Jackson Ward / Gilpin

[I miss RVA]

12 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

I do like the white but, in my understanding opinion, it is a historic area and the whites do fit really well in places like Scott's Addition where it feels very SoDaSoPa.

 

At this point, let's just build!

AMEN! Enough jibber-jabber - let's break some ground and lay some brick!

Idk - I actually like the newer designs.   They really do look sharp.

[ancientcarpenter]

Another fun update that I think got missed here: 711 cameo street block is getting a "bunch" of these historically accurate homes built on that lot. I already see 4 finished and in "pending" offer of $300k as well as another for sale on zillow at $200k and is income restricted for families that make X amount. This is a great addition to Jackson Ward as it encourages more home ownership, builds more houses in general, and mixes in lower income home ownership which is just wonderful.

Updated the RVA Dev Map. I imagine a total of 8-10 of these will be built there on that lot.

 

https://centercreekhomes.com/homes/709-cameo-street-2/

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by ancientcarpenter

[Brent114]

I like the infill but $300k is not affordable (mortgage would be over $2,000 a month).  My income would probably make me ineligible and even I cannot afford that.  I went on an affordable housing tour about ten years ago.  On that tour we were showed houses around $250k.  We were told that help with financing made them affordable.  They kept mentioning teachers and firefighters were the target buyers, I reminded them that one cannot afford a $250k  house on a starting teacher’s salary. I suggested that maybe a starter home doesn’t need to be 2k square feet and that helping people get into a smaller $100k  house would be way more helpful. 
 

The inclination to keep people house poor is maddening.  The price of these houses coupled  with the income caps just ensures that every month will be a struggle for the homeowners. Same goes for rent.  Places more expensive than mine require you to make less money than I do.  It just keeps people more poor than they need to be.  Create truly affordable housing if you’re going to have income limits. 

I don’t see how those houses are historically accurate either.  Jackson Ward is a brick Federal and Victorian neighborhood.  There are very few wooden structures and none look like these houses.  That’s some Oregon Hill house  

[123fakestreet]

5 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

I like the infill but $300k is not affordable (mortgage would be over $2,000 a month).  My income would probably make me ineligible and even I cannot afford that.  I went on an affordable housing tour about ten years ago.  On that tour we were showed houses around $250k.  We were told that help with financing made them affordable.  They kept mentioning teachers and firefighters were the target buyers, I reminded them that one cannot afford a $250k  house on a starting teacher’s salary. I suggested that maybe a starter home doesn’t need to be 2k square feet and that helping people get into a smaller $100k  house would be way more helpful. 
 

The inclination to keep people house poor is maddening.  The price of these houses coupled  with the income caps just ensures that every month will be a struggle for the homeowners. Same goes for rent.  Places more expensive than mine require you to make less money than I do.  It just keeps people more poor than they need to be.  Create truly affordable housing if you’re going to have income limits. 

I don't think a SFH under $200k is a viable thing in the city. At least anywhere anyone would want to live. The city (probably the whole country) needs more multi-family housing that is owned and not rented. 2 bedroom condo units, etc. But no one wants to build them.

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by 123fakestreet

[Brent114]

And that’s fine.  Just build what the market will bare.  Developers should stop trying to call it income based or affordable though.  The price makes it  unaffordable for those who fall in under the income requirements.   And homeownership isn’t all that, especially if you cannot afford the upkeep on your property. It only appreciates if you actually pay the mortgage and reinvest constantly in your investment.  This siding will need paint in 5 years ($10k to paint) and will be rotten in 10.   That’s about the same time that the hot water heater dies and the roof starts leaking:) 

 

[whw53]

@ancientcarpenter

I think what you see now is what your getting unless Center Creek acquires additional land.  The other tracts are owned by Stallings, Mount Zion Church, and Project Homes. Dosn't mean these wont be built upon but the current project was only planned for 3 or 4 homes on 2 parcels per the permits filed.

Edited February 16, 2022 by whw53

[ancientcarpenter]

1 hour ago, Brent114 said:

I like the infill but $300k is not affordable (mortgage would be over $2,000 a month).  My income would probably make me ineligible and even I cannot afford that.  I went on an affordable housing tour about ten years ago.  On that tour we were showed houses around $250k.  We were told that help with financing made them affordable.  They kept mentioning teachers and firefighters were the target buyers, I reminded them that one cannot afford a $250k  house on a starting teacher’s salary. I suggested that maybe a starter home doesn’t need to be 2k square feet and that helping people get into a smaller $100k  house would be way more helpful. 
 

The inclination to keep people house poor is maddening.  The price of these houses coupled  with the income caps just ensures that every month will be a struggle for the homeowners. Same goes for rent.  Places more expensive than mine require you to make less money than I do.  It just keeps people more poor than they need to be.  Create truly affordable housing if you’re going to have income limits. 

I don’t see how those houses are historically accurate either.  Jackson Ward is a brick Federal and Victorian neighborhood.  There are very few wooden structures and none look like these houses.  That’s some Oregon Hill house  

 

There are different types of income restricted properties. Some ask for families that don't make more than $50k, while others have a cap at $70-80k.

The $200k property for sale there is probably in the $50k range while the $300k property I believe is market rate or maybe in the $70k+ range. I personally don't know but the $200k is definitely under some type of low income income cap.

Remember, they are looking at family income so you get a firefighter and a teacher with two kids in there and it's perfectly affordable for them. 

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

We have approval on the 5-story, 63 unit building proposed at Leigh/2nd.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/02/24/five-story-apartment-building-across-from-maggie-walker-site-approved/

[ancientcarpenter]

7 hours ago, RVA-Is-The-Best said:

We have approval on the 5-story, 63 unit building proposed at Leigh/2nd.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/02/24/five-story-apartment-building-across-from-maggie-walker-site-approved/

From reddit:

"From my understanding, Historic Jackson Ward Association is not done yet with their suggestions so this is a bit awkward to see that next steps are being taken/approved here... but we know RBS can sometimes get ahead (rightfully) and sometimes have wrong info too. RBS is great though and it happens in journalism as nothing is perfect :)"

[I miss RVA]

10 hours ago, RVA-Is-The-Best said:

We have approval on the 5-story, 63 unit building proposed at Leigh/2nd.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/02/24/five-story-apartment-building-across-from-maggie-walker-site-approved/

Awesome news. So glad the Planning Commissioners and the chairman all were very vocally supportive of the project. THEY at least are using their damn brains!

I just now read the RBS story - OMG... I'm sorry - I can't keep my mouth shut on this one. What the E-double-F is the major malfunction with the nutcases at the National Park Service, kvetching about the height? Are these people on drugs? I'm asking earnestly. What drugs are they on? This is the most insipid piece of NIMBY garbage ... and it 100% falls in line with all the bogus, BS tropes of any that the most myopic of preservationists over the last 50 years of RVA's history have ever spewed. Jesus - what planet are these folks from?

The National Park Service, which manages the Maggie Walker site, expressed concern over the proposed building’s height in a letter to the city submitted last summer.

The letter, from NPS’s Andrea DeKoter, described the project as out-of-scale with the Jackson Ward Historic District, which includes the Maggie Walker site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“While development of vacant sites in and near the district will have a positive impact on the economic health of the area,” the letter read, “the National Park Service is concerned that the scale of the proposed structure, at five stories, will negatively impact that district, one that is largely characterized by residential buildings of two to three stories.”

Will "negatively impact the district"???  SERIOUSLY???? Is one of the prerequisites of involvement with historic preservation that one must take complete, 100% leave of their senses and suffer a total loss of any and all connection to reality? This bogus height objection is EXACTLY the load of crap that's so badly held Richmond back over the last 50 years! 

Okay - I need to double up on my BP meds because I'm sure the gauge on my little BP cuff probably will like one of those "test your strength" features at the state fair. OMG!

Edited February 24, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

Yeah.  It doesn’t make sense.  There are plenty of structures in JW over 2-3 stories. While it’s across the street from JW,  the Masonic temple (built in 1888) at Broad and Adams would make this proposed building look small if placed beside it.  
 

I heart preservationists but one of my favorite things to see is actual historic sites (like Walker’s house) surrounded by towering structures.  It helps make said sites more precious, IMO.  I’m recalling a church in downtown Denver that literally has a high-rise built around and over it (looked it up, it’s the Holy Ghost Catholic Church at 1999 Broadway,  it’s also a lot more attractive than I remember ….saw it once, in 1986 and still remember it!). It certainly makes the church seem extra special for developers to have gone through such trouble to accommodate it. Boston, Philadelphia, New York, London, Madrid, Tokyo….it’s very common to see sites hundreds of years old beside contemporary structures of very different scale. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Brent114

[I miss RVA]

40 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Yeah.  It doesn’t make sense.  There are plenty of structures in JW over 2-3 stories. While it’s across the street from JW,  the Masonic temple (built in 1888) at Broad and Adams would make this proposed building look small if placed beside it.  
 

I heart preservationists but one of my favorite things to see is actual historic sites (like Walker’s house) surrounded by towering structures.  It helps make said sites more precious, IMO.  I’m recalling a church in downtown Denver that literally has a high-rise built around and over it.  Granted that example is pretty ugly but it certainly makes the church seem extra special for developers to have gone through such trouble to accommodate it. Boston, Philadelphia, New York, London, Madrid, Tokyo….it’s very common to see sites hundreds of years old beside contemporary structures of very different scale. 

Spot on, my friend! Well said.

Another classic example - and the juxtaposition is simply gorgeous - historic St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan -- and immediately next to it is classic black-glass box, the 52-story Olympic Tower, built in 1971. The combination of the historic cathedral and the modern glass-and-steel tower has become SO iconic over the last 51 years that there is even a Lego play set paying homage to this all-time classic combination of old and new architecture. I defy ANYONE to tell me that Olympic Tower in any way "diminishes" or is "detrimental" to St. Patrick's.

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

Here in Richmond the newly built VCU Gladding Residence  shows off the Branch public bath building in a much more effective way than the old dorm which was of the same scale.  Night and day.  Today’s setting is elegant and showy, the 80’s dorm of the same height was clunky and unflattering.   

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Brent114 said:

Here in Richmond the newly built VCU Gladding Residence  shows off the Branch public bath building in a much more effective way than the old dorm which was of the same scale.  Night and day.  Today’s setting is elegant and showy, the 80’s dorm of the same height was clunky and unflattering.   

Fully agreed! And you're right - the new Gladding building really does beautifully highlight the old Branch building. OMG - the old '80s version of Gladdings was a train wreck hodgepodge of a complex. Ugh... I'm so glad the university replaced it with something that really makes a wonderful urban statement. I can't wait for its "bookend" building to rise at Laurel and W. Grace. I don't know if funding for that dorm is included in this year's appropriation or not. I want to say it's in the next go-round, but don't quote me.

Pretty cool how these buildings -- several block apart from each other on Laurel -- will serve as something of 'bookends' -- and while not exact, the designs are somewhat similar - and both buildings 12 stories tall.

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by I miss RVA

[ancientcarpenter]

14 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

 

 

 

Wow wow wow... I know we may be a bit off topic since this is JW topic but what is this thing?! Where can we learn more? Where did you get the rendering?!

[123fakestreet]

3 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

Wow wow wow... I know we may be a bit off topic since this is JW topic but what is this thing?! Where can we learn more? Where did you get the rendering?!

That's clearly the VCU West Grace dorm building on the left.  which would put the other building at the corner of Grace and Laurel, where Sally Bell's kitchen used to be.

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

Wow wow wow... I know we may be a bit off topic since this is JW topic but what is this thing?! Where can we learn more? Where did you get the rendering?!

It's VCU's proposed Honors School residence - which I believe is slated to be funded in the 2024-26 biennium. Got the rendering from the VCU Master Plan.  And  @123fakestreet you are correct - it's at the corner of Laurel and Grace.

Edited February 25, 2022 by I miss RVA

[whw53]

A backhoe and some other light equipment is on site at Cameo House block.

[I miss RVA]

Will be interesting to see what happens here.

From Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/03/09/die-teufel-club-building-in-jackson-ward-hits-the-market-for-1-1m/

[123fakestreet]

Not sure this is really J Ward, but I don't see that Broad St has it's own thread.  Great news though:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/04/11/douglas-development-joins-in-on-wave-of-broad-street-building-rehabs/

After years of seemingly sitting on its holdings in the neighborhood, Douglas Development is starting work on the first of what it says will be more projects to come along a stretch of East Broad Street

... has gathered over a dozen properties in the neighborhood since the mid-2000s

...the beginning of the firm putting its Broad Street plans in motion...“Our plan is to revitalize all of our assets on Broad Street. This is the kickoff,”

 

Most notable property they are rehabbing is the Clay Market building.  Thank god. That is one of the ugliest, biggest blights on Broad St.  My only question is why they waited so long.  They had these properties for years, so they waited for costs to go way up, interest rates to increase, and demand to tick down for them to start developing? Genius.

 

[ancientcarpenter]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

Not sure this is really J Ward, but I don't see that Broad St has it's own thread.  Great news though:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/04/11/douglas-development-joins-in-on-wave-of-broad-street-building-rehabs/

After years of seemingly sitting on its holdings in the neighborhood, Douglas Development is starting work on the first of what it says will be more projects to come along a stretch of East Broad Street

... has gathered over a dozen properties in the neighborhood since the mid-2000s

...the beginning of the firm putting its Broad Street plans in motion...“Our plan is to revitalize all of our assets on Broad Street. This is the kickoff,”

 

Most notable property they are rehabbing is the Clay Market building.  Thank god. That is one of the ugliest, biggest blights on Broad St.  My only question is why they waited so long.  They had these properties for years, so they waited for costs to go way up, interest rates to increase, and demand to tick down for them to start developing? Genius.

 

I agree. I dated a girl in 2014 who lived right above the loud bus stop and market. That place was fully renovated and just fine for her to live there. It's not like Douglas Development is trail blazing developing on Broad St... even the "worst" part of that Broad St were developed into apartments a decade ago... It's been a proven formula. 

I think an intern accidentally found some crumpled up titles in the back of a filing cabinet that reminded Douglas Development that they owned a dozen properties on Broad St 

Edited April 11, 2022 by ancientcarpenter

[I miss RVA]

Either way, good to see some movement on these. It's definitely about time!  The one thing I'll say is that while this is a very good start to getting that wonderful old stretch of E. Broad back up and running and -- as we all on here hope -- re-establishing some semblance of a retail core along RVA's former grand avenue of retail, the biggest building blocks toward reaching that goal is people living downtown. As we've discussed here in other threads, the key to what made the old Broad/Grace retail core SO successful was a downtown(ish) population of over 29K back in the day. We're a long way yet from getting back up to those levels - but downtown RVA has had a very good start on that journey in recent years. 

Say, speaking down downtown residential population,@ancientcarpenter-- I know you keep your ear to the ground regarding all things JW. What do you hear about a groundbreaking for The Admiral. What's the word on the street there?

[ancientcarpenter]

49 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Say, speaking down downtown residential population,@ancientcarpenter-- I know you keep your ear to the ground regarding all things JW. What do you hear about a groundbreaking for The Admiral. What's the word on the street there?

Absolutely nothing. I have heard news that it's moving forward in late 2021 meetings but no details. I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly see a fence and porta-johns show up.

[eandslee]

10 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

Absolutely nothing. I have heard news that it's moving forward in late 2021 meetings but no details. I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly see a fence and porta-johns show up.

As long as it hasn't been canceled or been downsized, I'll be happy!  Would love to see porta-johns tomorrow!  Too bad there's no porta-john emoji.  That would be spectacular! 

Edited April 11, 2022 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

22 minutes ago, eandslee said:

As long as it hasn't been canceled or been downsized, I'll be happy!  Would love to see porta-johns tomorrow!  Too bad there's no porta-john emoji.  That would be spectacular! 

Oh holy moly - AMEN, my friend! From your keyboard to God's eyes!!  Oh don't even say those words ("c" or "d.s." -- GOD-FORBID!!!) There are SO many projects right now that I'm worried sick about being "c" or "d.s" - you have NO idea...  I WANT GROUND BROKEN!!!!

A porta-potty emoji would be FANTASTIC!

Edited April 11, 2022 by I miss RVA