Awesomer than The Fan.

July 14, 2008

Flip that Scott’s Addition condo

John over at CHPN.net passed along some interesting agenda items on tap at the 6pm council meeting tonight…

Ord. No. 2008-160 (Patron: President Pantele, By Request) - To authorize the special use of *** 3031 Norfolk Street for the purpose of converting the existing building for use as up to 90 multi-family dwelling units ***.

Ord. No. 2008-162 (Patron: President Pantele, By Request) - To authorize the special use of *** 1700 Summit Avenue for the purpose of converting the existing building for use as up to 89 multi-family dwelling units ***.

I’m no expert when it comes to zoning, council meetings, etc, but it seems like these proposals need a good review before getting Wilder & Pantele’s old rubber stamp.

The proposals are pretty similar, so I checked out the Summit property in more detail (Full PDF of the proposal here)…

  • The Summit property is an old vehicle repair building and is zoned as M-1 Industrial. Most of the surrounding property is zoned Industrial as well. Plopping hundreds of people in an Industrial zone isn’t too appealing.
  • They’re only constructing 89 parking spots. Call me crazy, but if you’re building 89 units with 149 bedrooms, you’re going to need more than 89 parking spots.
  • The plans call for lots of really small apartments. Some of the 2 bedroom units are as small as 612 square feet. Do we really want a lot more tiny apartments in this city? I realize the market will sort all these types of things out, but some city planning could help.
  • The owner is looking to cash in on a lot of Federal, State, and Local tax credits. Before doling these out, let’s double check that this is what we want to spend taxpayer money on.

Those are my thoughts. What about you?

Posted by Sam @ 8:15 am |

 

8 Comments.

  1. Depending on the projected demographics, the parking might not be a problem. Older & younger folks tend have something much lower than a 1-to-1 car ratio.

    These units will be a short walk to the new movie theater & whatever happens at the Diamond & a nice flat bike ride or walk to Carytown (and groceries). With the inevitable development of the Interbake building, this would really liven up Boulevard.

    This presumably would’ve gone before the neighborhood association before it got this far. Any word on their take on it?

    john m @ July 14th, 2008 at 9:38 am

  2. I’m not one to get excited about some flashy new condos. We have plenty on the market already.

    Like the ones at 3020 Patterson Ave. They’ve been on the market for over a year, and a total of 1 has been sold in the past 6 months. The units are under 500 square feet. The 2 year builder warrantee almost guarantees they’ll fall apart in year 3.

    I’d be interested in hearing the neighborhood association’s take as well.

    Sam @ July 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am

  3. “Latest” Scott’s Addition Business Association newseltter is dated June 2006. Wonder if they are on board with the development as the articles suggest?

    http://www.scottsaddition.com/Download_Files/2006_06_Newsletter.pdf

    Two years is a long time, does anyone know if there are still business/civic associations in Scott’s Addition?

    Fiona @ July 14th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

  4. It’s a GREAT idea, it’s what happened at Tobacco Row 20 years ago! WE plopped apartment into dying industrial zones and got hip housing that attracted hip coffee bars, which lead to the revitalization of an entire district!

    It’s a great great great idea. The International industrial architecture in Scotts Addition should be preserved, and upscale condos and apartments are the best way to do that.

    IT’s a great walkable community. and would add to the great synergy with the Boulevard, the Diamond, the movie theater. More reviatlization will snowball, everything encourages each other and helps create a better place.

    Is Sam just trying to get the project denied so his projects will rent out first?

    cosmic @ July 15th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

  5. Haha I’m pretty sure he meant we as in “Richmond” not as in “my development company.”

    I’m not a big fan of more condos either, but it would be cool to see some interesting retail spring up around the movie theatre (which I am incredibly stoked on).

    Ross @ July 15th, 2008 at 4:13 pm

  6. Cosmic - Condos are not a 1-size-fits-all solution. Plopping a bunch of 612-square-foot 2-bedroom units with insufficient parking will not solve the woes of dying industrial areas. Perhaps condos constructed the right way could be a good fit.

    Most of Scott’s Addition is zoned as M-1 Industrial. If we want to convert the entire area to residential/commercial, let’s have a plan and map things out before we start re-zoning things ad-hoc.

    My point is, condos can be a great way to revitalize an area, but we we need to be engaged and involved with the solution. Especially when it involves our tax dollars.

    As for renting out my projects, I wish I had a project to rent. Sorry cosmic, but some of have a genuine concern for the area and not a profit motive.

    Sam @ July 15th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

  7. I could get excited about these units going in, and I have no problem with a 1 car per unit ratio.

    But, Sam’s basic premise, that this should not just happen without any oversight, makes good sense:

    If tax credits are part of the equation, then no project should ever just be approved. There should be some sort of review process, which is based on a solid Land Use Transit plan.

    And speaking of Land Use Transit planning, Richmond desperately needs Small Area Plans to be produced for all of these areas that are emerging with great potential.

    tesseract @ July 15th, 2008 at 11:21 pm

  8. I hear tale of — upon successful passage of the downtown master plan — a city wide master plan.

    Perhaps it’d be prudent to stave off any development until we’ve had sometime to think about a citywide plan.

    Ross @ July 16th, 2008 at 10:04 am

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