Richmond Developments

[tparkerzut]

6 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Looks like I'm getting some neighbors! 

http://richmondbizsense.com/2017/04/03/27m-apartment-project-to-rise-five-stories-in-jackson-ward/

This is a pretty good-looking building too. 

 

 

 

Looks like a decent project for Jackson Ward, however I may disagree how the aesthetics are going to fit into the neighborhood. I also know that the Historic Jackson Ward association is not going to like the way it looks, they always fight for new development to maintain the historical integrity of the neighborhood and doubt that this will go over well with them. I expect to see a fight because of height and finishes.

In general I like the retail and restaurant space and no surface parking!! Just wish it fit in a little better.

[eandslee]

A fight because of height!?  Seriously?  It's only 5 squatty stories and it's located pretty much downtown!  It would be silly to put up a fight about that. If people don't want to see taller buildings (not saying this one is tall), then they need to live elsewhere.  I just don't get the height NIMBYs downtown.  I was actually disappointed to see that it was going to be only 5 stories. 

Edited April 3, 2017 by eandslee

[Brent114]

Btw, the rendering shows 6 floors. 

I'd like 16  but this, IMO, will be very nice infill. 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Brent114

[Icetera]

It is mostly just "historical" parking lots at that point of Marshall so I hope they do not put up much fuss.  This is the kind of development we should see as a transition from downtown to Jackson Ward.

[tparkerzut]

5 hours ago, eandslee said:

A fight because of height!?  Seriously?  It's only 5 squatty stories and it's located pretty much downtown!  It would be silly to put up a fight about that. If people don't want to see taller buildings (not saying this one is tall), then they need to live elsewhere.  I just don't get the height NIMBYs downtown.  I was actually disappointed to see that it was going to be only 5 stories. 

As someone who lives in Jackson Ward I do think height can look out of place there. Most of the neighborhood is row houses including the buildings surrounding this project. A five story building will look awkward there. Not that I'm against the building, just saying I understand why some people wouldn't like this especially since the whole neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also calling Jackson Ward downtown might work when describing location, but in look and feel its far from it. And while I'm fine with this project I would never want that neighborhood to get projects that fit into modern downtown.

[Wahoo 07]

20 minutes ago, tparkerzut said:

As someone who lives in Jackson Ward I do think height can look out of place there. Most of the neighborhood is row houses including the buildings surrounding this project. A five story building will look awkward there. Not that I'm against the building, just saying I understand why some people wouldn't like this especially since the whole neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also calling Jackson Ward downtown might work when describing location, but in look and feel its far from it. And while I'm fine with this project I would never want that neighborhood to get projects that fit into modern downtown.

When it comes to height in Jackson Ward, I feel like this project should be the limit.  The neighborhood has a great historic feel and it would be a shame to compromise it.  However, it is urban so five to six stories should be permitted.  On the Broad Street section of Jackson Ward, height should be encouraged. 

[tparkerzut]

37 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

When it comes to height in Jackson Ward, I feel like this project should be the limit.  The neighborhood has a great historic feel and it would be a shame to compromise it.  However, it is urban so five to six stories should be permitted.  On the Broad Street section of Jackson Ward, height should be encouraged. 

I agree, especially along Broad street I'd like to see 12+ story project in the arts district.

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Updated the development map with this new project. Exciting

[wrldcoupe4]

Completely agree with tparkerzut and wahoo 07. 

[CitiWalker]

Jackson Ward ....IS....downtown...smack  in the very heart of the city...It is important to remember that we live in an urban area...with that being said have to be able to build up because we all know Richmond has no room for expansion....As someone who was born and raised here, one of the main things that has kept this city from reaching its full potential height wise and architecturally is the desire to make every nook and crany historic...I believe in preserving neighborhoods and design but hey....we live in a breathing dynamic city...This is not a living museum...we have to be amorphic and that means people have to be willing to compromise...too much NIMBY going on....There is room for preservation as well as growth but you cannot stagnate a city trying to hold on to the past....The Richmond of the Civil War era burned to the ground over 150 years ago...We live in a city...not the suburbs....

[tparkerzut]

1 hour ago, CitiWalker said:

Jackson Ward ....IS....downtown...smack  in the very heart of the city...It is important to remember that we live in an urban area...with that being said have to be able to build up because we all know Richmond has no room for expansion....As someone who was born and raised here, one of the main things that has kept this city from reaching its full potential height wise and architecturally is the desire to make every nook and crany historic...I believe in preserving neighborhoods and design but hey....we live in a breathing dynamic city...This is not a living museum...we have to be amorphic and that means people have to be willing to compromise...too much NIMBY going on....There is room for preservation as well as growth but you cannot stagnate a city trying to hold on to the past....The Richmond of the Civil War era burned to the ground over 150 years ago...We live in a city...not the suburbs....

Once again, I have no problem with the project in Jackson Ward. But saying we have no room for expansion and we have to go up? Have you ever walked through Monroe Ward, the bottom, parts of downtown including areas in and around Jackson Ward? The amount of empty lots in Richmond is astounding, we could build 5 new buildings a year for 20 years in the central part of the city, have all of them be 2 stories and still increase the population by thousands in the urban core. I'm all for tall buildings, in fact I love skyscrapers. However I'd much rather see a city filled with two story low rises than high rises surrounded by parking lots. And that's because the urban environment does matter, a lot more than a taller building. The word NIMBY is thrown around on these pages all too easily, there are reasons to stop development because there are plenty of developments that don't help cities they hurt them. Bad design can turn neighborhoods in stagnant areas with low foot traffic even if it does increase population and bad design is a great reason to fight for a project to get canceled, yes even if it is 45 stories tall.

[CitiWalker]

2 hours ago, tparkerzut said:

Once again, I have no problem with the project in Jackson Ward. But saying we have no room for expansion and we have to go up? Have you ever walked through Monroe Ward, the bottom, parts of downtown including areas in and around Jackson Ward? The amount of empty lots in Richmond is astounding, we could build 5 new buildings a year for 20 years in the central part of the city, have all of them be 2 stories and still increase the population by thousands in the urban core. I'm all for tall buildings, in fact I love skyscrapers. However I'd much rather see a city filled with two story low rises than high rises surrounded by parking lots. And that's because the urban environment does matter, a lot more than a taller building. The word NIMBY is thrown around on these pages all too easily, there are reasons to stop development because there are plenty of developments that don't help cities they hurt them. Bad design can turn neighborhoods in stagnant areas with low foot traffic even if it does increase population and bad design is a great reason to fight for a project to get canceled, yes even if it is 45 stories tall.

Richmond has a population density of  3525 people per sq mile....Henrico 1334 people per sq mile and Chesterfield 728 people per sq mile.....Henrico has 3.8 times as much land and Chesterfield 6.8 times as much land as Richmond (Only 62 sq miles)  to include industry, retail, offices, entertainment,  and residential use...The idea that you could take the existing surface lots and fill them with just two story structures  to increase the population is not realistic...When you mention the bottom any new proposals for population increase utilize the idea of structures of 5 stories or above being of mixed use with retail on the bottom floors....just look at the recent construction within the past 5 years alone...Monroe Ward is already saturated and in fact the only way to add would to be to build up...In fact look at how even VCU has built housing in that area that is more that a mere two stories...my point is I love Richmond and I believe in preserving some of the integrity of the community to a certain degree...but when you talk about Jackson Ward in particular the authentic integrity of that community was destroyed in the 1950s when they carved I95 right through the heart of the community destroying countless of black owned homes and businesses....no one complained then...that densely populated business sector is never coming back...I think the Acronym NIMBY is used often around this board because in true  Richmond fashion whenever there is a proposal to advance the city someone usually starts crying about how it is going to effect their view of the river or block their vision  or something to that degree and then designs often get altered because of the complaints...People often say oh its ok...just not where I live...I have been living in this city for 50 years...my degree is in urban studies so I understand every ones point of view...I live in the city by choice because I love this city....The whole while people forget they live in an urban environment prone to change with limited space...I'm not just talking about several surface lots downtown I am talking about the overall design and functionality of the whole city...Cities were originally places where you could walk to wherever you needed to go to get food, conduct business, or just to be entertained....The reality is like it or not it is going to be increasingly necessary to build upward to spite what people think should happen...I'm not trying to be mean or anything but if people desire a lot of space  and vistas to the river and beyond why move into a heavily populated environment and not understand that most cities become built upward...

[wrldcoupe4]

Monroe Ward isn't saturated there are several blocks that are surface lots. It's a great opportunity for the height and density you're talking about.

[tparkerzut]

53 minutes ago, CitiWalker said:

Richmond has a population density of  3525 people per sq mile....Henrico 1334 people per sq mile and Chesterfield 728 people per sq mile.....Henrico has 3.8 times as much land and Chesterfield 6.8 times as much land as Richmond (Only 62 sq miles)  to include industry, retail, offices, entertainment,  and residential use...The idea that you could take the existing surface lots and fill them with just two story structures  to increase the population is not realistic...When you mention the bottom any new proposals for population increase utilize the idea of structures of 5 stories or above being of mixed use with retail on the bottom floors....just look at the recent construction within the past 5 years alone...Monroe Ward is already saturated and in fact the only way to add would to be to build up...In fact look at how even VCU has built housing in that area that is more that a mere two stories...my point is I love Richmond and I believe in preserving some of the integrity of the community to a certain degree...but when you talk about Jackson Ward in particular the authentic integrity of that community was destroyed in the 1950s when they carved I95 right through the heart of the community destroying countless of black owned homes and businesses....no one complained then...that densely populated business sector is never coming back...I think the Acronym NIMBY is used often around this board because in true  Richmond fashion whenever there is a proposal to advance the city someone usually starts crying about how it is going to effect their view of the river or block their vision  or something to that degree and then designs often get altered because of the complaints...People often say oh its ok...just not where I live...I have been living in this city for 50 years...my degree is in urban studies so I understand every ones point of view...I live in the city by choice because I love this city....The whole while people forget they live in an urban environment prone to change with limited space...I'm not just talking about several surface lots downtown I am talking about the overall design and functionality of the whole city...Cities were originally places where you could walk to wherever you needed to go to get food, conduct business, or just to be entertained....The reality is like it or not it is going to be increasingly necessary to build upward to spite what people think should happen...I'm not trying to be mean or anything but if people desire a lot of space  and vistas to the river and beyond why move into a heavily populated environment and not understand that most cities become built upward...

First, I hate having these conversations online, because chances are we probably have very similar views and would have a constructive and positive conversation in person... Ughh the major down fall of the internet.

Monroe Ward is faaar from saturated, as shown in the picture. Also saying no one complained about the destruction of peoples homes and livelihoods in the middle of the 20th century by "urban renewal" and terrible urban design is a bit untrue. There were tons of families who spoke out against what was happening  to them but no one cared because they were poor and black. There were also people on the national stage trying to stop what happened decades ago like Jane Jacobs.

Also talking about density and low rise buildings, south Philadelphia has a population density of about 17000 people/square mile. While no it is not ALL two story buildings it is dominated by low rise buildings and single family row houses. You do not need high rises to get population density.

Yes cities do change, as they should. That doesn't mean we should all be okay with every mega-block project that gets proposed or that we shouldn't have standards for how our city is changed.

[drayrichmond]

I'm just gonna say it looks like a nice infill project

[wrldcoupe4]

Jane Jacobs should be required reading. Life and Death of Great American Cities is great.

[Wahoo 07]

http://richmondbizsense.com/2017/04/06/developers-launch-shockoe-apartment-conversion-acquire-city-block/

Another apartment conversion in Shockoe Bottom

[RiverYuppy]

I'm really excited for Shockoe Bottom near Main Street Station.  There are tons of new apartment units going up in the area which will increase the traffic in the area. I think we're going to start seeing some of those vacant storefronts get filled.

[drayrichmond]

8 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

http://richmondbizsense.com/2017/04/06/developers-launch-shockoe-apartment-conversion-acquire-city-block/

Another apartment conversion in Shockoe Bottom

I was about to ask on here if anyone has heard anything, there's been work being done on this for the last couple of weeks, now I know!

Sort of related, it would be cool to see a map of the "leftover" buildings that have big rehab potential like this, I can't imagine there are that many left right?

[wrldcoupe4]

Very few large dormant buildings left. Very exciting. 

[Wahoo 07]

10 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Very few large dormant buildings left. Very exciting. 

It is.  Hopefully the next round will make surface parking lots in Shockoe (and everywhere else in downtown) a memory.

[wrldcoupe4]

Well, the Canopy at Ginger Park just received building permits from the City. Cue the NIMBY labels, but this project really is an architectural disservice to both the beautiful single family homes nearby and the Seminary campus. The density is a bit jarring as well particularly given the underlying purpose for the land when gifted to the Seminary by Lewis Ginter. As a northsider, I'm not really opposed to development on this parcel at all. It's just that this poorly designed stick built crap will really stick out here. Here's hoping something can be done to improve its quality since its presence is inevitable. 

https://www.bristoldevelopment.com/canopy-at-ginter-park?lightbox=dataItem-iml23lhe

 

[Brent114]

Looks fine to me.  No more dense than the sprawling mid-centry apartment complexes along Chamberlayne. 

[drayrichmond]

Two small bits of news I scraped off the CHPN website, the 1903 East Marshal Street apartment building is moving along with lot clearance and looks almost ready to start real construction, https://chpn.net/2017/04/10/this-is-the-before/

another small piece is that the word at CHPN is that the Jimms Local Market in Church Hill should start construction this fall.

[RiverYuppy]

I went to look at a condo in Jackson Ward and had a quick walk around Broad.  I walked by the CNB and it looks like they finally renovated the inside set of doors that lead to the lobby.  I wonder when they're finally going to open it up.  I'm super excited about it.

After meeting the realtor I ate lunch at Nick's where "if it were any more authentic you would be paying with Euros."  I went over to Ledbury to look at some shirts as well.  The place is very cool looking on the inside.  It looks like they do all the tailoring in that building or at least store these cut out things to save people's sizes.  Either way the store is very neat and I would suggest taking a gander if you're in the area.

I noticed some renovations and construction underway in Jackson Ward.  2nd and Leigh street is really transforming with a new beer garden and some new apartments that are near finished.

Scouting the area I also noticed some interesting construction that I wasn't sure what to make of.  Is this a garage port being turned into apartments?

There still seems to be more development on Broad as well.  I saw a few ground floor units being renovated.

There is also the new Maggie Walker monument going up.

 

There was some new retail, including a chocolatier, that opened up on Broad.  I went in and got some chocolates to take to my office.  

Random stuff like that will be great for that corridor.  Though, I was worried that it might be a bit early for such a niche shop to be setting up there, with the foot traffic perhaps not being optimal right now.  Then I learned they specialize in lots of special orders and aren't so reliant on small buyers such as myself.  When I went in they were making chocolate submarines to ship to Norfolk for the launch of a new nuclear submarine!

 

 

Also I ran by the building Capital One is opening up downtown.  I could hear the saws and generators working.  I'll post pictures once visible changes start being made.

Edited April 24, 2017 by RiverYuppy