Shockoe apartments heading to auction

A Shockoe Bottom apartment complex is scheduled to be auctioned on the courthouse steps Feb. 9.

Shockoe Place Apartments, a 42-unit complex at 19th and Franklin streets, was built in 1853 and was heavily renovated in 2000. Renovations cost at least $1.6 million, according to city permit data. The property is owned by Shockoe Place Apartments LLC. Read more

The Pipeline: Commercial Real Estate Round Up for 1.22.10

Richmond International Raceway Inc. purchased the 221,490-square-foot industrial building at 4300 Carolina Avenue in Richmond for $7.84 million from Liberty Property Trust.

Commonwealth Commercial reports the following deal:

Complete Automotive of Richmond, Inc leased 6,020 square feet at 11006-E W. Broad St. in Henrico.

CB Richard Ellis reports the following deals:

Dixie Sports Goods Company leased 4,105 square feet at 2235 Staples Mill Road in Henrico.

The Guardian Life Insurance Company leased 4,260 square feet at 6641 W. Broad St. in Henrico.

Thalhimer reports the following deals:

Bookholders, LLC leased 6,710 square feet at 720 W. Grace Street in the City of Richmond.

Kraft Foods Global, Inc. leased 5,570 square feet in Ruffin Mill Center, 16023 Continental Blvd. in Colonial Heights.

Fastenal leased 2,490 square feet at Meadowbridge Suites, 8420 Meadowbridge Road in Hanover.

The MARCS Agency leased 1,945 square feet at 219 E. Clay Street in Richmond.

Facility Management Solutions, LLC leased 1,510 square feet at Riverfront Plaza, 901 E. Byrd St., in Richmond.

DO Hair Salon leased 1,140 square feet at Parham One Shopping Center, 8191 Brook Road in Henrico.

Al Harris covers commercial real estate for BizSense. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com

Rain delay for storm water rules

Proposed storm water guidelines favored by outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine have hit a kink.

The regulations, which would reduce the amount of pollution runoff allowed by real estate development, have been put on hold for another 30-day public comment period after receiving the necessary number of petitions.

The storm water rules are intended to prevent pollution in the Chesapeake Bay by requiring developers and home builders to reduce the amount of water flowing to the bay from impervious surfaces such as parking lots. They also encourage builders to use “green building” methods such as green roofs and grey water recycling to accomplish the pollution goals.

But the development community has resisted the new standards, which they say will make the costs of building prohibitive just as the industry is trying to recover from the recession.

Developers and associations submitted 25 letters petitioning changes made to the rules since the last public comment period in November. According to Gary Waugh, spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, that was enough to trigger a new comment period.

“According to the administrative process if you get 25 petitions the board is obligated to take some sort of action,” Waugh said.

The changes that were made were actually a compromise, increasing the amount of runoff allowed from the original .28 pounds per acre per year to .45 pounds per acre. At the time the board also opened the door for DCR to begin a new rule-making process to adjust the limit to match similar guidelines the federal Environmental Protection Agency plans to enact in the next few years.

Because the states rules are going back to public comment, that means they will have to afterwards return to the board for administrative review, and onto the Secretary of Natural Resources, and then to the desk of Governor Bob McDonnell.

“This will be the first time the new administration will formerly have the opportunity to weigh in on the issue,” said Waugh.

That may be good news for developers who oppose the rules, as McDonnell had been critical of the rules during his campaign.

The 25 petitioners include representatives of several Richmond area companies including HHHunt, Toll Brothers, Thalhimer Commercial Real Estate, Highmark Engineering, Lifestyle Builders, Baskervil and JH Martin and Sons.

Representatives from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Home Builders Association of Virginia also submitted letters requesting more time to comment on the rules.

Tyler Craddock, director of government affairs for the Virginia Chamber, said they he has concerns are about the science behind the rules.

“We are not convinced that the process to this point has allowed for a full scientific vetting of the regulations as proposed,” said Craddock, “We hope that additional consideration in this process will yield a final product that is based on sound science and gets the Commonwealth to point where we all want to be: a healthier Chesapeake Bay and cleaner water across Virginia.”

Barrett Hardiman, director of government affairs for the HBAV, said that he hopes the state ends up with regulation that benefits the Bay and addresses storm water and other sources of pollution in the most effective way possible.

“Our biggest concern as people move forward with trying to invest money and job creating activities in Virginia is that they aren’t going to be slowed down or driven away because there is not any certainty as to what the project will cost them,” said Hardiman.

Meanwhile environmental groups say the recent effort by the development community is disingenuous.

“The need to reduce phosphorous and nitrogen that is all based on an incredibly amount of Chesapeake Bay area science, cutting edge science frankly,” said Chuck Epes, spokesman for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Epes said the argument the regulations aren’t based on valid data and science has no merit.

“There is no question Virginia needs to reduce and better control storm water…the objections raised from the homebuilding and development industry we have felt are obstructionist,” said Epes, “They seem to want nothing but the status quo.”

Al Harris covers real estate for BizSense. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.

For sale: Circuit City headquarters

The former Circuit City headquarters building is officially for sale.

Thalhimer announced this week that they had been selected as the exclusive representative to market the property.

Broker Eric Robison said they have not set an asking price. The property, known as Deep Run I, was recently appraised at $46.2 million. The five-story office building has 288,650 square feet of space. Read more

Last course for two restaurants

Two Goochland restaurants – both high-end and both in converted farm houses – have cooked their last meal.

The first to close was The Farmhouse at 1840 Manakin-Sabot Road. The 150-year-old house has operated as a restaurant for many years and was formerly known as the Foxhead Inn. After a number of ownership changes, in 2007 it was purchased by New Jersey transplant Ronnie Lower, who moved here with her husband to be closer to their daughter and her family. Read more

With new businesses, The Shoppes At Westgate fully leased

While many Short Pump shopping centers have lost tenants due to the recession and many businesses have closed their doors, one center is completely leased out. Thalhimer Commercial Real Estate leasing representative Jim Ashby says The Shoppes At Westgate at Broad and Lauderdale is welcoming a host of new tenants. Read more

Mall worth 65% less now

It just isn’t worth what it used to be.

The owners of Regency Square mall in Western Henrico County announced today that they have written down the value of the 34-year-old mall by more than $55 million dollars.

Taubman Centers, a Michigan-based real estate investment trust (REIT), bought the mall in 1997, taking out a loan of $82.5 million.

For accounting purposes, the property was recently valued between $85 million and $88 million, but because of declining income and money spent updating the mall, the owners have reduced its book value to about $30 million. Book value is the amount Taubman paid for the mall minus depreciation. The adjustment also takes into account expected future income. Read more

The Pipeline: Commercial Real Estate Round Up for 9.18.09

Thalhimer reports the following deals:

Jackan L.C. purchased the 9,100-square-foot office building at 7 N. 25th St. in Richmond from Sadie Scamper for $470,000.

The Scooter Store leased 5,200 square feet at 8570 Magellan Parkway in Henrico. Read more

Sheraton owners defaulted on $29.5M loan, other loans going sour

The cracks in Richmond’s commercial real estate market are getting bigger.

Lenders are beginning to take back more delinquent properties as the number of bad loans around town accelerates, including the Sheraton Richmond West hotel on the 6000 block of Broad Street.

Before the stock market tanked last year, commercial mortgage backed securities were a common financing tool for commercial real estate development. CMBS loans were issued with the mortgage as collateral. But now the market for the mortgage backed securities has frozen, and with it the pipeline for CMBS loans. Read more

Real estate firms scoop up GVA brokers

John Madures is the latest GVA Advantis broker to find a new job with another local firm.

Divaris Real Estate hired Madures as a leasing and sales associate. Madures was most recently an associate director for GVA.

Some other former GVA brokers have found work with other real estate firms since the Richmond office went belly-up last month.

Late last week, Thalhimer announced that it had hired Matthew Braun to its industrial specialty group, and Charlie Polk is heading up a new local office of Jones, Lang, LaSalle.

Job-seeking brokers aren’t the only thing GVA has left in its wake. After weeks out of business, the company’s for-lease signs are still up all over town, and the website is still active although nobody is there to answer calls.

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