Carver District / Newtowne West / Allison District

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, cbender32 said:

Have you guys seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eLRwKsx0yo

Is that the name of the Opus project…Ascend?   Never knew that.  Just always called it the Opus project.  Looks nice and what a prime place to live!  I can see this renting up really quick!  Maybe if this one goes well they’ll do another high rise in Richmond.

Edited October 26, 2021 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

11 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Is that the name of the Opus project…Ascend?   Never knew that.  Just always called it the Opus project.  Looks nice and what a prime place to live!  I can see this renting up really quick!  Maybe if this one goes well they’ll do another high rise in Richmond.

Perhaps that corner at the western end of that block would be the perfect place for a bookend building!

Edited October 26, 2021 by I miss RVA

[wrldcoupe4]

The other corner is for sale. I agree, think it would be great to start seeing a cluster of midrises here and moving westward and northward in and around Sauer Center.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

The other corner is for sale. I agree, think it would be great to start seeing a cluster of midrises here and moving westward and northward in and around Sauer Center.

Would definitely love to see that take shape. 

Regarding that other corner: Glad to know it's for sale. Is the parcel footprint large enough to support a 12-story building? (Yes - I know a shorter building can be built - but I'd like to see the max build wherever possible).

[Icetera]

15 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Would definitely love to see that take shape. 

Regarding that other corner: Glad to know it's for sale. Is the parcel footprint large enough to support a 12-story building? (Yes - I know a shorter building can be built - but I'd like to see the max build wherever possible).

It is just under 2/3 the size of the Ascend property.

[I miss RVA]

54 minutes ago, Icetera said:

It is just under 2/3 the size of the Ascend property.

So it would not be unreasonable to think that a developer might come in and construct a 12-story building with smaller floor plates on that property, yes?

[whw53]

Nice write up on one of the more pronounced infill projects in Carver in the last couple years. Love that perspective on downtown  from this part of town - really stretches out the skyline. (picture 6).

https://richmond.com/realestate/features/richmond-neighborhoods/catherine-clay-an-infill-project-brings-modern-townhomes-to-the-carver-area/article_3cbfdad0-38cd-11ec-a9b0-fb7443555dcc.html

Edited November 2, 2021 by whw53

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, whw53 said:

Nice write up on one of the more pronounced infill projects in Carver in the last couple years. Love that perspective on downtown  from this part of town - really stretches out the skyline. (picture 6).

https://richmond.com/realestate/features/richmond-neighborhoods/catherine-clay-an-infill-project-brings-modern-townhomes-to-the-carver-area/article_3cbfdad0-38cd-11ec-a9b0-fb7443555dcc.html

Really good write up and great photos. Indeed - picture 6 does give a really good perspective of downtown from VCU onward. Imagine how much the skyline might change over the next 3 to 5 years - and how different a photo from this exact same vantage point might look. It's exciting to think about.

[rjp212]

Possible redevelopment off of Gilmer St:  304-306 Gilmer Street

Current:

Potential:

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, rjp212 said:

Possible redevelopment off of Gilmer St:  304-306 Gilmer Street

Current:

Potential:

Looks REALLY good! A great conversion/addition to that address.

Curious if any PODs have been filed for this project yet?

[Brent114]

I love it.  More of this everywhere please! 

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Brent114 said:

I love it.  More of this everywhere please! 

Well... yes and no...  PLEASE not where there could be 12-story... or 15-story... or 25-story buildings built! 

[ancientcarpenter]

23 hours ago, rjp212 said:

Possible redevelopment off of Gilmer St:  304-306 Gilmer Street

Current:

Potential:

 

It's a nice add-on to a one story building but I'm a bit confused: Is that parking at bottom or retail? How do those balconies work? Looks more like a motel colored red with longer windows. Is that one door (on the right) for each floor? Looks like no other doors than that one per floor? Are these balconies to each unit or is it just one big walking balcony for anyone who has access to the building? If so, how does that work for privacy to residents inside those windows? Is that car parked on the sidewalk? What s going on here...

Edited November 8, 2021 by ancientcarpenter

[Shakman]

Looks like an upscale Motel 6.   "We'll leave the light on for you"

Edited November 8, 2021 by Shakman

[Brent114]

I get Bauhaus vibes.  Motel  6 seems a bit harsh lol. 
And what is up with that car on the sidewalk  

[ancientcarpenter]

1 hour ago, Brent114 said:

I get Bauhaus vibes.  Motel  6 seems a bit harsh lol. 
And what is up with that car on the sidewalk  

I can just imagine the 3d designer thinking "I can't believe they want me to put a car on the sidewalk. FINE! I'll do it but it has to be real so it has to be BMW or a mustang" and the executives all nodded their heads in unison "of course, can't argue that." ha!

Edited November 8, 2021 by ancientcarpenter

[Icetera]

2 hours ago, Brent114 said:

I get Bauhaus vibes.  Motel  6 seems a bit harsh lol. 
And what is up with that car on the sidewalk  

That is definitely the alley with the foreground building cut out, but it does look amusing.

[123fakestreet]

On 10/22/2021 at 1:13 PM, Brent114 said:

Opus is really changing the feel of Broad Street.   It still has two floors to go.  These floor heights must be taller than the ones at the old Quality Inn site in Scott’s Addition.  The Opus has much more presence. 
 

 

No pics but they are topping out the top floor this week.

[whw53]

Now this looks like a city to me - fine grained active streetscape w\ cafes, delivery trucks, signage...mix of small retail, services, large chains (Whole Foods), industrial uses (Sauers) all crammed together...slick transit station, mix of new and historic facades, towers in the near ground , towers in the background...this angle is more attractive to me than the classic stoic Richmond skyline pics from the south. I get a sense of urban dynamism here , don't you all?

Edited November 10, 2021 by whw53

[wrldcoupe4]

Yes, agree. Also - this project is super prominent from I-95/I-64 between Belvidere and AA Boulevard exits.

[Brent114]

Here’s an updated photo.  Left side is topped out.

 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, whw53 said:

Now this looks like a city to me - fine grained active streetscape w\ cafes, delivery trucks, signage...mix of small retail, services, large chains (Whole Foods), industrial uses (Sauers) all crammed together...slick transit station, mix of new and historic facades, towers in the near ground , towers in the background...this angle is more attractive to me than the classic stoic Richmond skyline pics from the south. I get a sense of urban dynamism here , don't you all?

Yes!! I 1,000% agree, whw53. This has become perhaps my favorite current picture of RVA - because it really does give off the vibe of the city's dynamic energy, her progress, the mix of old and new that is such a part of the fabric of large cities. This is exactly how RVA gives off the feel and the vibe of being a much larger city than the actual population figures and land area bear out. This pic alone does not look like a city of just under 230K - or a metro of just 1.35M ... and that's something that RVA has always been able to project - a big city look and feel. 

i can't wait to see this same picture in 3 to 5 years when - please God - there are even MORE towers that might be visible - not sure if the Opus would block the view of the new tower set to rise at 2nd and Marshall - perhaps a portion of that building would be visible just to the right of the Opus. If we ever were to get any of those prospective residential buildings along the Broad Street corridor that have been on architects' drawing boards now for a couple of years... wowww!!

[Wahoo 07]

Once Opus and (hopefully) other higher rises come to fruition on Broad, I think a lot of the NIMBY resistance to height will fade.  People will realize that 25 stories isn't going to destroy their version of Richmond (or even impact it) and it makes the city look and feel more dynamic.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

Once Opus and (hopefully) other higher rises come to fruition on Broad, I think a lot of the NIMBY resistance to height will fade.  People will realize that 25 stories isn't going to destroy their version of Richmond (or even impact it) and it makes the city look and feel more dynamic.

We'd like to think so - but the old-school Richmond ideology and mindset that comes out in opposition to things like 25-story buildings is VERY deep seated and had very long roots. This may come across as pejorative and it's really not meant in that way, regardless of how much I disagree with that mindset - but I honestly believe that at least some of the old-schoolers who are so dug in at the heel about this honestly aren't rational at all when it comes to RVA. Whatever their emotional/sentimental, etc. investment/attachment to the "old" Richmond (whatever that may be) -- it is very hardcore and pretty much unbreakable. I would not at all be surprised if some of these folks were to throw themselves in front of construction equipment to try to stop a 25-story building from being built (depending on location and group involved) every bit as much as some of them ACTUALLY DID throw themselves in front of heavy equipment to keep the cobblestones on Monument Avenue from being paved over in the 1960s. (Yes, this really happened!)

RVA "changing" and growing in any way is SO anathema to them - that they're willing to fight to keep certain things status quo with all they've got. I respect that willingness to fight - even if i don't agree with them at all and quite honestly wish they'd all just disappear.

Edited November 10, 2021 by I miss RVA

[rjp212]

The Science Museum tweeted that the parking garage is now open.  They’re hoping to start removing the old parking lot soon to build the 6 acre green space.