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The Locks at 321

varunner

By varunner
in Richmond

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eandslee City

eandslee

Posted
Posted
39 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Absorption isn't really the issue (there's plenty of demand) so much as it the current market rents. New, highrise construction is EXPENSIVE, and our rents do not support the cost. Even if a developer wanted to build it, a lender wouldn't lend on it. Rents are appreciating and we are getting close, but we're not their yet. 

Office space is a little different, but similar. With very rare exception, speculative office space with no leasing commitments does not happen in a market like Richmond (all new office buildings downtown have had a committed anchor tenant - Williams Mullen Center, MWV, Gateway Plaza - McGuire Woods, Riverside - Troutman Sanders, etc etc). Again, no one would lend on the project (see  the dead Locks at 321 project). And new office rents need to be much higher, a prospect for which most companies in Richmond have no interest.

We're getting closer on the market rents for residential, and if the tax bill kills the tax credit program (I'm very opposed to killing the program), it will likely escalate rent costs given pent up demand, in turn making new construction more feasible. The market will need adjustment. Lenders, developers, and residents have grown accustomed to the structure the tax credit program has provided.

Thanks for this explanation!  So glad you are a regular on this board!  Makes sense.

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Brent114
Brent114

Here are some photos of the building from yesterday.      

Brent114
Brent114

Things are moving quickly now that there is a crane on site.  This is from last night. 

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Brent114 Burg

Brent114

Posted
Posted

I think the new dorm on Main Street looks great.  The building looks nice and it really frames the park nicely, looks imposing from a variety of angles (especially looking West up Cary Street).  

This proposed building is looking a bit similar but lacks the mass and,  like you point out, context.  I’m happy to see anything on that lot honestly.  I’ve grown old waiting for sites to be developed around Richmond.  It could be  another 10-20 years before anything better is proposed for that site.  I’ve been in Richmond for  about 30 years and have seen dozens of large scale proposals wither and die. 

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tparkerzut Whistle-Stop

tparkerzut

Posted
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11 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Doesn’t CAR weigh in only on old and historic district restrictions?

I believe so. I don't think they would have any say in this building.

Also the Grace Street "dorms" mentioned above are not actually VCU owned. It's a private apartment building. However it probably rents out to 99% student haha. Just thought I'd mention that.

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eandslee City

eandslee

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Posted (edited)

Below is a rendering of a current residential project going up near the Pentagon in Crystal City (I drive by it everyday).  I would think that WVS could/should redesign their short and fat monstrosity to make it look more like one of these two residential towers (each tower has about 226 apartments).  These are 20 stories by the way and just one of them would look awesome right next to Riverfront Plaza!  I'm looking at you WVS!

Just for comparison - the poorly designed box will hold 237 units and they are charging a premium for rents!  A taller glass design would just be far and away better!  Might even fetch a higher rent.

Altaire-Crystal-City.jpg

Edited by eandslee
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Wahoo 07 Hamlet

Wahoo 07

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25 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Below is a rendering of a current residential project going up near the Pentagon in Crystal City (I drive by it everyday).  I would think that WVS could/should redesign their short and fat monstrosity to make it look more like one of these two residential towers (each tower has about 226 apartments).  These are 20 stories by the way and just one of them would look awesome right next to Riverfront Plaza!  I'm looking at you WVS!

Just for comparison - the poorly designed box will hold 237 units and they are charging a premium for rents!  A taller glass design would just be far and away better!  Might even fetch a higher rent.

Altaire-Crystal-City.jpg

Seems line an obvious decision to me, so perhaps I am missing something.  Something like that would look great in Monroe Ward too.

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eandslee City

eandslee

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5 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

Seems line an obvious decision to me, so perhaps I am missing something.  Something like that would look great in Monroe Ward too.

The only downside I can think of would be the cost of building taller, but with a nice tall building like that, you can charge more.  WVS may know their craft (residential development), but they must not know a thing about good design and making a good design work financially!  I really just don't think they tried.

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eandslee City

eandslee

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Posted
On 11/30/2017 at 8:26 AM, drayrichmond said:

Yeah, the RTD article said demo on the warehouse starts the 4th, really aggressive timeline. Part of me thinks that they know they have a dud of a design (especially compared to what was proposed before) so they're rushing to get it built before any sort of opposition can get organized.

Can anyone confirm the start of demo?  Should be two days in at this point. 

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tparkerzut Whistle-Stop

tparkerzut

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On 12/5/2017 at 3:45 PM, eandslee said:

Here's my thought on this - sure, rents are double in Crystal City compared to what they are in downtown Richmond, but it's also way more expensive to build up in NoVA.  It's probably is a wash.

Besides land value why is it so much more expensive to build in NOVA? Architecture and design should be same, materials should be the same, your contractor probably probably charges around the same but okay maybe an increase for builder cost. I'd say mostly you're looking at 5-10% increase to build up there not including land. But that's a one time cost for twice the amount of rent over the life of the building. I think they are making a lot more money up there and if they weren't I don't think you'd see so much development.

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eandslee City

eandslee

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On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 2:39 PM, tparkerzut said:

Besides land value why is it so much more expensive to build in NOVA? Architecture and design should be same, materials should be the same, your contractor probably probably charges around the same but okay maybe an increase for builder cost. I'd say mostly you're looking at 5-10% increase to build up there not including land. But that's a one time cost for twice the amount of rent over the life of the building. I think they are making a lot more money up there and if they weren't I don't think you'd see so much development.

Builder costs have got to be huge to pay the wages of workers up here.  Materials may be about the same...maybe a little more (depending on where they get the materials).  Equipment rentals and other services for concrete, etc. will probably be higher too.  I'm not saying developers don't make money up here (they most certainly do), but developers down there make money there too (the profit margins may not be as great, but they make good money or else they wouldn't do it).

I don't know a lot about this particular developer (WVS) and I'm not privy to their financial sheets, but I'm guessing that this developer is building on the cheap to make a higher profit (that may be the nuts and bolts as to why this particular design, height, etc.).  I just wish he cared a little more about how this particular project is going to negatively impact the aesthetics of the area.  In this case, I'm sure the all mighty dollar is winning out.

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eandslee City

eandslee

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10 minutes ago, Icetera said:

I was impressed with the quality of their work restoring the Cedar Works factory.

Well, hopefully they will improve on the design of 321 Locks.  Reading the articles published lately, WVS appeared to be a good and reputable developer.  Maybe they just dropped the ball on this one. 

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tparkerzut Whistle-Stop

tparkerzut

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On 12/8/2017 at 3:08 PM, eandslee said:

Builder costs have got to be huge to pay the wages of workers up here.  Materials may be about the same...maybe a little more (depending on where they get the materials).  Equipment rentals and other services for concrete, etc. will probably be higher too.  I'm not saying developers don't make money up here (they most certainly do), but developers down there make money there too (the profit margins may not be as great, but they make good money or else they wouldn't do it).

I don't know a lot about this particular developer (WVS) and I'm not privy to their financial sheets, but I'm guessing that this developer is building on the cheap to make a higher profit (that may be the nuts and bolts as to why this particular design, height, etc.).  I just wish he cared a little more about how this particular project is going to negatively impact the aesthetics of the area.  In this case, I'm sure the all might dollar is winning out.

You definitely got me on labor, although I know a lot of construction jobs travel because a big project may be short term.

Either way, definitely hope it looks higher quality than the render.

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