Monroe Ward / Oregon Hill

[I miss RVA]

36 minutes ago, Icetera said:

The lobby heights tend to up the average some.  I use the estimate from Emporis to calculate.  Office is about 16'.

Makes sense. So given the language in the filing, we're looking at roughly a 13-story building (14-story equivalent if there is an extra top for mechanical) -- 12 floors of residential plus one level (ground floor) for lobby/retail/services.

And  at 163-feet tall... that'll work! 

[eandslee]

What we already know, but maybe a little more clarification:

 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/03/22/15-story-apartment-tower-planned-for-parking-lot-at-grace-and-foushee/

 

Looking forward to seeing some renderings soon!

[ancientcarpenter]

3 hours ago, eandslee said:

What we already know, but maybe a little more clarification:

 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/03/22/15-story-apartment-tower-planned-for-parking-lot-at-grace-and-foushee/

 

Looking forward to seeing some renderings soon!

Yes, give us some pics!

 

I love Bruce's comment at the bottom.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

Yes, give us some pics!

 

I love Bruce's comment at the bottom.

Same here! THAT'S the mindset we need, going forward!! Not the 'traditional' draconian, restrictive RVA mindset (promulgated by the preservationists and NIMBYs) that has held this city back for 50 years. Bruce has got it dialed in correctly.

Interesting to note that BBS is reporting the building as 15-stories tall. We'll see if that changes as more details become clear.

Nice graphic in RBS showing the relative locations on Grace Street of the Pinecrest and this new tower project.

Edited March 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

From Richmond BizSense:  Here's a nice shot of the Pinecrest site. Note that the developers say groundbreaking to take place by the end of this month!

 

[I miss RVA]

Guys - In reading back through the RBS article and reading Bruce's commentary - it occurred to me just how much of an impact these new residential towers will have on Monroe Ward, Jackson Ward and downtown, economically, in terms of density (people density) and visually on the skyline.

Using the map provided today in RBS, I added in The Admiral and the promised 11-story residential building across Foushee Street from the tower in this morning's story, just so we could put into perspective the locations of the four buildings, relative to one another. Just imagining them rising on the skyline -- as well as their practical impacts (density, etc.) really is very exciting. As @wrldcoupe4pointed out just a couple of weeks ago, all it would take is for one or two of these buildings to be successful to sort of "break the dam" and hopefully the old adage of "success breeds success" will apply here - opening the door for MANY developers to come to town to plant high density, high rise residential buildings in Monroe Ward in particular and downtown in general. Especially given the ocean of surface parking lots just ripe for redevelopment, Monroe Ward and downtown could look VERY different in the next 5 to 10 years.

Here's hoping we get ALL four towers built -- and SOON!

Check it out!

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Hike]

Drove by the Pinecrest site today, nice to see a new project starting as so many are winding down.  Grace has so much potential, it's a beautiful street, older structures with some height, some historic buildings, not much traffic as it's off broad street, really like this area. Lived here while at VCU, across from the Jefferson, was very convenient to everything, may have only taken 30 years for others to figure it out.  

Edited March 23, 2022 by Hike

[I miss RVA]

42 minutes ago, Hike said:

Drove by the Pinecrest site today, nice to see a new project starting as so many are winding down.  Grace has so much potential, it's a beautiful street, older structures with some height, some historic buildings, not much traffic as it's off broad street, really like this area. Lived here while at VCU, across from the Jefferson, was very convenient to everything, may have only taken 30 years for others to figure it out.  

Just imagine how amazing Grace Street would be in roughly 10 or so years if:

1.) all of the currently proposed buildings are constructed (and not truncated in any way)

2.) at least four of the surface lots on the north side of the street between 1st and Jefferson are converted into high rise residential buildings of equal or larger size

3.) at least another two or three surface lots on the south side of the street from Adams to Madison are also converted into high rise residential buildings, also of equal or larger size.

Imagine all of the street-level activity, the potential retail, commercial and other businesses that would open in block after block, and just the people energy from having a burgeoning high-density urban residential neighborhood fully blooming in the western section of downtown. Can you feel it? I can! Monroe Ward would really start to come into its own -- with hopefully this new "Grace Street Corridor" attracting even more developers downtown who might start converting the "Pacific Ocean of Parking Lots" in the southern half of the ward into a thick forest of even more high rise apartment buildings (maybe a few condominium buildings could somehow find their way into the mix as well!) Yeah... I'm starting to see my vision of Monroe Ward becoming Richmond's miniature version of the Upper East Side maybe starting to come into view just a bit. Converting the "ocean" into a "forest" would go a lonnnng way toward that end.

The streetscape of the "Grace Street Corridor" would be abuzz with people. How amazing would it be to live in such an urban neighborhood, particularly with other parts of downtown also on the rise (riverfront, City Center, etc.) !!

(Spoken in my best, raspy, Jimmy Durante voice:)  Ahhh.. it's a beautiful dream, ain't it?

Let's hope and pray it becomes a reality! 

Edited March 23, 2022 by I miss RVA

[123fakestreet]

12 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

"break the dam"

 

Absolutely. If we're getting 15 story towers on a quarter block, imagine what this could be:

 

[ancientcarpenter]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

Absolutely. If we're getting 15 story towers on a quarter block, imagine what this could be:

 

 

Do we have a map where just the parking lots are outlined? Possibly where majority of the block is parking lots? Really would love to see just how much of Monroe Ward is parking blocks. Such a shame to see your picture as it really does showcase what the problem is. 

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

 

Do we have a map where just the parking lots are outlined? Possibly where majority of the block is parking lots? Really would love to see just how much of Monroe Ward is parking blocks. Such a shame to see your picture as it really does showcase what the problem is. 

There might be such a map somewhere in the Richmond 300 plan. I don't think the City Center SAP covers far enough south to grab that southern section of Monroe Ward - and if there was any documentation, particularly by the city, it MIGHT be in the R 300 plan. Heavy emphasis on the word "might" because I'm not sure what all made the final, "official" version of that plan or if any draft versions are kicking around anywhere. It would, however, be very good to know the extent to which surface lots proliferate in Monroe Ward.

[ancientcarpenter]

27 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

There might be such a map somewhere in the Richmond 300 plan. I don't think the City Center SAP covers far enough south to grab that southern section of Monroe Ward - and if there was any documentation, particularly by the city, it MIGHT be in the R 300 plan. Heavy emphasis on the word "might" because I'm not sure what all made the final, "official" version of that plan or if any draft versions are kicking around anywhere. It would, however, be very good to know the extent to which surface lots proliferate in Monroe Ward.

Thanks. It would be great to see them outlined to give us a bird's eye view with colors. I just want to be "awed" as I know there is a lot but can't picture it all. 

Should have invested in parking lots 10 years ago...

[I miss RVA]

7 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

Absolutely. If we're getting 15 story towers on a quarter block, imagine what this could be:

 

Fully agreed. Built it out like bigger cities - i.e., New York or Chicago would do. Multiple buildings built into each block -- and none of this one building and a large plaza per block garbage SO common in southern cities, RVA included (witness OJRP and even the current Dominion Tower to a lesser extent). Hopefully the city would chime in with a strong recommendation of no fewer than, say, three to four buildings per block unless one was large enough to take up, say, a half block on its own. Each of these big, full-block parking lots could EASILY hold  three-to-four high rise residential towers. (Obviously, as we start getting significantly taller buildings, their footprints would likely be larger - so fewer buildings - but you get the idea.)

Just looking at that stretch from Main to Canal and 3rd to 6th, I could see three-to-four on each of the big blocks (along 3rd from Main to Canal) and again on the block from 4th to 5th, Cary to Canal. Then up to two towers on Canal between 5th & 6th and another one tucked into that NE corner of 4th and Cary. So -- perhaps upwards of 13, 14 or 15 (give or take) towers packed into this area of roughly five square blocks. Reduce the number by two or three if we got significantly taller buildings that had larger footprints.

Now - I realize that this is somewhat of a pipe dream. RVA land values aren't Midtown Manhattan land values - and in all of our lifetimes combined, I doubt we'd live long enough to see land values SO high downtown that developers would be going to the mattresses to cram as many floors as possible onto a small slice of a city block in an attempt to amp up vertical development. But you can see where I'm going with all of this. If we're going to go dense, then let's legit go dense. Again, quoting Uncle June to Tony in The Sopranos -- "If you're going to come in, either come in heavy or don't come at all."

Edited March 23, 2022 by I miss RVA

[123fakestreet]

7 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

Thanks. It would be great to see them outlined to give us a bird's eye view with colors. I just want to be "awed" as I know there is a lot but can't picture it all. 

Should have invested in parking lots 10 years ago...

I've been curious about this as well and wanted to see the same thing for quite a while. So I went ahead and did it, here you go.  Monroe Ward is surface lot hell, just awful the wasted space there.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1_lurtMap7b__FDEYpEi5Oh6ALnIkJC8n&usp=sharing

There are 7 entire blocks that are essentially unused, where the whole block is 100% surface lot, or there is just 1-2 small crappy buildings and the rest of the block is surface lot.

Edited March 24, 2022 by 123fakestreet

[I miss RVA]

22 minutes ago, 123fakestreet said:

I've been curious about this as well and wanted to see the same thing for quite a while. So I went ahead and did it, here you go.  Monroe Ward is surface lot hell, just awful the wasted space there.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1_lurtMap7b__FDEYpEi5Oh6ALnIkJC8n&usp=sharing

There are 7 entire blocks that are essentially unused, where the whole block is 100% surface lot, or there is just 1-2 small crappy buildings and the rest of the block is surface lot.

This is phenomenal. Thanks for putting this together!  Tech question: what tool did you use to draw all the boxes?

As for the map - Hohhhh Leeee Mohhhh-Leeee...  I knew there's an ocean of surface lots in Monroe Ward - but I didn't know it was to THIS extent! Truly, Monroe Ward is swimming in the "Pacific Ocean of Parking Lots".

NOW - imagine somewhere down the road - if most-to-ALL of these surface lots were replaced by high rises of various sizes, shapes, uses and heights. My vision of Monroe Ward as RVA's version of the Upper West Side would, in fact, come to pass. Imagine the downtown residential population if even HALF of those buildings were apartment or condo buildings. Even more if that number was more like 75%. Imagine a few signature office buildings in the mix. Or a couple of high rise hotels. Imagine the street-level activity - and how downtown could truly become a 24-7-365 kind of place we all dream about. Imagine every kind of retailer possible - including GROCERY - in downtown RVA, given the potential size of the downtown population. RVA would be a TOTALLY different city than she is now.

Wow - this is really amazing.

@whw53and @Iceteraand @eandsleeand any of the other guys who might be the keepers of these things as forum moderators -- is there any chance we could house it here on the forum and include a perma-link to this map? I think we need to have it available on the forum because there is little - if any -- doubt that it will come in VERY handy down the road as development comes to Monroe Ward over the next decade-plus.

[123fakestreet]

13 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

 Tech question: what tool did you use to draw all the boxes?

this is just "my maps" with google maps. Anyone can easily make these

Quote

imagine somewhere down the road - if most-to-ALL of these surface lots were replaced by high rises of various sizes, shapes, uses and heights.

Exactly what you said earlier, and I've said similarly in the past, we need to "break the dam." There is tons of demand in the city, tons of available space in MW. Just need a couple of big breakthru developments as proof of concept in that part of town and I think we'll see it snowball.  Once residential hits critical mass I could see a retail focused development on one of those blocks given there's plenty of space for it.

Edited March 24, 2022 by 123fakestreet

[I miss RVA]

10 minutes ago, 123fakestreet said:

this is just "my maps" with google maps. Anyone can easily make these

Exactly what you said earlier, and I've said similarly in the past, we need to "break the dam." There is tons of demand in the city, tons of available space in MW. Just need a couple of big breakthru developments as proof of concept in that part of town and I think we'll see it snowball.  Once residential hits critical mass I could see a retail focused development on one of those blocks given there's plenty of space for it.

@wrldcoupe4has said this same thing as well - all it will take is one or two large-enough projects to rise and prove to developers that Monroe Ward is a viable place to plant their flags with some larger-scale buildings - and we'll start seeing taller and taller buildings rise. Breaking the dam - getting those first couple of dominoes to fall - hopefully the Pinecrest and now the Parkway (proposed) projects (along with success nearby of the Admiral in Jackson Ward) will be the catalyst needed to get this ball rolling and have developers lining up to build their own signature RVA apartment tower downtown.

[ancientcarpenter]

13 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

I've been curious about this as well and wanted to see the same thing for quite a while. So I went ahead and did it, here you go.  Monroe Ward is surface lot hell, just awful the wasted space there.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1_lurtMap7b__FDEYpEi5Oh6ALnIkJC8n&usp=sharing

There are 7 entire blocks that are essentially unused, where the whole block is 100% surface lot, or there is just 1-2 small crappy buildings and the rest of the block is surface lot.

Wow. Thanks for taking time to do this. This is truly stunning...literally half of Monroe Ward (maybe a bit more?) is a parking lot. 

[Icetera]

13 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

@whw53and @Iceteraand @eandsleeand any of the other guys who might be the keepers of these things as forum moderators -- is there any chance we could house it here on the forum and include a perma-link to this map? I think we need to have it available on the forum because there is little - if any -- doubt that it will come in VERY handy down the road as development comes to Monroe Ward over the next decade-plus.

The best place may be to add it as a layer to the development map.

[123fakestreet]

I made some adjustments to the map by eliminating highlighting from surface lots that:

• already have planned development
• could likely not accommodate development without demolishing adjacent buildings because the lots are either very small, or they are fairly small but also not street fronting
• developable but could only accommodate small projects such as 1 business or maybe a 4 condo unit

So we are left only with lots that have "major project potential." There are still a bunch of them.

Original map with all lots: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1_lurtMap7b__FDEYpEi5Oh6ALnIkJC8n&usp=sharing

Updated available major project lots: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19Vqyf7gREsYTVwG80gBjWITYDasGEtqB&usp=sharing

 

[eandslee]

17 minutes ago, Icetera said:

The best place may be to add it as a layer to the development map.

I kind of like that idea. That way when we hear about new developments in Monroe Ward, we can mark off another parking lot. 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

I made some adjustments to the map by eliminating highlighting from surface lots that:

• already have planned development
• could likely not accommodate development without demolishing adjacent buildings because the lots are either very small, or they are fairly small but also not street fronting
• developable but could only accommodate small projects such as 1 business or maybe a 4 condo unit

So we are left only with lots that have "major project potential." There are still a bunch of them.

Original map with all lots: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1_lurtMap7b__FDEYpEi5Oh6ALnIkJC8n&usp=sharing

Updated available major project lots: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19Vqyf7gREsYTVwG80gBjWITYDasGEtqB&usp=sharing

 

It's good that we have both views - you never know if a developer might come in and buy not just the vacant lot but any adjacent buildings to convert to a bigger project with a larger footprint.

[ancientcarpenter]

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

It's good that we have both views - you never know if a developer might come in and buy not just the vacant lot but any adjacent buildings to convert to a bigger project with a larger footprint.

That's exactly what happened with the mechanic shop in Scott's Addition on Ashe blvd. Bought it for something like $400k and sold for $4m in a few years. 

[I miss RVA]

This is my dream for Monroe Ward. I keep imagining that a resident could look out of their apartment window, marveling at the wonderous cityscape spread before them - the cluster & congestion of apartment and condominium buildings crowded into what were once the many vacant blocks of the former "Pacific Ocean of Parking Lots" - now a veritable redwood forest of high-density, high-rise residential living - making Monroe Ward once of the most densely populated sections of the entire state - INCLUDING NOVA! I have a similar dream for City Center, although I see that area with a greater blend of residential, mixed-use, hotel, etc., kind of development. But every bit as dense. And every bit as tall - if not even taller!

Can you imagine downtown RVA like this? Particularly with both Monroe Ward and City Center filled to the brim with super-dense, and tall development? I sure can!

Yeah - it's a pipe dream, I realize it. But please... don't wake me, yeah? 

Edited April 3, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

Here's another win for revitalizing the old Broad/Grace downtown retail core. After 14 years on Pine Street in Oregon Hill, a record store is moving into a larger storefront at 300 E. Grace Street. No doubt, this retailer will benefit greatly from the high rise residential development planned just a few blocks west along Grace!

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/04/12/vinyl-conflict-record-store-spinning-into-larger-space-downtown/