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Get Ready for More Development: 1900 Venable St

J. Elias O’Neal from Richmond BizSense reports:

A vacant wooded lot at the edge of Shockoe Bottom is being primed for an apartment development.


Genesis Propertie
s is preparing to break ground this summer on a $26 million, five-story project on a 3.6-acre L-shaped parcel at 1900 Venable St.


Plans call for 151 apartments, said Ed Solarz, Genesis’ director of development, with 72 one-bedroom, 68 two-bedroom and 11 three-bedroom units.


“It’s very close to the heart of downtown, and within walking distance of city hall and the state capitol,” Solarz said. “It’s also not too far from Shockoe Bottom, which is seeing a lot of activity.”
Construction on the project, which is yet to be named, is slated for August, Solarz said, with the complex set for delivery by late 2020.

Read more of the article here!

This is the same company that worked on the Raven Place Apartments nearby at 1710 E. Broad St. in 2009, and the Shockoe Valley View apartments in 2017 at 1904 Cedar St. in Shockoe Valley.

If this is the same lot that was listed back in 2017, then a healthy argument developed in this story. Some folks called out the lack of green space in the city, while others call out that this is one of the last remaining pieces of land in the city available for development.

21 comments

Amanda Spiller 01/30/2019 at 2:42 PM

These LEGO complexes baffle me. Maybe it’s just that rendering of it that doesn’t look that great. Hopefully the real thing is easier on the eyes ?

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Sean Carlton 01/30/2019 at 3:35 PM

Amanda Spiller agree

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Roberto Snyder 01/30/2019 at 4:10 PM

If you don’t like the render or the look of the recent condos that have been going up, I suspect you won’t be in to the finished product. The image has a great dystopian smog filter.

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Amanda Spiller 01/30/2019 at 4:30 PM

True Maybe it’s the end of days sky that’s throwing me off.

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Laureen Poole 01/30/2019 at 5:19 PM

Amanda Spiller its kinda hideous

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Colleen Jennings 01/30/2019 at 8:24 PM

Not kinda….butt ugly!

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Katherine Jester 01/30/2019 at 4:41 PM

Anybody trying to get on 95 at 8am…? It’s a Cluster. There really should be a transportation piece to all of this development.

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Amanda Spiller 01/30/2019 at 6:46 PM

Oliver Hill and Hospital Street are especially great when there’s a train I’d imagine there will be more traffic going that way as well.

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Justin Fritch 01/30/2019 at 7:41 PM

VDOT has plans to revamp the Broad and Franklin St. interchanges.

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Katherine Jester 01/30/2019 at 7:44 PM

Justin Fritch its funny you mention that… three or four years ago they had actual plans published. I tried to follow up on it in the last year or so and that plan appears to have been shelved. If you have new info please post it for us!

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Katherine Jester 01/30/2019 at 7:47 PM

I get on 95 @ Broad and take 95 S just in time to rear-end all the VDOT workers exiting at Franklin. It’s dangerous there…thru traffic heading south have no way to anticipate the backup onto the highway and there have been some really terrible accidents there.

Sorry I didn’t mean to hijack the post and take it off topic, but it’s definitely relevant to new development.

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Dana C. Kuchem 02/02/2019 at 11:43 AM

If VCUs Ram Van would just pull into the parking lot to load/unload rather than block the single right turn lane from Oliver Hill onto Broad, this could improve some of that daily disaster immensely. It drives me nuts!

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David Conmy 01/31/2019 at 8:46 AM

It’s disappointing to see a lack of storefront/mixed use space on the street-level floor of the building. Perhaps there’s not a market for it?

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Kay 01/31/2019 at 9:09 AM

It’s really, really ugly… just like everything else they’ve done.

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TTP 01/31/2019 at 10:27 AM

@ Katherine Jester, There were plans released about redoing this intersection as well as broad and 18th that may help the situation. Who knows when or if that will happen. In the end lets all remember that RVA traffic is not that bad for the most part. Yes it can get frustrating for an hour or so but relatively not the worst.

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Jonah Hill 01/31/2019 at 10:54 AM

what happend to normal looking houses and buildings? why does everything new have to look like some Dr Seuss stuff

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Bill Hartsock 01/31/2019 at 11:27 AM

It’s probably designed by Walter Parks, the king of the box architecture. I hope when this goes to Planning that there is a transportation study done.

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Louise Lockett Gordon 01/31/2019 at 3:31 PM

“The project will offer income-based rents, Solarz said, with its financing covered by a mix of tax-exempt bonds, low-income housing tax credits and traditional financing.” Do we know how many of the 151 units will be affordable?

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Emily West 01/31/2019 at 8:57 PM

Multi unit rentals going up on 31st and Marshall.

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Sonny 02/01/2019 at 8:21 AM

This will sit under the Leigh Street bridge. It won’t be much of a visual eye sore for anyone in the hill

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Rafiya A Mason 02/06/2019 at 12:17 PM

AMEN! Dana Kuchem!!
AMEN!!!!

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