Comments on: 200 more apartments coming to Shockoe Bottom

By: Brett

Brett — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:48:14 +0000

Stuart, I agree, the parking requirements are ridiculous. They are starting to eliminate them in parts of the city. They just passed something in Union Hill to ease up a little. I feel that if some one wants to own a business and have limited parking then they should be allowed to do so. People want to live and play in the city but don’t want to have to park more than a block from where they are going. It’s nuts. We need more mass transit and more people biking and walking, not more parking spaces.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:54:34 +0000

I’m curious to know if the 110 parking spaces is the minimum number required by city regulations or if they added additional spots to make their future residents happy. I personally feel the city is WAY “over-parked” and I’m concerned that forcing every development to provide “x” number of spaces is driving up costs for everyone- builders, businesses, tenants, homeowners and even the city in the form of missed tax revenue that could be collected from higher uses of the space. On the other hand if the developers think the market really wants another 110 parking spots in the midst of a sea of surface parking than far be it from me to tell them what to do…

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:11:11 +0000

Robinson Street is right, I live a few blocks away and think this is a great addition to the neighborhood. Residential has to come first and commercial will follow and there is already lots of new commercial to the area that wasn’t there 10 years ago. The reason why the grocery store and CVS and the coffee shops and restaurants in the area are open is because of all the folks who moved into Tobacco Row. The apartments were built and the commercial came with it a few years later. Also the development that is getting ready to go up across the street has commercial on the first floor that covers the entire block and there is already tons of commercial space in the area that needs to be rented that was just waiting for more traffic. I think the cold storage has commercial coming in as well. Also more people in the area means less crime. The only drawback I see is that I will have more trouble renting out my own basement apartment but it is worth it to see the progression of the neighborhood. Rents are based on demand. They will drop if there is no demand. There are not many apt. buildings in the area that are vacant so as long as people are willing to pay they will keep filling them up. People that do not live in the area would be blown away by how many mcv students walk up that hill everyday.

By: Formerly SBD

Formerly SBD — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:59:03 +0000

Robinson St
I did live alone but all I got for close to a Grand was 600 Square feet of barely usable space, One bedroom,One Bathroom,No Parking, No Clubhouse or Outdoor space. Now I own my home and I have 1200 square feet of space with a Master Suite,2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Washer and Dryer, Parking, and Backyard all for less per month than I payed in Rent. I have to drive more but I still can visit my favorite spots in Shockoe Bottom and not have to worry about price increases and Parking issues. I lived in Shockoe Bottom for 4 years and I would have stayed if Rent had been reasonable but that is what most rental places will not talk about is the increases each year or the drop in services when they sell you living in Shockoe Bottom

By: Formerly SBD

Formerly SBD — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:50:39 +0000

The Busses thing is that David Naiper is Classest and was pushing the Ballpark but not the Bus Depot that was proposed. He and every developer around here want to make as much money as they can and ignore the fact they would do the area better providing Places to rent that were reasonable for people.
Carter I used to live in Shockoe Bottom and I know that they will not fill those apartments when they ones they have now are seeking people. Creating a glut in the market won’t drive down the prices on existing place so we have an area that is too expensive to live in. Shockoe Bottom is a fragile Eco System which will fail to work if when the people who Serve your food and clean up after you have to be bussed in. Developers become Classest as well when they go for High rent / Expensive condo and forget there people around who are essential for things to run who need a place to live.
I think Shockoe Bottom has potental but developers will kill it as they try to make as much money out of it as they can and forget what has been keeping it going all this time. I would have stayed in Shockoe Bottom longer but the price of living there was not worth it to me when I can own a Home and pay less in Morgage than I ever did in rent.
David Naiper never met an Expensive Development deal he didn’t like but if they have to take the bus to travel then you have a deal breaker and yet his own businesses have been far from the success stories you want to hear about in Shockoe Bottom. I am wondering if he is still considering moving the catering business that he has to Chester ? How about the Hours at his place that was never open for the 2-3 years other than special occasions?
Developers might want to have more focus groups and less talking to David about what might be successful in Shockoe Bottom.
Carter if you knew the Rental Market in Shockoe Bottom and I mean the Bottom not the Slip area you would know they have plenty of places already being overcharged for what they are worth and they raise the prices every year and they will not go down just because other developments have arrived.

By: Robinson Street

Robinson Street — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:14:07 +0000

This project sounds great. Many of those who are commenting have no clue about the demographics of this area. I have several friends who love living in this area due to it’s proximity to nightlife, restaurants, and having pretty much everything you need. There’s even a nice grocery store!…Why are they building 1 bedroom apartments? Many of the medical and dental school students I know live alone. This building, especially with the location, is ideal for that setup.

By: Massive Apartment build-up coming to Shockoe Bottom | Snipes Properties

Massive Apartment build-up coming to Shockoe Bottom | Snipes Properties — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:51:07 +0000

[...] Cold Storage and Shockoe Valley Heights, two large developments already underway in the district. Richmond BizSense covered the story and has more details [...]

By: Carter Snipes

Carter Snipes — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:42:51 +0000

SBD, not sure what the whole “busses” thing is all about. But all of these projects are great additions to the Bottom. The only problem is that Richmond with its reactionary mindset, let its Baseball team leave and all of these projects are heavy on housing and light on commercial and entertainment uses. We don’t need this district flooded with only housing. It needs to have activities and services to create a true neighborhood. Also, I know for a fact that all of the developers are going to shocked at how fast the rental rates in this district drop once all this stuff comes online. They won’t have any problem filling them, because there is plenty of demand, but they will be competing with each other for the best quality tenants, so new residents can expect to see things like free rent, free wi-fi, and little or no deposits.

By: sfd28

sfd28 — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:36:59 +0000

You hit the nail on the head SBD… I also can’t imagine that a complex with mostly 1 bedroom units will excel in this area of town. Who actually wants to live alone in this area? Not me…

By: Formerly SBD

Formerly SBD — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:36:46 +0000

Yea Dave will be happy until he finds they ride the bus then not so much. The problem is that each of these Development ideas are targeted to higher priced renters. They can’t sell condos they already have in the area that are of the same Economic strata but heaven forbid these people do proper research. They listen to people like Dave who is afraid of people who ride Busses.