Carver District / Newtowne West / Allison District

[Shakman]

Maybe Sauer has a secret 50 story tower in the works.  

[I miss RVA]

3 hours ago, Shakman said:

Maybe Sauer has a secret 50 story tower in the works.  

Perhaps it does!! Given the relative size to everything else, perhaps it could be dubbed the "Spice Khalifa" 

Or perhaps they could build it in a cylindrical shape - similar to the Westin Hotel in Atlanta - and put an oversized top with a rooftop restaurant and make that whole oversize top slowly rotate - and they could call the tower "The Pepper Mill"  

Edited October 12, 2022 by I miss RVA

[123fakestreet]

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/10/17/spy-rock-planning-something-big-in-newtowne-west-neighborhood/

 

Yes! Major infill. I drive by this lot all the time and wonder why James River Bus Lines hasn't sold it yet.  Still need the adjacent former Sears building to be converted into an urban footprint Walmart or Target

[rjp212]

Wasn't there a small apartment complex proposed behind Lucky 13 at some point? 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/10/17/spy-rock-planning-something-big-in-newtowne-west-neighborhood/

 

Yes! Major infill. I drive by this lot all the time and wonder why James River Bus Lines hasn't sold it yet.  Still need the adjacent former Sears building to be converted into an urban footprint Walmart or Target

Maybe James River was waiting for the right purchaser with the right depth of pockets to pull up! 

Sweet looking development - and it will bring some nice density to the area. Hoping this is the first of many dominoes to topple in that part of town in terms of flipping surface parking lots and vacant/undeveloped parcels into high-density development. Perhaps closer to Broad we'll get another Opus-style project in the near future! 

Re: the rendering: I wonder if the image was reversed? Given the direction of the cars on the street, it looks like this development would fit well in the U.K. 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by I miss RVA

[blopp1234]

Wish it had less parking but overall great density and will be a huge improvement over what is currently there!

[eandslee]

Of course (yes I’m going to say it), it would be nice if this had some more height. Seems sort of a waste to only have 5 stories when it’s located in an area zoned for up to 12 stories.  Just include twice as many units. Someone close by is going to build more units anyway…might as well be this development, no?

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Of course (yes I’m going to say it), it would be nice if this had some more height. Seems sort of a waste to only have 5 stories when it’s located in an area zoned for up to 12 stories.  Just include twice as many units. Someone close by is going to build more units anyway…might as well be this development, no?

I thought the same thing, tbh - but in a way, I get it. Combo of RVA's market size (still too small) and current construction costs (still too high) -- if we got a positive move in EITHER one of them (RVA got bigger and did so quickly - OR - construction costs came back down from the mountaintop and tracked even halfway back to where they were a couple of years ago) - I'm GUESSING (as a completely non-qualified layman) that this might be more in the 8-10 story range. Maybe. Idk...

But I thought the same thing - more height in a TOD-1-zoned area WOULD be really nice.

[Hike]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

Of course (yes I’m going to say it), it would be nice if this had some more height. Seems sort of a waste to only have 5 stories when it’s located in an area zoned for up to 12 stories.  Just include twice as many units. Someone close by is going to build more units anyway…might as well be this development, no?

There, fixed it, you’re welcome.

 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Hike

[I miss RVA]

2 minutes ago, Hike said:

There, fixed it, you’re welcome.

 

 

That ACTUALLY looks really REALLY good! It would be a FANTASTIC 30-plus story building in this configuration!! I LOVE IT! 

[Hike]

Just now, I miss RVA said:

That ACTUALLY looks really REALLY good! It would be a FANTASTIC 30-plus story building in this configuration!! I LOVE IT! 

As designed, that wall just goes on and on, looks like a freight train rounding a bend in the track.

[eandslee]

2 hours ago, Hike said:

There, fixed it, you’re welcome.

 

 

Yes!  You DID fix it!  You did this all for me?!  So thoughtful!  LOL!  

You’re definitely picking up what I’m throwing down! 

[skinsfan]

Diane is my  Aunt. Married to my Uncle Eugene.  I don’t see them that often outside of larger family functions but I can ask why they sat on it for so long. 

[Wahoo 07]

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/10/27/sauer-center-developer-snags-last-piece-of-the-puzzle/

Sauer Center progress.  This has the potential to be the next big locus of development.  It is the crucial connection between the Diamond/SA and the Fan/VCU.   Maybe we'll see a few buildings crack the ten floor ceiling, especially on Hermitage/Leigh.

[123fakestreet]

1 hour ago, Wahoo 07 said:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/10/27/sauer-center-developer-snags-last-piece-of-the-puzzle/

Sauer Center progress.  This has the potential to be the next big locus of development.  It is the crucial connection between the Diamond/SA and the Fan/VCU.   Maybe we'll see a few buildings crack the ten floor ceiling, especially on Hermitage/Leigh.

Unless their next phase shifts gears they seem to want to be retail and office focused, which aren't going to bring a lot of height.  I'm looking forward to that hole in the neighborhood filling in regardless, and hope they bring in some good retail, Whole Foods has been a phenomenal add to the city.

[whw53]

Sauer must be reading UP. Thanks for the update @RVABizSenseMike

[Shakman]

Nice!  In addition, I can't wait for that Whole Food parking lot to be replaced with urbanized development.

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/10/27/sauer-center-developer-snags-last-piece-of-the-puzzle/

Sauer Center progress.  This has the potential to be the next big locus of development.  It is the crucial connection between the Diamond/SA and the Fan/VCU.   Maybe we'll see a few buildings crack the ten floor ceiling, especially on Hermitage/Leigh.

We can only hope to see some development hit double-digits - though I suppose it depends on Sauer's focus. If they incorporate residential development, then it's possible we'll see something with height. I have my doubts, however, if their focus is on office/retail. Even with residential development, I worry that they would focus construction on more linear development with fewer floors, which seems to happen a lot in RVA (look right up the street at 900 N. Allen - where Spy Rock is developing 300 apartments - but spread out over a relatively "flat" 5-story series of buildings.

Regardless of the type of development (office, residential, mixed use, hotel, etc.) - I just SO wish RVA could get out of this rut of linear/long/flat development. I get it - market size is still way too small - and construction costs are still way too high - but MAN OH MAN is it getting frustrating that with a few exceptions, we seem to be "locked in" to an almost "standard" development plan now of something between 5 and 8 stories - and longer/covering more surface area - than height.

Glad to have the development - don't get me wrong. I guess I'm just getting greedier as I get older.

[Icetera]

6 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

Unless their next phase shifts gears they seem to want to be retail and office focused, which aren't going to bring a lot of height.  I'm looking forward to that hole in the neighborhood filling in regardless, and hope they bring in some good retail, Whole Foods has been a phenomenal add to the city.

I marked down that Sauer Center had been looking at 8 and 10 story apartment buildings in the initial preliminary plans.  Office and Retail was just the first phase.

[I miss RVA]

20 minutes ago, Icetera said:

I marked down that Sauer Center had been looking at 8 and 10 story apartment buildings in the initial preliminary plans.  Office and Retail was just the first phase.

Ice - where did you see that? (8 and 10 story apartment buildings in their prelim plans) -- did I miss something somewhere?

[Downtowner]

That property they bought I used to do a lot of work on that people yard. That is one of Massey’s propane yards they bought on hermitage road. It’s one of the spots the propane trucks fill up. 

[Icetera]

19 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Ice - where did you see that? (8 and 10 story apartment buildings in their prelim plans) -- did I miss something somewhere?

It looks like the apartment site was replaced with the latest 4-story office building, but they did have residential plans in the past so clearly they are open to it.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Icetera said:

It looks like the apartment site was replaced with the latest 4-story office building, but they did have residential plans in the past so clearly they are open to it.

Thanks, Ice! That's good to know that perhaps they'd be open to including some residential. Idk why I have my strong doubts that we'll see any kind of height associated with the Sauer development. I'll be more than happy to be proven wrong - but my gut is telling me they're going to "toe the line" and keep things "scaled". Ugh... More "scaling".