be as profitable as luxury condos...at least at first (probably so over years of time).

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On 4/28/2021 at 10:53 AM, whw53 said:

Manchester Silos rezoning was formally introduced to City Council this week and will go to Planning Commission before it's back in the city docket for consideration probably next month. Applicant's report and proffer statement can be found at link here -

https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4924796&GUID=9B4F143E-63EF-4DC7-A8DF-7D33AA4B75AD&Options=&Search=

I've snipped the juiciest parts for us below. Few items of interest-

1. Decatur St proffer - applicant committed to building or financing Decatur st connection over the Manchester Canal - this would open up this project and the Hydro a bit better to the rest of Manchester. Very cool.

2. Intersection improvements at Manchester Rd and Hull - could include a round about. Very needed.

3. Form based element criteria that seem to be ripped from Pulse plan.

4. Maximum building height of 20 stories (so B-4 could've gone higher here but applicant is saying any project would not exceed 20 stories - so upper limit is 20 stories)

Maybe some more interesting than others but as a whole what I'm getting from this is the applicant is thinking BIG and is laying the groundwork for a good relationship with planning staff up front of submitting formal development plans. Encouraging - i've been of the opinion if you are going to demolish something sentimental like the Silos you need to follow through with another landmark -  Thoughts?

 

 

 

SilosRezoning1.jpg

SilosRezoning2.jpg

SilosProffers.jpg

They've been talking about developing the SS silos for nearly ten years now, I've always hoped/assumed it would be similar to Riverside on the James and Vistas on the James - a very tall, higher end condo building

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On 1/22/2021 at 3:01 PM, whw53 said:

A rezoning plan filed this week would take the Caravati holdings in Manchester from a mix of neighborhood business and industrial zoning to the central urban district or B4 zoning. This is the same zoning that the South Falls and Hydro projects were rezoned to prior to those projects getting underway. It looks like the ownership is still under the Caravati family although they had tried to sell in 2019 (see article)- maybe this is to better position the properties?

https://richmond.com/business/architectural-salvage-firm-caravati-s-has-put-its-property-in-manchester-up-for-sale-looking/article_f4b701f1-98d9-5a24-b01c-cf95ef36a03d.html

https://energov.richmondgov.com/EnerGov_Prod/selfservice#/plan/85109f79-8fa6-4398-907b-581b549bde65

Their LLC also owns the parking lot at NE corner of Decatur and 2nd which served their business in the past but didn't see that parcel's primary or secondary address listed in the rezoning filing. 

RZON_2ndstockton_permit.jpg

RZON_2ndstockton_planimetric.jpg

RZON_2ndstockton_aerial.jpg

The Caravati rezoning described here was adopted into the zoning map by City Council this evening. 

https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4910776&GUID=058CF65B-0597-44A1-8350-C19A1991518B&Options=&Search=

Edited by whw53
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