The Fan / Museum District

[rjp212]

The Cary St side of Carytown Exchange has begun to go vertical.   So far only an ABC, Chase Bank and a Sleep Number store have been annouced.

[Richmonder23]

Anyone know what's happening here?  Always sad to see local business go. I'm curious what is meant to take this location.

https://richmond.com/business/18-commercial-properties-along-two-blocks-of-sheppard-st-in-the-museum-district-sold-for/article_3be31231-5605-59ce-ad1d-ed05804d9dd5.html

[whw53]

I think a lot of people on Reddit\RTD are jumping too fast to draw conclusions. The properties simply changed hands - this happens all the time., and a new owner will obviously review lease arrangements and may position some of the retail bays differently. There is some fear that because some of those lots are contiguous that they would be redeveloped - I don't' think this is the worst thing for some of the vacant lots behind the retail strip and maybe a plan could tie together what exists with new construction to maintain and maybe enhance the villlage character. Museum Distrct has a unique Design Overlay status but not sure how that applies here. 

[whw53]

Ok I'm trying to place the rest of these renderings from this 'On the Boards' page from an architect at Walter Parks. http://www.nahumgoodenow.com/#/ontheboards/

This one gave a hint with '919 Grace' in the retail signage.  Tthe surrounding massing supports this rendering being situated at 919 W. Grace- it appears this would take out Ipanema building and the Brownstone building next door if it was delivered - 2 gorgeous historical properties there. I actually love the rendering and design compared to what else is on that page but I'm torn and wouldn't want it at the expense of these beauties. Wish there was a way they (and the Ipanema basement) could be maintained at the street level and this design kicks in above..

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by whw53

[eandslee]

Dude!  You are just full of awesome treasures!  Great find!  Love that you are on this board and have shared all of this with us!  Fantastic!  

 

At 14 stories, I'm liking this design...well, it's not too terrible anyway.  The brick will fit in nicely with the surrounding environment.  

Move out of the way Richmond Biz Sense - the UP Richmond forum is leading the way with all the latest!

[wrldcoupe4]

Would rather see some of the 1 story storefronts raised for this instead of these two attractive buildings. 

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Would rather see some of the 1 story storefronts raised for this instead of these two attractive buildings. 

In a perfect world, that would be the case. Either way, I want the highrise.

[Brent114]

That brownstone was just recently meticulously renovated.  I’d protest it’s demolition. 
there are vacant lots near this site.  It’s a handsome cluster of buildings that are home to thriving businesses.  Destroying these to  build this while leaving vacant lots nearby doesn’t seem like progress to me. 

[I miss RVA]

3 hours ago, Brent114 said:

That brownstone was just recently meticulously renovated.  I’d protest it’s demolition. 
there are vacant lots near this site.  It’s a handsome cluster of buildings that are home to thriving businesses.  Destroying these to  build this while leaving vacant lots nearby doesn’t seem like progress to me. 

Who owns what in that neighborhood? Surely this building could be constructed on one of the many vacant lots around there, yes?

[Icetera]

13 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Who owns what in that neighborhood? Surely this building could be constructed on one of the many vacant lots around there, yes?

All of the vacant lots in the area are current VCU holdings with exception of Prestwould's parking further down at Belvidere.

It looks like these two properties and the adjacent 1 story building to the East (913 East Grace) are likely the same ownership (913 E Grace LLC, 917 E Grace LLC, 919 E Grace LLC) but then the next building (911) and the lot West (925 next to Plaza Art, but included in this rendering) are owned by VCU.  I have heard Plaza has been struggling and I believe 929 is currently vacant, so perhaps moving two buildings down would be possible (though the loss of all the memories through the various venues at 929 would hurt).

Another option could be to sacrifice the Ipanema building, thus saving the brown stone, and building this over the two 1 story buildings of 911-913 E Grace which lack the cohesion of the buildings near Harrison.  The current tenants could fit nicely in this new building.

This would also fit nicely on the RamTech lot.

[I miss RVA]

Nice to see there could potentially be plenty of options.

[whw53]

3 unit modern infill development by Walter Parks under construction in Byrd Park neighborhood.

https://richmond.com/realestate/features/great-homes/graypark-three-new-townhomes-near-byrd-park-are-adding-to-the-city-s-growing-modern/article_60ceed1e-51c2-11eb-8619-4befe552f04f.html

Figure we can lump the minimal activity in Randolph/Byrd Park into this thread.





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[whw53]

The 3 story infill project at 1518 W. Main will go before CAR at their 1\26 meeting. This is the parking lot directly east of the Stonewall Jackson Building.  Also on the docket for that meeting, the same applicant is submitting a plan for renovating the upper floors of the StoneWall Jackson Building itself. Check out 'Applications & Plans' docs at the below links for more info.

https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4751106&GUID=F85F2B47-717A-4B71-B48B-E79EE1BB1411&Options=&Search=

https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4751107&GUID=42358822-105E-4B35-9349-224C8EF801AE&Options=&Search=

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by whw53

[DalWill]

On 1/3/2021 at 12:02 PM, whw53 said:

Ok I'm trying to place the rest of these renderings from this 'On the Boards' page from an architect at Walter Parks. http://www.nahumgoodenow.com/#/ontheboards/

This one gave a hint with '919 Grace' in the retail signage.  Tthe surrounding massing supports this rendering being situated at 919 W. Grace- it appears this would take out Ipanema building and the Brownstone building next door if it was delivered - 2 gorgeous historical properties there. I actually love the rendering and design compared to what else is on that page but I'm torn and wouldn't want it at the expense of these beauties. Wish there was a way they (and the Ipanema basement) could be maintained at the street level and this design kicks in above..

 

 Broad St. needs it more then Grace St.  The one story bulidings beside the brownstones would be a better replacement or foundation to build on.  Move the retail operations to face Broad or vacant storefront along the Grace St. corridor.

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, DalWill said:

 Broad St. needs it more then Grace St.  The one story bulidings beside the brownstones would be a better replacement or foundation to build on.  Move the retail operations to face Broad or vacant storefront along the Grace St. corridor.

How could you even dream of ruining the history fabric of this neighborhood?!

 

[whw53]

LOL yea I agree...would rather see something like this on Broad. I'm not sensitive to almost anything between Belvidere and Ryland save for some of the stock around Laurel St intersection, especially the Depot building - old train station for the Ashland railroad. VCU has done nothing but sanitize Broad St thru Carver/lower Fan.

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[DalWill]

16 hours ago, Icetera said:

How could you even dream of ruining the history fabric of this neighborhood?!

 

Man, listen...

We cannot destroy this beautiful sea of cracked pavements. It would kill our excuses of stagnating  real estate competition. We would actually be forced to get our money up and produce better housing units. And most of all, think before cheap-talk.

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by DalWill

[I miss RVA]

From Richmond BizSense: Some good news for Carytown Exchange - National Gym will be part of the mix. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/02/05/national-gym-joins-tenant-lineup-at-publix-anchored-carytown-exchange/

[urbanlife]

On 1/16/2021 at 3:23 PM, Icetera said:

How could you even dream of ruining the history fabric of this neighborhood?!

 

The "Historic" Lowes parking lot. This is why design and zoning regulations are important. Something like this should not have been allowed to be built along Broad without it meeting urban design guidelines. 

[Brent114]

This parking lot predates Lowe’s.  

This  was a Super Fresh (called it Stupid Fresh in college in the late 80’s).   There was one last row house that housed the Broadway Cafe which was a great transvestite (using an old timey word, not sure that the clientele was actually trans)  dive bar.  

The stretch of Broad Street from Harrison to Arthur Ashe Blvd has always been a mess (warehouses with berms and loading bays fronting Broad, train tracks, Lombardy was below grade... 
The Kroger site  was the location of a pretty nice-looking shopping  cart factory, took up the whole block (Marshall and Leigh were blocked off 150 years ago).  

Lowes (and Kroger) was such an important addition to the neighborhood at the time (the only private investment in two or

more generations) and the city did the right thing by allowing them to build whatever they wanted.  Now that part of the city has matured and the lot can be divided up and built upon, which is already happening. 

 

[I miss RVA]

6 hours ago, Brent114 said:

This parking lot predates Lowe’s.  

This  was a Super Fresh (called it Stupid Fresh in college in the late 80’s).   There was one last row house that housed the Broadway Cafe which was a great transvestite (using an old timey word, not sure that the clientele was actually trans)  dive bar.  

The stretch of Broad Street from Harrison to Arthur Ashe Blvd has always been a mess (warehouses with berms and loading bays fronting Broad, train tracks, Lombardy was below grade... 
The Kroger site  was the location of a pretty nice-looking shopping  cart factory, took up the whole block (Marshall and Leigh were blocked off 150 years ago).  

Lowes (and Kroger) was such an important addition to the neighborhood at the time (the only private investment in two or

more generations) and the city did the right thing by allowing them to build whatever they wanted.  Now that part of the city has matured and the lot can be divided up and built upon, which is already happening. 

 

WAY back when (as in the 1950s, 60s, 70s), the Super Fresh was originally part of the old Food Fair grocery chain. When I was little, we would occasionally shop there because they had a lot of stuff on discount. As I recall, it was a dump. 

Brent - good point about how this part of town has matured. These lots indeed are ripe for sub-dividing and can certainly support a variety of developments. High-density residential would definitely be a big add for this area -- all the more reason why the new City Council needs to knuckle down and get this district up-zoned despite the NIMBY pushback. Perhaps this vast pasture of parking lots can actually be cultivated and turned into the fertile field of development that will dramatically reshape the district and continue to push Richmond's growth momentum full-steam ahead.

[Brent114]

The Super Fresh was tragic by the late 80’s.  It also felt so far away from campus at the time.  There wasn’t much need to venture past Harrison back then.  Scott’s Addition and the  Boulevard were no man’s land.  In the early 90’s they painted sea creatures on the plywood boarding up the windows of the William Byrd hotel.  That was briefly a point of interest...

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, Brent114 said:

The Super Fresh was tragic by the late 80’s.  It also felt so far away from campus at the time.  There wasn’t much need to venture past Harrison back then.  Scott’s Addition and the  Boulevard were no man’s land.  In the early 90’s they painted sea creatures on the plywood boarding up the windows of the William Byrd hotel.  That was briefly a point of interest...

Those were some pretty lean times. Glad things are so very different today.

I used to get my hair cut at the barbershop on the ground floor of the William Byrd. Went to the barber there for years.

[whw53]

Week of 2\7 - Permit & Plan applications of note

1. Land Disturbance plan in for 5 townhome project discussed here prior at intersection of Kensington & Cleveland 

2. Ok, this one is interesting - 4 demo permits were submitted and are under review this week for the 4 structures in this one parcel highlighted below. (2606-2612 W Cary St.) 4 buildings, 4 permits - all permits state 'demolish entire building' - looks like someone has plans for this piece of land here. I only attached one of the 4 permit record images from the portal.

 

 

[Icetera]

17 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Week of 2\7 - Permit & Plan applications of note

2. Ok, this one is interesting - 4 demo permits were submitted and are under review this week for the 4 structures in this one parcel highlighted below. (2606-2612 W Cary St.) 4 buildings, 4 permits - all permits state 'demolish entire building' - looks like someone has plans for this piece of land here. I only attached one of the 4 permit record images from the portal.

Interesting.  Appears to have been sold to a developer under a generic LLC (2606 W Cary LLLC) in November.  These 1910 and 1920 buildings are in a National Historic Neighborhood (Fan Area Extension).
 

Quote

ABOUT THIS PROPERTY
2606-2612 W Cary St consists of two commercial buildings with stabilized office tenants in one of the most desirable and dynamic areas in Richmond. Each building features approximately 4,000 SF of floor area, two stories, large floor areas, and classic post Victorian architecture. This property is currently one parcel but is able to be split into two parcels and purchased separately.

Perfect for a 1031 Exchange, an owner/occupant, or for redevelopment as short-term rentals, this offering is located in a flexible mixed-use zoning district that permits a wide variety of commercial and residential uses. Maintain the office uses, convert to other commercial uses like retail or restaurant, redevelop as multifamily, or have mix of uses. Numerous strategies are available to enable the best possible return on this investment.

https://onesouthcommercial.com/properties/2606-w-cary-st-richmond-va-23220/