The Commodore is rising near the intersection of Hull and West Seventh streets. (Mike Platania photos)
Two new mid-rise apartment buildings are taking shape and adding to the canyon of new development along Manchester’s Hull Street corridor.
Construction is scheduled to wrap up later this year on both the Commodore, a 173-unit mixed-use building at 15 W. 7th St., as well as The Cove, a 65-unit project down the block at 512 Hull St. The two buildings are each five stories and are nearly fully framed out.
The Commodore marks an entrance into the Richmond market for Capital City Real Estate, a 17-year-old developer that does the majority of its work in its hometown of Washington, D.C.
In late 2021, Capital City bought the 1-acre site on which the Commodore is rising from local developer Jeremy Connell for $1.73 million and began digging down for the project’s parking deck.
“It’ll have two levels of below-grade parking. Digging for that usually presents challenges,” Chris Love, Capital City’s managing director, said in a recent interview.
However, Love said even despite needing to dig down so many feet, construction on the Commodore has gone smoothly.
“We’re on path to meet our schedule and get our first residents moved in in the summer,” he said.
A nighttime rendering of the Commodore.
(BizSense file)
Above the parking will be five floors of apartments plus ground-floor commercial space. The first four floors have been framed out and Love said they’re planning to have the fifth floor framed in the coming days.
The apartment building will have a mix of unit sizes, though Love said they’ll be mostly one-bedrooms, some of which will have townhome-like floor plans and private terraces. He said it’s too soon to peg rent rates.
Odell Associates is the project architect and KBS is the general contractor.
Love said they anticipate pre-leasing on units to begin in May, and that they’re not sure who they’ll court for the Commodore’s 3,000 square feet of commercial space that’ll front Hull Street.
“We’ve seen an evolution of (commercial) tenant profile down Hull Street. You have some great local establishments as well as some national chains,” Love said. “I think based on the current climate and where the market is, it’s likely to be retail or restaurant.”
Love added that they’re working on some other projects in Richmond, none of which they’re able to share details on yet.
The Cove
Property Results initially planned for a 12-story apartment building at 512 Hull St., but scaled it back to 5 stories.
Meanwhile, a block north at 512 Hull St., local firm Property Results recently finished up framing The Cove, a 5-story, 65-unit building next to Port RVA, another apartment project it developed in 2014.
Property Results’ Sam McDonald and Mark Scordo initially planned the 512 Hull St. project to reach 12 stories and total 188 units, but had to downsize when the pandemic hit and lenders changed financing requirements. They shifted gears and broke ground on the new wood-frame building last year.
“We’ve been working on this thing for a long time but we’re happy to see it coming up,” McDonald said last week.
He said the rough-in construction, including installing plumbing, electrical and sprinkler systems, is being done right now, and that the overall construction of The Cove is ahead of schedule.
“We’ve been happy with the progress,” McDonald said. “We’re aiming for a September occupancy.”
SMBW is the project architect and UrbanCore Construction is the general contractor.
A rendering of The Cove. (BizSense file)
The Cove will have 29 surface parking spots behind the building and 3,000 square feet of commercial space. Similar to Capital City, McDonald said they’re not sure what type of commercial tenant they’ll seek.
“I would have thought office at the beginning, but now there’s more retail and restaurant users (on Hull Street),” he said. “As we get closer and have something to show, we may enlist a commercial agent.”
Work on a high-rise project farther north down Hull Street looks set to begin soon as well. Fencing recently went up around the Southern States silos off Hull Street near the Mayo Bridge. Hourigan Development is planning to demolish the old structures to make way for a 20-story apartment tower and 6-story office building.
