Richmond Times Dispatch
Sunday, October 29, 2006

It was a fine old set of brick buildings in a prime area of Richmond's West End along Grove Avenue.  But the heat worked sporadically. The roof leaked. The plumbing was in bad shape. And the Lock Lane Apartments, which were built in the mid-1930s, never did have central air.

All that is changing.

The apartments are being upgraded and converted into 114 condominiums. Blending in with the old will be four new two-story brick buildings on the 7.5-acre site.

The units will sell for $199,000 for one-bedroom condos to the upper $500,000s for three-bedroom units in the new buildings.  They range from 850 square feet to 1,800 square feet. Monthly condo fees are expected to be about $200.

"We are trying to bring back the original prominence of Lock Lane," said Tim Culpepper, vice president of the Robinson Development Group in Norfolk, which bought the Richmond landmark for $11.2 million in December.

The complex, which was owned by S.H.E. Co. Inc., takes up a whole block and then some off Grove Avenue, West Lock and East Lock lanes near the Westhampton Cinema.

Rehab costs will be about $15 million. Restoration started in March.  The first units in Lock Lane on Grove will be ready in January. The second phase is scheduled for completion by mid 2007, with the remainder by year's end.

The new owners had the brick buildings with slate roofs declared a Historic District, meaning tax credits can be used to offset restoration costs. The developer must meet stringent standards to keep the historical character.

The tax-abatement program transfers to purchasers, who will pay taxes on less than the appraised value for up to 15 years. Renters were offered incentives, such as closing cost assistance, if they purchased condos.

"I had lived there for two years this September, and I love it," said Megan Grow, one of 10 renters who bought a condo.  Grow, a 1995 VCU graduate, said she has lived in a lot of rental units in the Richmond area.

"I was devastated when I got the notification about the condos, because I didn't want to live anywhere else.  "This is highly convenient," according to Grow. "I work downtown, and it's near shops where I go. I love Carytown and the Fan, but this is enough out- side of the Fan to be safe."

She didn't have to leave after all. She and her fiancé bought a two-bedroom condo, which is supposed to be ready in February. She moved temporarily into another unit, because her apartment was part of the first phase in the restoration process.

Residents who parted ways were given help finding places to live as well as moving allowances ranging from $500 to $1,500, depending on how much time was left in their leases.

Tom Robertson, principal of the development company, reportedly told his staff that he wanted no fallout or negativity from the project, even though people would be displaced.

"He told people to treat residents as if they were our mothers," Culpepper said.  "We tried to be as flexible as we could with leases or renting month to month," said William A. White, president of Joyner Fine Properties, which is handling the transition and sales.

Charlyne Smithdeal, who had lived at Lock Lane since World War II, was given a pass. She could stay as long as she wanted. She died there in July at age 91.

"The people who bought it couldn't have been more sensitive to my mother's needs," said Chris Smithdeal, who grew up along with his two older brothers at the complex.

His grandfather, William Travis Smithdeal Sr., was the owner. As part of a trust, the property was sold in the mid-1970s after he died.

"When my grandfather took it over in the 1930s, it was very family-oriented with lots of kids and young couples," Smithdeal said. "By the time I was about 10, it had become like a country club retirement community -- with no kids.

"It was always considered a very exclusive place to live, very prominent. There was always a waiting list."

Units will be combined and all reconfigured. Laundries will be added and kitchens upgraded and enlarged. More bathrooms will be built, and some will be made bigger.

Enclosed porches will be made into dining areas, and some condos will get third floors. Others will get sunrooms.

"The campus was well designed and well laid out to begin with," said Scott Gordon of Commonwealth Architects, the project architect.

"It will really come to life next spring. A pool will be built in the center courtyard with a pergola, and the area will be heavily landscaped."

All the trees on the site are part of the restoration, he said. Each was surveyed and catalogued. The site will have a total of 223 new and existing oaks, maples, dogwoods and hemlocks.

A photograph of the original campus showed where shutters once hung. New shutters will be added at the same places.

As much plaster as possible will be saved, Gordon said. Also, trim work will be salvaged, and new trim will match the old.  "I couldn't tell you how many different floor plans there are," he said. "Everything is unique."

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