What's the next hot spot in
Richmond
?
Four local developers are betting $5.2 million that it will be the
Manchester
section south of downtown between the Mayo and Robert E. Lee bridges.
They put their money on 178 pieces of property in about a 12-block area.
"Old Manchester is the next frontier," said purchaser Robin Miller, co-owner of Urban Development.
The plan is to transform the area into a vibrant urban community, he said.
"It will be the flavor of old Manchester. We want to recreate a true community, a traditional neighborhood like it once was."
Architectural styles will match the original late-1800s neighborhood, he said.
Miller and business partner Daniel A. Gecker, a real estate and historic tax credit attorney, bought 153 parcels.
Charles S. Macfarlane and Sam McDonald, principals of Manchester Partners, bought the remaining 25 parcels.
The 178 parcels on about 28 acres were sold by an affiliate of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The land was donated to the museum in 1992 by the founder of Overnite Transportation Co., J. Harwood Cochrane, and his wife, Louise. The area is bounded by Cowardin Avenue, Bainbridge Street, Commerce Road and Riverview Drive.
It's too early for a master plan or artists' renderings.
Still, the plan is to mix old with new -- to blend restored historic structures with architecturally interesting new buildings.
Garage doors, for instance, won't be plain board or vinyl. They will look more like carriage doors.
The developers are known for their historic renovations and commitments to economic revitalization, said David B. Bradley, secretary of the Virginia Museum Real Estate Foundation, which sold the parcels.
Where some people might see neglected old homes, flophouses and leveled lots, the buyers see an area ripe for development.
"The area has been sitting dormant for so long that people are used to seeing it in that stage," Macfarlane said.
"You will see this move quickly once development is started and people can visualize opportunity."
Macfarlane's office is in Manchester in 201 Warehouse, at 201 Hull St., which he and McDonald renovated two years ago. The top four floors are 14 apartments.
"What we didn't anticipate was people would either love it or hate it," said Macfarlane, former state aviation director.
His office was the stimulus for other businesses.
An art studio opened across the street. Plant Zero Café, a restaurant in a trendy industrial building with an art studio and a gallery, is a few blocks away.
Macfarlane and McDonald plan to build about 70 condominiums and townhouses on their 2.5 acres in the heart of the neighborhood purchased from the museum. Those parcels are between 12th and 14th streets.
"With a large area, you can make an impression and set the character for the neighborhood," Macfarlane said.
The units, which would sell for about $190,000 to $390,000 each, will be built over the next three to four years. "Hopefully, we'll be under way within the year," McDonald said.
Miller is looking at a five- to 10-year period. He and his partners will do a montage of new apartments, townhouses, stores, offices and house renovations.
Plans include a condominium high-rise with a view of the river along Riverview Drive near the foot of the Lee Bridge.
Miller, owner also of Miller & Associates, has been restoring houses in the Manchester area for three years. He converted an industrial building into the Old Manchester Lofts on Commerce Road.
The area has a lot going for it, he said. It's close to downtown and the river. Plus, it has "wonderful, historic houses."
The project should appeal to students, young professionals, professional couples and empty nesters, he said.
"The only thing I don't see are families with school-age children. The Richmond schools are not satisfactory, and I'm not afraid to say that."
Miller took the good with the bad in the land purchase. "I would have preferred to cherry-pick."
His 153 parcels vary from a fraction of an acre to as large as 4 acres. Most are vacant lots.
The key is the critical mass, he said. "We can make the changes that need to be made to turn the community around."
Lucy Meade, director of business development for Richmond Renaissance, a downtown economic-development group, said the developers were among the first to test the area with earlier projects.
"When they team up to do something bigger, that tells you a lot," she said.
"Vacant land is like missing teeth." This could be the next Shockoe Slip or Shockoe Bottom, she said.
The land was amassed over the decades that Cochrane ran his business.
Cochrane founded Overnite Transportation in 1935, opened the corporate headquarters in Manchester in 1975 and sold the trucking company in 1986 to Union Pacific Corp.
The Cochranes donated the land to the museum in 1992 with the understanding that the sales proceeds would be used to purchase American art for the museum.
Some land was sold by the museum foundation for developments such as SunTrust Mortgage Co. and the Old Manchester Lofts.
With this latest sale, the museum has sold all of its holdings in Manchester.
The purchasers say they hope other developers will piggyback on their plans for the area.
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