A major apartment development near the intersection of Broad Street and Boulevard has cleared its first big hurdle with the city.
The 178-unit Interbake cookie factory apartment project received unanimous approval Tuesday from the Richmond planning commission.
The Rebkee Company, owner and developer on the project, is working its way through the city’s special-use permit process to convert the old factory in a $19.5 million redevelopment.
The next step will be getting approval from City Council, which should come Sept. 10 when the body meets for the first time since its August recess.
Rebkee submitted its special-use permit application in April to the city’s land use office, which generally must review all such zoning changes.
The company purchased the 240,000-square-foot property in December from Washington-based developer Douglas Jemal for $6.3 million.
The project’s initial phase will be residential, but Rebkee is planning a second phase that could include retail.
“We haven’t submitted any proposals yet for the retail space, but we’ve laid out some stuff in-house,” Rebkee principal Rob Hargett said last month. “I think it would be a good grocery site, a good fitness site. We’ve been looking at the possibility of some [smaller retailers] at the site as well.”
The Interbake factory was the first in the country to produce Girl Scout cookies. The property was shuttered in 2006. Rebkee is planning to sell historic tax credits to recoup some of their development costs on the 80-year-old building.
