Columbus Village at Town Center (Cancelled)

[baobabs727]

Yeah, I read the conference call transcript. They’re going to be focusing on multifamily going forward while not neglecting their other core businesses. Existing shopping center is 90% leased and just about finished with renovations.

I don’t think there’s a timetable for this particular project, but it sounds like they have out away cash and will not  be borrowing this year for it. They budgeted something like $7 million this year. Maybe they’ll start next year? I would love to see renderings. Given their expressed intent to concentrate on multi family (I believe they  established a new specialized team to do that), I’m thinking this is going to turn into more of a giant apartment complex with retail on the ground floor. I believe somewhere in the conference call they said that they were not going to get away from mixed-use per as they focus on multi-family and would try to fit some retail in their projects on the ground floor, when appropriate. The scope of this project remains a bit nebulous to me, but we’ll see.

They are doing gangbusters in Charleston and Baltimore. University housing projects. Both leased or pre-leased at a very high rate.

A couple of the principles have interest in the Hyatt House Oceanfront & the apartment building going up next-door. They have no interest in acquiring any more of it.

[OffToMars]

AH normally keeps around 2-3 big projects in their development pipeline, which are ones that had been announced before this one.  The good news is that they might not wait until those projects are done to start working on this one since it is a redevelopment project which is normally kept separate from their development pipeline.  I wouldn't be surprised if they start work on this relatively soon after they're finished with the redevelopment in the other half of Columbus Village & once Apex entertainment is settled in.

[urbanvb]

Let’s hope this happens sooner than later. In an earlier post it was reported the Bed and Bath store here is a high grossing store though since the pandemic there is a huge drop off in business. I’ve been there a couple of times in the last month and hardly anyone was shopping.

On a side note this link reports town center has 934 residences. It’s looking pretty good. 

Edited August 15, 2020 by urbanvb

[OffToMars]

CBRE's Hampton Roads 2020 H1 reports that we'll probably be looking in the 230 apartment range for Columbus Village.   There's a lot of space on that lot.  I'm thinking that it is possible that they just develop half of it and then develop the other half at a later time, but we'll see.

Source: https://www.cbre.us/-/media/cbre/countryunitedstates/media/files/team/invrichmondmultifamily/hampton-roads-multi-family-market-report.pdf

 

[vdogg]

14 hours ago, OffToMars said:

CBRE's Hampton Roads 2020 H1 reports that we'll probably be looking in the 230 apartment range for Columbus Village.   There's a lot of space on that lot.  I'm thinking that it is possible that they just develop half of it and then develop the other half at a later time, but we'll see.

Source: https://www.cbre.us/-/media/cbre/countryunitedstates/media/files/team/invrichmondmultifamily/hampton-roads-multi-family-market-report.pdf

 

That's just for the first building. I think this is the one that was supposed to include regal but don't quote me on that. I think total number of units on the property was supposed to be in the 700 range.

^^^Yeah, this is the regal development.

[OffToMars]

22 hours ago, vdogg said:

That's just for the first building. I think this is the one that was supposed to include regal but don't quote me on that. I think total number of units on the property was supposed to be in the 700 range.

^^^Yeah, this is the regal development.

I should have checked that before I posted.  I would have thought that CBRE would have removed that by now, but only 230 apartments seemed too small for that lot.  That's my bad.  

Edited September 2, 2020 by OffToMars

[OffToMars]

The Regal is permanently closing.  Looks like multifamily (as expected) is what they are looking to redevelop in its space.   I would imagine their (AHH's) development will slow down though.  They already have four projects with no earlier than start dates of early 2021 and also announced in this press release that their other Regal location is closing and will be redeveloped as well.

https://ir.armadahoffler.com/news-releases/news-release-details/armada-hoffler-properties-recaptures-two-prime-sites

Edited October 26, 2020 by OffToMars

[OffToMars]

There were a few interesting bits in the AHH conference call today.

They stated that construction on the Regal plot of land in Town Center will likely start by the end of 2021.   That land will have roughly 250 units and 30,000 sf of street level retail.  They are also in negotiations with the city and Bed Bath & Beyond to move them to a new location to free up that land for development.  I would assume that this would be referring to where the old Priority Infiniti dealership is.

Sources: https://ir.armadahoffler.com/static-files/5094a539-8b79-4909-86c6-7f252049d92e

(I will post the call transcript once they publish it)

[urbanlife]

Having that whole area get redeveloped would be a great move forward for the downtown, as well as help grow its urban footprint.

[vdogg]

On 11/5/2020 at 11:10 AM, OffToMars said:

There were a few interesting bits in the AHH conference call today.

They stated that construction on the Regal plot of land in Town Center will likely start by the end of 2021.   That land will have roughly 250 units and 30,000 sf of street level retail.  They are also in negotiations with the city and Bed Bath & Beyond to move them to a new location to free up that land for development.  I would assume that this would be referring to where the old Priority Infiniti dealership is.

Sources: https://ir.armadahoffler.com/static-files/5094a539-8b79-4909-86c6-7f252049d92e

(I will post the call transcript once they publish it)

They need to get moving on the planning process if they really plan to start construction in 2021. I have my doubts.

[OffToMars]

On 11/9/2020 at 10:37 AM, vdogg said:

They need to get moving on the planning process if they really plan to start construction in 2021. I have my doubts.

Yeah.  I thought that it was pretty aggressive considering the Regal closure was just announced two weeks ago.  

Here is the earnings call transcript: https://ir.armadahoffler.com/static-files/3a985d75-3bf7-45ce-8875-d78f6f17123c

"These redevelopments, from older retail into new multi-family assets will meaningfully accelerate the rotation we desire into higher quality assets. We are already in the preliminary design phase for these properties and expect to commence construction on both by the end of 2021."

[Virginia City]

I was under the impression that the Regal was going to close anyway and the theater was moving within Town Center. I guess I made that up huh.

[metalman]

17 hours ago, Virginia City said:

I was under the impression that the Regal was going to close anyway and the theater was moving within Town Center. I guess I made that up huh.

That was a proposal from the very beginning.  Remember the first TC website and CMSS architect town center site?  It just never materialized.

[vdogg]

It's *possible we get some news on this later next week.

[baobabs727]

Hmmmmmm....

Well that’s good because I just walked this area tonight, and it was terribly underwhelming. The lighting is horrible. I mean horrible. The new façades are OK,  but frankly up close it looks like they did a rush job on the cheap. Cava’s entry walk, parking lot and façade are pitch black dark. The parking lot is ugly as hell, and what is actually lit is courtesy of 20+ year old technology.  Lots of work yet to be done.  

On a positive note, the new way signage does look decent, although it’s not up-lit at night either lol. 

As for  the rest of Town Center, it’s looking a bit tired if you ask me. At night, at least. So many of the uplights were out on the buildings. AH Tower’s spire is dimmer than it has ever been. In the Plaza, many bulbs are out or dim/flickering on the lanterns/pole lights. Those lanterns are not aging well either and need to be updated. Plus the artificial-looking orangish-golden hue along all the sidewalks is such an outdated look, as everyone has been going back to “white” at 3000K or 3500K + LEDs.

Re-Investment is key here. Some of the sidewalks along the Clark Nexen block are showing their black aggregate as well. Weird. Must have been defective material. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by baobabs727

[vdogg]

On 2/7/2021 at 10:12 PM, baobabs727 said:

Hmmmmmm....

Well that’s good because I just walked this area tonight, and it was terribly underwhelming. The lighting is horrible. I mean horrible. The new façades are OK,  but frankly up close it looks like they did a rush job on the cheap. Cava’s entry walk, parking lot and façade are pitch black dark. The parking lot is ugly as hell, and what is actually lit is courtesy of 20+ year old technology.  Lots of work yet to be done.  

On a positive note, the new way signage does look decent, although it’s not up-lit at night either lol. 

As for  the rest of Town Center, it’s looking a bit tired if you ask me. At night, at least. So many of the uplights were out on the buildings. AH Tower’s spire is dimmer than it has ever been. In the Plaza, many bulbs are out or dim/flickering on the lanterns/pole lights. Those lanterns are not aging well either and need to be updated. Plus the artificial-looking orangish-golden hue along all the sidewalks is such an outdated look, as everyone has been going back to “white” at 3000K or 3500K + LEDs.

Re-Investment is key here. Some of the sidewalks along the Clark Nexen block are showing their black aggregate as well. Weird. Must have been defective material. 

Lol, I mean they haven't done anything to it yet. It's just as underwhelming as it's always been. Not sure if any renderings this week, but should get some detail as to progress made as to this development, perhaps the scope of the project will be a bit more fleshed out.

[baobabs727]

12 hours ago, vdogg said:

Lol, I mean they haven't done anything to it yet. It's just as underwhelming as it's always been. Not sure if any renderings this week, but should get some detail as to progress made as to this development, perhaps the scope of the project will be a bit more fleshed out.

Well, they did totally reconstruct and  enlargen  the façades from Harold’s over to Five Below, in addition to creating the Cava space, a brand new Barnes and Noble space... along with building Shake Shack on the out parcel.  I suppose I would’ve hoped that they would’ve reconstructed the parking lot with better landscaping & lighting.... but maybe that’s yet to come.

[OffToMars]

There's a lot that we could get updated on tomorrow.  I'll be interested to see if any progress has been made in the effort to move Bed Bath and Beyond.

[baobabs727]

1 hour ago, OffToMars said:

There's a lot that we could get updated on tomorrow.  I'll be interested to see if any progress has been made in the effort to move Bed Bath and Beyond.

Yes, exciting. Presumably moved to that which was to be reserved for the light rail station. Dammit.

[OffToMars]

Well it sounds like we won't be seeing any development at Town Center from AH in the next year.  As I said above AH has just too many projects going on for their construction company and they recently announced they'd be building T Rowe Price's new HQ.   On the call they stated that they re-leased the space back to Regal for one year, which as an investor in AH it does make sense if it would otherwise just sit there empty for a year.  They're leasing it to them for $2 a square foot versus the $19 they were leasing it to them before COVID so I'm sure AH wants to redevelop it, but they just don't have the resources at the moment.  They added that after the one year lease they would decide what exactly they want to do with the space, whether it be  a new shopping portion (with or without a new regal) and/or apartments.  Hopefully the hotel next to the Apex Entertainment building will actually get off the ground this year.

 

Source: https://ir.armadahoffler.com/static-files/9b720485-38ae-480f-ac85-907a34c3dbbc

[urbanvb]

It's a little disappointing though not totally unexpected due to the pandemic. Perhaps in a year things will turn around and they can build vertically and not horizontally. The last thing VB needs is more strip retail.

[vdogg]

"Okay. And then, what are you guys thinking about the Regal space at Columbus Village? Does that stay at movie theaters? Is that stay with Regal? Is that a redevelopment play at this point with that lease expiring next month?

 

Lou Haddad

 

Yeah. Well, we know that it is a redevelopment play, so it's not a question of if, but a question of when. And the bigger question there is whether we want to wait, and we also get back the bed bath parcel which is adjacent and a little over four years. If we can put those two together, we've got 10 acres for a major multifamily development.

 

So  Rob, we're debating whether it makes sense to go ahead and do a mid-rise next year on the Regal portion, or to wait until we get both parcels back. But I can tell you, we obviously are in the catbird seat in either way.

Regal wants to continue operating. It seems like they're doing fine. And so, right now we have a month to month lease that either was cancelled. And I think we're just going to let it float like that until we make the call. We are anxious to add to the multifamily totals here at Town Center. And we can do that in one of three sites, the Regal being one of them. And actually, we could do all three, obviously, but the decision will be which one comes first. And we just don't have that decision yet."

From today's conference call. So we could get something now, or 4-years from now....

I'm starting to get the feeling that the glacial pace of development in this area has more to do with one entity controlling everything and them feeling no sense of urgency. Hopefully, some other big developers come along to give them a bit of competition and put some fire under them. This is ridiculous.

[baobabs727]

https://ir.armadahoffler.com/static-files/84b7c51d-4bdc-4223-80ce-dc2c843083b1

Q1 conference call 2022. Not really much to hang your hat on here. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by baobabs727

[urbanvb]

Gee, I opened this thread hoping for some-thing. Lol. Let’s play ball folks…

[HRVA]

During AH’s earnings call, they discussed the status of the Regal lease (parent is in bankruptcy currently) and it doesn’t sound like they’re anywhere close to moving on redevelopment plans. 

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4554834-armada-hoffler-properties-inc-ahh-q3-2022-earnings-call-transcript